Stacked Fractions in Continuing Dimensions? 2

[transmissiontowers]

I like the looks of stacked fractions and use them a lot to detail steel pieces I design. If I place the dimensions one at a time, the fractions stack like I want after I hit the space bar. When I occasionally use the Continuing Dim feature, the fractions do not stack even after I hit the space bar after the denominator.

Is there a system variable I can set to make the fractions automatically stack? I did try to look it up in the AutoCAD help but I am not a fan of their help file. I thought I would try my luck here.

TIA

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I have been called "A storehouse of worthless information" many times.

 

[transmissiontowers]

I'll attach some of my crappy acad drawing sheets so you can see what I draw up. This is a HSS that we use to bolt to a T-Line tower to replace the arms and move the wire a little higher. It was in a long piece but they wanted it broken into 3 sections so it was easier to handle while 60 feet in the air.

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I have been called "A storehouse of worthless information" many times.

 

[Sparweb]

Great style. Simple, looks hand-drawn. Your length dimensions don't add up to equal the definition of the HSS length. I figure the tolerance block on sheet 1 deals with that. Or there's assumed trimming of the HSS before welding to the end plates.

(I check other people's drawings every day. I can't help it! Don't bother explaining if those lengths are intentional.)


STF

 

[RHTPE]

I agree with SparWeb - Great drafting style. The pride and professionalism (and sometimes art) exhibited by our hand-drafted drawings does not show through as well when using CAD.

transmissiontowers, Your style is very much like some of the better steel detailers I've worked with in the past. The required information is easily found and logically located to leave no doubt about what is to be fabricated.

The one thing that CAD does not easily given us:
The ability to accurately model in real world dimensions yet present component details, fully defined, but with the images condensed to fit on a reasonably sized sheet of paper (or on the screen). It can be done, but it's clunky.

Linear scale is easy to exaggerate manually - not so when trying to utilize the CAD model in Paper Space to keep the item detail linked to the Model.

Very often I'm dealing with constantly evolving temporary works projects that require custom fabrication - linking the fabrication drawing to the model can be helpful & time-saving. Not to mention almost absolutely accurate.



Ralph
Structures Consulting
Northeast USA

 

[transmissiontowers]

Ralph and Spar;
Thanks for the kind words. I'm mostly self taught in ACAD and picked it up since the 1980's in ACLT. I could always draw the lines and circles, but in the early days the text notation was the hardest part to get to look right and I used all kind of different text heights. I worked on my text and only use a couple of heights that look OK when plotted on 11x17. Also with the advent of plotting to PDF, it is easier to share details with fab shops.

I surely don't consider myself and expert, but I used to deal with a local fab shop and I knew they had ACAD so I sent them my DWG and they could not open it and had to get me to save it in an older version. I did that and they still could not see my fonts because I used a special hand letter font. I sent them my font file and they could not figure out how to put the new font in their font folder so my DWG would open correctly. I finally ended up printing on 11x17 paper, cut it in half and faxed the 2 pages to their fax machine. After that fiasco, I figured out how to plot to a PDF at 11x17 and eMailed that to them the next time they had to build one of my designs.

I pick up ACAD probably once a month to sketch out my designs for stuff that will be bolted on a Transmission Tower.

On the dimensions not adding up, I should have put the section cut of the tube to flange connection. The flange plate has a hole in it just a little larger so the tube slides 1/2 way into the plate so you have to add half the thicknesses of the flange plates to get the tube length. We do this for better galvanizing drainage when you dip the assembly in a vat of 800° zinc so it flows smoothly out the end. Hopefully this piece will sit outside for 40+ years.

I do have a question about changing profiles that I will post in another thread.

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I have been called "A storehouse of worthless information" many times.

 

[BUGGAR]

I note your method of connecting the end plates to the HSS by sliding in the tube and welding. This is common and successfully used in the electric industry. But for some reason, I seldom see this detail elsewhere. I like it because of the "double" weld which can be simple fillets, sized to develop the HSS capacity.

 

[Sparweb]

... the tube slides 1/2 way into the plate...

A worthwhile idea I can put in my own "storehouse of ideas".

STF

 

[transmissiontowers]

On our big T-Line poles that are big enough where you can stand inside and not reach the other side unless you play in the NBA, there is a smaller hole so the welder and reach inside and seal weld the inside to the 2 to 4 inch thick baseplate. Formed plate at 12 sides welds to a big base plate then the whole thing is dipped in molten zinc and we hope all of it runs out the end. On the small HSS tubes, we usually telescope the tube into the plate so the galvanizing drains out. You do have to watch the silicon content of the plates because if it is to high, the zinc really builds up thicker than it should and you can chip off big wafers of zinc.

If I had to guess, our structures sit outside in the rain and weather for 40+ years so we galvanize everything. The building guys have a roof and walls over the steel core so it is dry and they can paint it. I'm not sure what the bridge guys do for coating. I suspect that the bridge builders and designers have a brother-in-law in the painting business to keep the profits in the family.

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I have been called "A storehouse of worthless information" many times.