Get an in-depth understanding of how to insert blocks into a floor plan and create parallel copies using AutoCAD. This detailed guide explores how to create a kitchen counter, use offset, fillet, extend, and trim, and correctly insert bath and kitchen fixtures into a complex floor plan.
Key Insights
- The article detailed how to utilize the offset feature in AutoCAD to create kitchen counters. The function allows for the creation of parallel copies to a specified distance, making it easier for users to layout precise designs on their floor plan.
- AutoCAD provides numerous ways to connect lines, including fillet, extend, or trim. In the context of designing a kitchen counter, the article demonstrated how to use a combination of the extend and trim functions for practice. The extend function, unlike trim, elongates the line instead of reducing it, offering more flexibility in the design process.
- The tutorial also explored the process of inserting bath and kitchen fixtures into a floor plan. Important considerations were highlighted, such as ensuring the scale factor is set to one for real-world objects and setting the rotation angle correctly based on the layout of the building.
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Now we can start to insert our blocks and really finish this floor plan. But before we do that, if we take a look at the handout, we can see that there is a counter in the kitchen that is not drawn.
Then we can insert our bath fixtures and our kitchen fixtures. First thing we need to do is to change our current layer to the A-counter layer. Then if we zoom in and check the handout, we see that the counter is two feet wide and is only one inch away from this top corner.
We know how to create these parallel copies. Let's use offset. I'm gonna go to offset.
The first offset will be a distance of two feet, enter. That'll be from this line to the right and click. Enter to say I'm done.
Enter to go back in. The next offset will be a distance of one, enter. And that's one inch.
And it'll be from this line down and click. Enter to say that I'm done. Now there are multiple ways to connect these two lines, including fillet, extend, or trim in certain circumstances.
For now, let's use a combination of extend and trim for the practice. So I'm gonna go up and choose extend here. Extend is like trim, but of course it does the opposite.
Instead of trimming a line at a cutting edge, it will extend the line. If I zoom in on this little line here, and I am purposely showing this wall, by the way, if I hover over the right side of the line, it will extend to the right. If I hover over the left side of the line, it will extend to the left.
So please make sure you hover over the right side of this line and click to extend the line. Now I hit ENTER to say that I'm done and switch to trim. And I can quickly trim up this end here and this end here.
Enter to say that I'm done. Of course, we could have done that with fillets or stretch or many other options. Again, AutoCAD has many ways to get to the same destination.
Now we changed our current layer, but you'll notice that our counter lines are still yellow. This is because the offset command was set to copy to the same layer. Selecting a line will change this option to show a wall, and I'll pick both of these lines.
When I hit escape, it will show a counter again. It's important to understand your current layer will only impact new geometry that is created using the draw options, or sometimes using the modify tools if specified. For now, we need to migrate this geometry to our A counter layer.
We can do that simply by picking both of these lines and selecting A counter. I'll hit escape, escape, escape. And now those lines are on the A counter layer.
Let's switch back to our layer zero, zoom extents and control S to save. Now we can begin to insert our bath and kitchen fixtures. Remember that I enter will open up the insert blocks dialog box.
Let's zoom in over here, and let's talk about inserting the bathroom sink. This bathroom sink is outside of the bathroom because of the layout of the building, but we still named it the bathroom sink. Now, before we insert this drawing, remember this is a real world object coming to real world model space.
And because of that, the scale factor should be a scale factor of one. The feet and inches of the bathroom sink match the feet and inches of our drawing. When we look at the options over here, we do wanna use the insertion point to place on screen, but we do not need a scale factor of anything greater than one.
So let's change the scale factor back to one. Now we can browse for our drawing by going to the browse option, the browse button, and let's choose bathroom sink. I'll hit open, and right away we see the preview of the sink as we move our cursor.
Notice the crosshair's intersection is at zero, zero, which was one inch below the edge of our sink. This one's fairly simple. We just need to come down, find that midpoint snap, and click.
We see it added into our current drawing blocks, and we see it placed on the screen. Notice that we placed it on the screen and placed it on layer zero, but the geometry is still green. Additionally, if I hide layer zero, one, I'll get a warning and I'll turn it off, but two, you'll notice that a fixture in our current drawing still controls our a fixture geometry.
If I hide a fixture, that is when I'll see the fixture go away, not when I hide layer zero. This is why layer zero is so important when inserting blocks. Please make sure you're on layer zero, or you will notice a difference as you work through your model.
Let's keep going with the shower. Again, I want to insert the block and use a uniform scale of one, but in this case, I'm not sure about the angle of my rotation. So I'm going to check the box to specify rotation on the screen.
If we knew the rotation angle already, we could type it in, but I don't know it. So let's browse to find the shower. I'll scroll down and find showerstall.dwg and hit open.
Remember, insertion point is specified on screen, uniform scale is one, and I'll click right here to set my shower. Now, because we had rotation checked for set on screen, I can rotate to place my block. Here, I'll choose this end point on the wall to rotate it 90 degrees.
And control S to save. Next, I want to bring in the toilet. The toilet is going to come in right in between this point and this point.
So in this case, there's multiple ways for me to find that distance. In this case, I'll go to quick measure and quickly see what the distance is between those two points. It's two feet, six inches.
And I don't need any fancy calculator to help me here. That's one feet and three inches to find the exact middle of that distance. So I'll use this wall for some construction geometry, and I'll offset a distance of one feet, three, enter.
Choose this line and come down and click. Enter to say that I'm done. Now, I know that we drew the toilet in a vertical orientation, and we want it to rotate to the left 90 degrees.
So I will uncheck the rotation checkbox. And type in 90 degrees. And now this toilet should rotate to the left.
It is still coming in at a scale factor of one, and we're still placing the point on the screen. So let's browse. Find the toilet.
Let's hit open. And I can click this endpoint to place it. Now I can select that construction line and hit delete.
In the next video, we are going to bring in the kitchen fixtures. So let's zoom extents. Control S to save.
