Explore the process of completing building elevation models using CAD and key aspects such as migrating symbols between layers and scaling them appropriately for different plans. Find out how keynotes can be effectively assigned and managed in this intricate process of building model development.
Key Insights
- The article walks through the process of completing a building elevation model, paying particular attention to the use of the A3.1 file and the relevant model file.
- Key topics include the migration of symbols between layers, scaling of symbols for different plans, and assigning appropriate keynotes to elements of the plan.
- The article also highlights the importance of revisions and careful double-checking in ensuring the accuracy and coherence of different parts of the building plan.
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We have gotten a lot of work done. We've just been spending our time on the A3.1 file and the relevant model file, completing the elevation of our building. We have our roof plan, which came out of our plan model file.
We have our enlarged floor plans. And we also have our floor plan itself. What I'd like to do, though, is to spend some time keynoting.
Now, we're going to come back and do the elevation keynotes in a few minutes, but I'd like to first take some of the keynotes that we have on our roof plan and make them relevant for our A2.1 floor plan. So here's what I'd like us to do. Let's go into our CAD 301 plan model file, and we currently have our layer states exposed for the floor plan.
So let's go to layer states, and let's make the roof plan model our current environment. And here's what I'd like us to do. I'm just going to copy this symbol into space.
So this is a symbol that we have brought in. It was initially drawn on layer 0, and then we migrated it and scaled it to a scale factor of 96 so that we could use it on the annotative symbols layer for 96. So I'm going to select the geometry, and I'm going to migrate it from being on the Anno Sims 96 to being on the Anno Sims 48 layer.
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Then I'm going to go back to the layer states manager, and I will restore the floor plan model. And what you'll notice is here is that symbol that has now been migrated to that model. But if you remember, when we brought these symbols in, we scaled them up by a factor of 96 so that we could use them on the roof plan.
We now want to use them on the floor plan, so we have migrated them to the proper model, but they're too large. So let's go to scale. Let's put a window around this geometry, pick an arbitrary base point, and let's give it a scale factor of 0.5. You'll notice that the arrow disappeared, so by making my arrowhead a little longer, you can see that it appears.
So I've scaled the symbol down, but again, the dimension style being used here is the dimension style leader 96. So I'm going to click on it, right-click, choose properties, and I will let its leader type be on the leader scale factor 48. So again, we took the symbol, and we brought the symbol down to be a scale factor of 48.
And then we had to take our arrow and migrate it to be on the dimension style leader 48. What we're going to do is we're going to be putting in some random keynote symbols, just so you can get some experience with that. So I'm going to go on and do a zoom extents, and I'm going to say move the window.
I'm going to say from here and just move it into this area. Now, if you look at your floor plan keynotes, what we're going to do is we're going to end up using this keynote symbol in multiple occasions. So I'm going to say move this symbol here.
Again, I have my running O-Snap off. My first symbol is for my entry closet, so I'm going to put that symbol right about there. What I'm also going to do is go into layers, and I'm going to turn off my no plot, because that way I can more readily work with what I'm seeing.
We have the symbol here. I'm now going to copy this symbol from being over here. Option number two is the furnace, which I will put right about here.
I have the area for the tenant freezer, which will be here. I have the washer dryer. I'm going to put it over here.
I'm going to copy this symbol, put ortho on over there, so we have the washer. We have the dryer. I'm going to copy this symbol from here.
There's going to be a little area right over here. Take ortho off for my broom utility cabinet, which is right there. Here's my pantry cabinet.
You know what I'm going to do? Just to make things more easily readable, I'm going to delete this guy, and I'm going to copy these two symbols. Arbitrary base point, put ortho on, and copy the symbols right there. Again, I'm just making a nice alignment between them.
So I have my broom utility, my pantry cabinet. I'm going to copy it again. Take ortho off for my lazy Susan.
Copy the symbol straight up for the refrigerator, and then copy the symbol over for the range. We brought the symbols in, but we have not yet changed the attributes. We have a one for the entry closet.
I'm going to double-click on here, give it a value of two for my air furnace. Give it double-click here. This is going to be my washer dryer.
This will be a four. Double-click here for my freezer. It will be a three.
Double-click here for my dryer, which will be a five. Double-click here. I'm going to say that's my pantry, number seven.
Double-click here, six. The utility, double-click here, eight. Double-click here.
The refrigerator is a nine. And double-click here, which will be for the range, which is number ten. So what we've done is we've put our keynotes in, but we have our arrow to deal with.
So I'm going to move the arrow and get it into the general area, and I'm going to begin by rotating. Just RO for rotate. Pick the symbol.
Rotate it by 180. And now I'm going to move the symbol so that it's pointing to the geometry. I'm going to do a stretch crossing to bring it down.
And then what I'm going to do next is stretch this symbol from the end of here, perpendicular to here, and then move these two entities from the end of here to the middle of here. I'm going to have to move it up slightly. I'll move this one with it.
Arbitrary base point. I have ortho on. And I'm going to make sure that I'm pointing to the geometry.
I'm now going to copy the arrow from the end of here to the end of here, and once again move these symbols and this one beside it, and I'm just going to move it up ever so slightly so that I can read it closely. I'm going to back off. I'm now going to copy this arrow from the end of here to the end of here.
I'm going to take my symbol for the range and move it down so it's on top of the range. I'm going to move my refrigerator symbol so it's on top of the refrigerator, and I'm just going to go stretch crossing, pull this here, and then mirror from the middle of the symbol straight up, and then I'm going to say move the entities down so that I'm pointing towards my lazy susans. So what we have going on is we've brought in our symbols from the 96 annotative layer.
We've copied them. We've scaled them down. We've migrated their layer, and we've also adjusted the dimension style used for the leader.
We now have appropriate symbols in our drawing that we can use for the keynotes on the floor plan. What I'd like to bring to your attention too, though, is that we have our revision cloud bubble that we're showing on the floor plan, but it's not necessarily showing up on the roof plan. If we would like, and it is not required, but I just want you to get the experience of seeing how to do this, we could say copy these symbols from here up to here, hit escape.
I will choose them, and I will take them off the annotated Sims 48 to the annotated Sims 96. I'm going to go back into layers, and I'm going to turn on my Anno Sims 96. What you can see, though, is that, for example, this symbol right here is much larger by a scale factor of 2 because it's in the Anno Sims 96 layers than this symbol right here.
But again, I've just migrated it to the proper model, so I'm going to say scale this symbol from the end of here a scale factor of 2, move it down, move my delta down, and then I'm going to move these on top of that. If I want to be really accurate, I can say move this from the end of here to the end down here, control S to save. If I now go into my A201 drawing and reload my xrefs, you can see that we're now showing keynote symbols in the kitchen area.
We're also showing the modifications that are going to be going on here. If I go into my A301 and if I reload my xref, you will notice that now we have the delta in this area. So zoom extents, control S to save.
Go back to my A201, control S to save. But let's look at this. You can see that in here we have keynotes that are also going to be called out in our enlarged kitchen plan.
Now normally in construction documents, we only show keynotes in one drawing. Deltas we will show throughout the set, revision clouds, revision notations, the delta symbols we will show throughout the set, but normally keynotes are only shown one time in a set of drawings. But I'd like us to get some experience in modifying symbols and taking them on to other models.
But before we do that, what I'd appreciate you doing is getting all of these revisions done and then double-check your A201, your A301 sheet files. Make sure you can see the information as we've just gone over it and then we will come back and get our keynote symbols in for our enlarged kitchen plan.
