This Week's Software Tips

Hot Tip Harry Needs Your Help!
With so many of his CAD colleagues hitting the beach, Hot Tip Harry is working overtime. He needs your LISP routines so he get the job done — and maybe even take a vacation himself. Share your original LISP tip and earn a $50 Amazon gift card if it's selected for publication. Use the "Submit Tip" button below to send us your AutoLISP routines.

Let AutoCAD Find the Perfect Scale Factor for Your Objects We all know how to use a scale factor to scale our AutoCAD objects — but do you know how to scale to a specific reference value? Join Cadalyst contributing editor and Autodesk Evangelist Lynn Allen as she explains how AutoCAD can figure out the perfect scale factor to get your objects to the desired size. Stop doing the math yourself and let AutoCAD do the work for you! Watch the video

Reshape Your Hatch Objects
Nereida Ortiz shares this handy tip on how to edit an AutoCAD hatch object without recreating the hatch from scratch. "The hatch object itself has grip points with polyline-like editing capabilities." View the complete tip and post your feedback.

Fix Unintended Dimension Text Rotation
Have you ever placed a dimension inside an xref window, then discovered the text is upside down? When the obvious solutions didn't work for James Olszewski, he discovered a simple but obscure AutoCAD setting that fixes the issue. View the complete tip and post your feedback.

Inventor Tip: Use the Ground Command to Attach Assembly Parts Together
Here's a tip for Autodesk Inventor users who want to constrain a part of an assembly, but it's not working as expected. Alex Kaplan shows us how to use the Ground command to attach one corresponding part to another. View the complete tip and post your feedback.

Review Cadalyst's Tip Submission Guidelines, then Submit Your Tip for your favorite CAD software. Be sure to tell us which software version you use. If we publish your original, previously unpublished tip, you can earn a gift card (learn more about prizes here). Please submit only tips or code that are your original work. By submitting code, you grant Cadalyst the right to print and distribute your tip in print, digitally, and by other means. Cadalyst and individual authors retain all rights to submitted tips.

By submitting code, you agree that your code can be reused as-is or modified by other users in conjunction with AutoCAD or other software programs to gain efficiencies in that software for professional or personal use, and that your code can be shared freely among users. Users do not have the right to republish code in any manner or format (such as on a blog web site or in a printed document) for personal or commercial gain without written permission from Cadalyst and the original author.

Got Feedback? To share feedback about one of today's tips, navigate to the tip using the link provided above, then click Comment. The Comment tool is available to registered users of Cadalyst'sCAD Tips site.

Tips & Tools Weekly software tips for AutoCAD are reviewed in the latest version of AutoCAD by Contributing Editor R.K. McSwain. Use all tips at your own discretion, please. We're sorry, but Cadalyst staff cannot provide assistance with technical problems. Please refer to Cadalyst's LinkedIn and Facebook communities for assistance with AutoLISP and other AutoCAD customization questions.

Back to Top

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Resources

Theorem Solutions Offers Downloadable 3D CAD Data Webinar
Theorem Solutions announced that its 30-minute webinar, "Making 3D CAD Data Accessible with 3D PDF," is now available for download to users who register. The webinar discusses the company's Publish 3D suite, which reportedly can make 3D CAD data more accessible by creating interactive PDF files containing embedded 3D representations of native 3D CAD data.

REAL 2015 Presentations Available Online
The organizers of REAL 2015 — an Autodesk-sponsored summit held last February on the professional and maker applications of 3D sensing, making, and visualization technologies — have made the event's presentations available online via the organization's website. These presentations discuss the use of 3D technology in a variety of industries, including art, architecture, engineering, entertainment, heritage preservation, health, manufacturing, media, sports, and science.

Back to Top

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Deals & Freebies

Strata Announces Temporary Storewide Discount
Strata is offering a 25% discount on all of the company's 3D design software, training resources, libraries, and other products. The discount is available via the Strata online store with the code: Publish3D. The offer is good until July 4, 2015.

Back to Top

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Products

CAE: LMS Samtech Tea Pipe for NX
Siemens PLM Software launched the LMS Samtech Tea Pipe for NX computer-aided engineering (CAE) software. According to the company, the application enables the mechanical nonlinear simulation analysis of hoses, cables, and pipes, such as brake cables in a car or air and water hoses around an engine. LMS Samtech Tea Pipe is available either as standalone product or as a tool embedded in NX software v9 or later.

Back to Top

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mark Your Calendar

Introduction to Inspire 2015
June 25, 2015
Various times
This SolidThinking webinar will introduce the company's Inspire 2015 concept generation technology and will include a live demonstration of the software. Read more

AVEVA World Summit 2015
October 20–22, 2015
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
AVEVA's international customer conference will provide users with an opportunity to learn about the company's new developments and share their own experiences. Read more

REAL 2016
March 8–10, 2016
San Francisco, California
This reality computing event, sponsored by Autodesk, will include hands-on opportunities to experience professional 3D sensing, making, and visualization technologies. Read more

For a complete list of CAD meetings, conferences, training sessions, and more, check out our calendar of events on Cadalyst.com. Are you hosting an event that you would like to include in our calendar? Submit details at least two weeks in advance to news@cadalyst.com.

Back to Top

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

What’s New at Cadalyst.com

User Profile: Inventor in Training
Ernesto Mosqueda is always striving to expand his design skills — and to use his growing knowledge to improve everything around him. Read more

CAD Manager's Toolbox: Find the Next Member of Your CAD Team
What's the best way to find your next employee? Read more

CAD Manager Column: Cloud-Based CAD — The Predictions and the Reality
A recent survey by the Business Advantage Group highlights the gap between forecasts and real-world adoption rates. Read more

Back to Top