MicroStation V8 in 3D - The Drawings Are So Easy - Part 2 - cadinfo.net

Creating Sheet Models

We have everything needed to complete a full set of drawings.  The following examples use either A4 or Letter sheets (both portrait and landscape), with the supplied drawing borders referenced.  The borders are little more than blocks with active points for snapping the plot defining fence, so you may prefer to use border dgn’s of your own.  The examples use a number of small sheets, which provides plenty of practice, but feel free to use larger paper sizes and fewer sheets.  We will start by creating a simple Sheet model of the perspective view of the model.

1. Make sure that the Primary tool box has the Models tool icon displayed – if not, right-click the border of the tool box and check the appropriate check box.


2. Select the Models tool, then select the Create a new model icon from the Models dialog.


3. Choose Sheet from the Create Model Type options, Name: Sheet 1 Description: Whole Assembly.  The remaining settings should match those shown in the illustration.


4. Click OK and the Create Model dialog will close and an empty single view in the new model will open.

By default, Sheet views have a white background and Model views have a black background.  Now we have the first sheet model ready for use, we will reference a border into it.  Attaching References

The first reference we will attach is a border.  We will attach this at 1:1 scale, so we will need to scale down the assemblies as we reference them in.  This is not the only way to do it, we could choose to scale the border and reference in the model at 1:1.  Both systems have their advantages, but using "paper size" is probably the most practicable when we need to use multiple scales.  Make your own judgement when we have finished the examples.

1. Select the Attach Reference tool from the References tool box (turn on if necessary).
   
2. In the Attach Reference dialog, select the supplied DGN A4 Landscape border.dgn or Letter Landscape border.dgn, click OK.
3. The choice of A4 or Letter will depend on the paper size available in your printer.
   
4. Click OK to accept the defaults (as illustrated) in the Attach Reference Settings dialog.
5. Fit the view to reveal the extents of the border.

Now we will attach a perspective view of the assembled frame.  This view is available as a saved view in the Assembly model of the active DGN.

1. Select the Attach Reference tool from the References tool box (as before).
2. In the Attach Reference dialog, select Tent Frame.dgn (the active DGN), click OK.
3. Select the Assembly model, the Perspective saved view and the scale 1 : 18 in the Attach Reference Settings dialog (as illustrated); click OK.
   
4. Initially position the reference with a data point approximately at the center of the border.
5. Use the Move Reference tool to re-position the reference as required.
   

We now have a sheet view that is ready to print.  If you would like to do this right now, here are the instructions.