Creating Arrays, Part 2 – AutoCAD video tutorials for beginners.

Here is part two of our AutoCAD tutorials for beginners on creating arrays. These articles are intended to accompany our AutoCAD video tutorials, per the request of our customers.An array is a collection of geometry; in other 3D CAD modelers, an array is named as a “Circular Pattern” or “Linear Pattern.” In AutoCAD we call these entities Polar Arrays (circular) and Rectangular Arrays (linear). AutoCAD also has the option for a Path array, which many 3d modelers have just introduced, although this has been around in AutoCAD for a while.

In our previous article on arrays in AutoCAD we left off discussing the various options for creating an array. We’d covered the number of items, the angle between the items, the total angular value, and the row spacing. You access these options on the editing fields in the ribbon while the array command is active. You can make your entries numerically, and the array updates immediately in your graphic area. You press the TAB key to navigate from one option to the next.

We can also define the array’s base point. Why is the base point important? Let’s try an experiment. Replace one element of the array with a new object, and to do this, we’ll have to specify the base point for the replacement object. So, if we’ve already defined the base point, our replacement is likely to go along more smoothly.

Another option is to edit the source object of the array. You’ll recall that we started the array with a single geometric entity, and we’re able to change this by editing the source object. Let’s say we’re patterning a circle, and we want to replace that circle with a rectangle. You’d do this with the Edit Source Object option. AutoCAD will confirm if you really, really want to edit the source objects of an associative array.

To conclude editing an array, click on the fly out arrow on Edit Array; here is the option to save the array and exit. This is the easiest and most reliable way to exit the array editing mode.

Above, I’d described creating a circular array. If we want to create a rectangular array, the procedure is somewhat similar. First, create some geometry. I’ll create a large rectangle, and place a small circle in one corner. Now, let’s activate the Rectangular array tool. Our first step is to select the objects to be included in the array. Right-click to indicate that you’re finished the selection. Now we specify the number of rows and columns, as well as the spacing between entities. I can use a grip in the graphic area to specify the number of rows and columns at the same time, or I can enter the values manually in the ribbon, as we did with the polar array above. Remember, tab to register and navigate between fields. We can also enter the number of levels and specify whether or not the array is associative.

To edit an array, you just select it in the drawing area, and all the editing options become available on the ribbon. This concludes the second of our AutoCAD tutorials for beginners about creating and editing arrays in AutoCAD. If you’re interested in working with AutoCAD, please try our AutoCAD video tutorials; you can see several sample AutoCAD video tutorials at our youtube channel, videotutorials2.

Thanks! Rosanna D www.video-tutorials.net

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