Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
A
user-deined
hatch pattern makes a hatch pattern out of parallel lines. Use this option
to create a simple pattern and specify the space between the lines in paper units for an-
notative hatches or drawing units for non-annotative hatches. For example, you can
hatch a wall in a building plan with an annotative user-defined pattern and specify that
the hatch lines be 1/8" apart.
After you choose User Defined from the Type drop-down list in the Hatch and Gradient
dialog box, you specify the angle and spacing of the lines. You can select the Double
check box to achieve a
crosshatching effect
(two perpendicular sets of hatching lines).
User-defined patterns require that you enter an angle and spacing, not angle
and scale.
Getting it right: Hatch angle and scale
Predefined and custom hatch patterns require that you enter the angle and scale for
AutoCAD to generate the hatching. Usually, you won't have any trouble deciding on an
appropriate angle, but a suitable scale can be tricky. Because (with a few exceptions)
AutoCAD's hatch patterns don't represent real objects, you don't have to be that precise
about scaling them — you can just make them look good. But where do you start?
The answer to that question depends on whether you're using AutoCAD's annotative
hatching or the old-style, non-annotative hatching. If you're an up-to-the-minute CAD gal
or guy, check out the next section, “Hatching for the 21st century.” For non-annotative
hatching, you need to calculate the hatch scale based on the drawing scale factor, as de-
scribed in Chapter 4. As a general rule, hatch patterns look best at somewhere between
one-half and three-quarters of the drawing scale factor. For example, the EARTH pattern
(in the Other Predefined tab of the Hatch Pattern Palette, as shown in Figure 15-5 and as
used in an actual drawing back in Figure 15-1) looks pretty good in a full-scale (1 = 1)
drawing with a hatch scale of 0.75. If you're adding EARTH pattern hatching to a 1" =
1'-0" detail (drawing scale factor equals 12), try using a hatch scale of 0.75
×
12, or 9.0.
Using a consistent multiplier like 0.5 or 0.75 applied to the drawing scale factor ensures
that hatching looks consistent (that the spaces between the lines are the same) at all
scales when you plot.
