Continuing with my “Transitioning from 2D to 3D AutoCAD Drawings” series, I want to copy the current duct to multiple locations and then edit the length and diameter accordingly. Of course, I could draw a new cylinder, repeating the process from my previous post. Or, I could create the ductwork using other methods such as extruding a circle along a path. However, I think copying and editing the cylinders is the most efficient. In older versions of AutoCAD (prior to AutoCAD 2006), editing existing objects was much more difficult and I wouldn’t have even considered this method.
- Select the cylinder
- Right-click and choose Copy Selection.
- Pick the Center of the end of the column to specify the base point.
- Pick the midpoints of each of the ends of the 2D ducts.
- Select a cylinder and then select the length grip.
- Select the midpoint of the end of the intersecting duct to ensure the cylinder stretches to the middle of the duct.
- Continue editing the existing cylinders by stretching the length or diameter as necessary.
You can easily create all the ducts that have the same orientation by repeating this process of copy/grip-edit.
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