Newer to AutoCAD...have questions regarding line weights. I was asked to use only 3 different line weights--thickest, medium, and thin--depending on what I'm detailing. How do I know what mm is "thickest", what mm is "medium", and so on? Is there a standard that everyone goes by...say .15mm for thickest, .09mm for medium, and .09mm for thin? If so, what should mm should I use for each one? Or is this just something that depends on the preference set by the firm you're working for?
Thank you. I understand what the article says, but it still doesn't answer my question. Maybe I'm confusing a few different things, but I know that you have to assign the different line weights in the "by layer" menu for each. My question is, what should the mm be if the layer needs to be shown as a "thick" line...is it .15? .30? Similarily, if I'm showing a, say, window line that I need to be represented as "thin"...what mm should I set in the "by layer" for that layer? .05mm?
Sorry if I'm not asking this right...hope I'm making sense. Maybe I am confusing a few different things. Not sure.
Wood Guy
Jun 27, 16 11:54 am
This is what I use. I assign colors to the different weights. Instead of changing the line weight for each layer, I just assign a color to the layer (but have it print as black).
Thin (red): 0.15mm
Medium (yellow): 0.25mm
Thick (green): 0.35mm
I also use extra-thin (color #11): 0.09mm
and extra-thick (cyan): 0.45mm
Different printers and plotters will show the line weights differently, so you may need to make adjustments.
tduds
Jun 27, 16 12:22 pm
Well the thick line should be heavier than the medium, which in turn should be heavier than thin.
Snark aside, it doesn't matter as long as its readable. Use your best judgment, it'll depend on the scale you're printing, the size of paper, the level of detail of whatever you're drawing. There isn't one right answer for this question.
Get comfortable making these decisions now, it'll save you a lot of frustrated bosses in the future.
I find the rule of thumb to follow is clarity in a drawing copied to half-size at Kinko's; though with the technology today most thinner lines and grays work.
Some of it is office preference, but the general idea is minimizing confusion on drawings.
thisisnotmyname
Sep 6, 17 11:28 am
+1. National Cad Standard is very helpful and is pretty well thought out.
proto
Jun 27, 16 4:22 pm
a long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, people used pens
those pens came in various widths
tduds
Jun 27, 16 4:38 pm
I still use pens, who doesn't use pens anymore?
mightyaa
Jun 27, 16 4:49 pm
lol.. or mechanical pencils are the same.
Thin is your "double aught" (00 or .03mm) or sometimes that 0.25mm if we're talking pencils
Medium would be the standard pencil 0.5mm
Thick would be normally a 0.75mm pencil (or #3 pen, 0.8mm)
Miles Jaffe
Sep 6, 17 9:06 am
a.k.a. 2H, HB, and 2B.
JLC-1
Jun 27, 16 4:55 pm
loved those ground lines with the 2.0 mm, and how fast you had to raise the pen to avoid the blot.
gruen
Jun 28, 16 7:33 am
Op needs to read up on why to use different line weights. This is architectural drafting 101. Op understands concept of thickness but not why to use. Op should read frank Ching.
shlokakhandelwal
Sep 5, 17 11:49 pm
what should the line weight for the indication of steel be?
randomised
Sep 6, 17 1:39 am
As thin as possible on the largest scale and even thinner when zooming in since steel is just decorative in today's building industry with its loadbearing moldings and structural gypsum
joseffischer
Sep 6, 17 3:44 pm
I appreciated all the banter and also the actual information provided, which should send the OP on his way... except for one small detail that I always have a pet peeve about.
If the OP is working with anyone outside of school or starting your own office, the correct answer should be 'the office standard'. If your office doesn't have a standard, this should be brought up pretty quickly, though I'm sure copying details from a previous project for editing will provide you with the 'hidden' standard of the office. If your office has multiple standards (like mine)... I'm sorry, and get ready to switch line-weights and/or have plot templates set up for different principals in the office.
LightMyFire66
Sep 7, 17 2:42 pm
What about using the OOTB (Out-Of-The-Box) " AIA Standard.ctb " CTB file which should automatically be listed when you start any drawing, type PLOT ... the Plot dialog box starts..... upper right corner .....
" Plot style table (pen assignments) "
Click the pull-down arrow and select it. Click No or Yes at the pop-up, then click the tool button to the right. Scroll down the " Plot Style Editor " to get an idea of what line thicknesses are standard. Using that CTB file is pretty much universal. I do NOT suggest modifying the standard (OOTB) ones though.
Just realized this post seems to be over a year old. blah.
Hello
Newer to AutoCAD...have questions regarding line weights. I was asked to use only 3 different line weights--thickest, medium, and thin--depending on what I'm detailing. How do I know what mm is "thickest", what mm is "medium", and so on? Is there a standard that everyone goes by...say .15mm for thickest, .09mm for medium, and .09mm for thin? If so, what should mm should I use for each one? Or is this just something that depends on the preference set by the firm you're working for?
Thank you in advance.
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/AutoCAD-Core/files/GUID-4B33ACD3-F6DD-4CB5-8C55-D6D0D7130905-htm.html
Thank you. I understand what the article says, but it still doesn't answer my question. Maybe I'm confusing a few different things, but I know that you have to assign the different line weights in the "by layer" menu for each. My question is, what should the mm be if the layer needs to be shown as a "thick" line...is it .15? .30? Similarily, if I'm showing a, say, window line that I need to be represented as "thin"...what mm should I set in the "by layer" for that layer? .05mm?
Sorry if I'm not asking this right...hope I'm making sense. Maybe I am confusing a few different things. Not sure.
This is what I use. I assign colors to the different weights. Instead of changing the line weight for each layer, I just assign a color to the layer (but have it print as black).
Thin (red): 0.15mm
Medium (yellow): 0.25mm
Thick (green): 0.35mm
I also use extra-thin (color #11): 0.09mm
and extra-thick (cyan): 0.45mm
Different printers and plotters will show the line weights differently, so you may need to make adjustments.
Well the thick line should be heavier than the medium, which in turn should be heavier than thin.
Snark aside, it doesn't matter as long as its readable. Use your best judgment, it'll depend on the scale you're printing, the size of paper, the level of detail of whatever you're drawing. There isn't one right answer for this question.
Get comfortable making these decisions now, it'll save you a lot of frustrated bosses in the future.
I found this to be a decent starting point:
https://www.nationalcadstandard.org/ncs6/pdfs/ncs6_pg.pdf
I find the rule of thumb to follow is clarity in a drawing copied to half-size at Kinko's; though with the technology today most thinner lines and grays work.
Some of it is office preference, but the general idea is minimizing confusion on drawings.
+1. National Cad Standard is very helpful and is pretty well thought out.
a long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, people used pens
those pens came in various widths
I still use pens, who doesn't use pens anymore?
lol.. or mechanical pencils are the same.
Thin is your "double aught" (00 or .03mm) or sometimes that 0.25mm if we're talking pencils
Medium would be the standard pencil 0.5mm
Thick would be normally a 0.75mm pencil (or #3 pen, 0.8mm)
a.k.a. 2H, HB, and 2B.
loved those ground lines with the 2.0 mm, and how fast you had to raise the pen to avoid the blot.
Op needs to read up on why to use different line weights. This is architectural drafting 101. Op understands concept of thickness but not why to use. Op should read frank Ching.
what should the line weight for the indication of steel be?
As thin as possible on the largest scale and even thinner when zooming in since steel is just decorative in today's building industry with its loadbearing moldings and structural gypsum
I appreciated all the banter and also the actual information provided, which should send the OP on his way... except for one small detail that I always have a pet peeve about.
If the OP is working with anyone outside of school or starting your own office, the correct answer should be 'the office standard'. If your office doesn't have a standard, this should be brought up pretty quickly, though I'm sure copying details from a previous project for editing will provide you with the 'hidden' standard of the office. If your office has multiple standards (like mine)... I'm sorry, and get ready to switch line-weights and/or have plot templates set up for different principals in the office.
What about using the OOTB (Out-Of-The-Box) " AIA Standard.ctb " CTB file which should automatically be listed when you start any drawing, type PLOT ... the Plot dialog box starts..... upper right corner .....
" Plot style table (pen assignments) "
Click the pull-down arrow and select it. Click No or Yes at the pop-up, then click the tool button to the right. Scroll down the " Plot Style Editor " to get an idea of what line thicknesses are standard. Using that CTB file is pretty much universal. I do NOT suggest modifying the standard (OOTB) ones though.
Just realized this post seems to be over a year old. blah.