Equipment layout

[markwise]

I do 3D equipment layouts on floors that are concrete and slope in different directions to drains. Is there a smart way of putting a piece of equipment that has legs on the floor knowing that one leg has hit the floor as though it was real concrete and it could not go any further down?

[jaberwok]

I've done similar in the past - tracking vehicles across 3d terrain models (and shooting at them with virtual missiles :-) ) but in was all done in a virtual-world built with software whose name I forget.
Otherwise it's just ( just! ) a matter of viewing from front and side and constructing lines across the surfaces. :-(

[Does A2008/9 allow a surface to trim a line?]

[dzatto]

Are you using vanilla cad or a vertical?

[markwise]

Autocad 9. Is it time to move up.

[dzatto]

Autocad 9. Is it time to move up.
:?: As in release 9? Yeah, I'd say it's time to move up!

[markwise]

Autocad 2009

[jaberwok]

A thought - make the floors into solids (if they aren't already). Position an item of equipment by eye. Run the INTERSECTION command on the equipment (just the foot/feet if they are separate objects) and the floor. See what is left behind. If nothing is left behind then the feet are not touching the floor. If a solid IS left behind then you can measure it. The SUBTRACT command would work too. Don't save this, of course.

[markwise]

I made all floor slabs solids and each floor slab on a different layer. Now I can turn off slabs that I don't need and take an end view and see or measure the gap under the equipment to the floor. Looks more professional now. :)

[jaberwok]

Sounds good and will make the other idea less compute-intensive.

[markwise]

A follow up question.

Now I have large items that make it hard to see behind them. i.e. Silos. Can these items me made transparent?

[jaberwok]

In A2009 - yes.
Look up "visual styles; customizing" in Help.

Edit: it took 5 minutes to read Help and create this style.