Line Thickness command problem

[Haberberger]

HI, I'm trying to follow a tutorial that basically is having me draw a 3D L-bracket. I start by outlining an 'L' shape. Then the tutorial says to do the following:

 

1. chprop

2. select all 6 sides of the 'L'

3. t (to select line thickness)

4. 175 mm

 

So, this is all fine and dandy, it's not rocket science. For some reason, though, some of the lines on my 'L' are extending in the +Z direction and some are extending in a different direction (could be X or Y, it does the same thing if I change the direction). So the resulting shape is definitely not an 'L' bracket. Can anyone tell me why don't all the lines extend in the same direction?

 

Thanks,

Dan

[skipsophrenic]

What's your UCS set to?

[Haberberger]

This effect seems to be independent of the direction of the UCS. I've attached a jpeg for more details. Here I have four pictures. The first is my original L shaped object. The following three is the result from a chprop / select all objects / line thickness / 150. As you can see, each of the three pictures has a different UCS but the result is the same. I don't understand why this is happening....any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ReMark]

Thickness is being applied in the direction of "Z". You've got to be careful with the orientation in which an object is drawn and the direction in which thickness is applied. Did you change the orientation of your UCS between the time you drew the object and the time you applied a thickness to it?

 

Was it your intention ultimately to be able to see down inside the "L"? I ask because that's the effect you'll get when thickness is used. If you wanted a solid then extrude or press/pull would be a better option.

[ReMark]

Oops. I see you are using 2000. Press/pull is NOT an option available to you unless you upgraded to 2007 or higher.

[Haberberger]

ReMark, I definitely changed the UCS orientation between drawing the object and adding thickness. However, it's just six lines, I thought that when a thickness is added, it doesn't matter what the UCS was when the object was drawn, only what it currently is, and all lines will extend into the Z direction. I am a very beginner, though, this understanding may be flawed. As for the goal of this to be a solid or "look down the L", I don't know, I'm just following tutorial directions. I haven't even reached the point where a wire framed figure begins to have "solid" walls that you can't see through. I really want to understand this line thickness function, though, as it seems like it will be very important in adding a third dimension to my drawings.

[ReMark]

There's no harm in learning about thickness. Think of it as a progression of sorts. It has a purpose and that's all that matters.

 

I have not used thickness in quite some time but I would think that the orientation of your UCS should be the same when drawing and adding thickness otherwise you may end up with unexpected results.

 

You're aware that there is a "thickness" setting aren't you? The default setting is "0". Thus, you can preset you line thickness before actually drawing an object. Thus, when you change your UCS (example - SE isometric view) you'll see the results immediately.

[ReMark]

Thickness vs Extrude.dwg

 

The black box on the left was constructed with lines that were then given "thickness". The red box on the right was constructed with the polyline command (thus it is a single entity) and subsequently extruded. Just to show you the difference between the two commands and the appearance of the object. Both boxes are the exact same size.

[Haberberger]

ReMark, I found out it was a UCS problem. I tried starting all over and keeping the UCS constant while drawing the 'L' and applying a line thickness. This resulted in what I wanted, basically an L-bracket shape. I'm still confused, though, as I don't see why the UCS setting DURING the drawing of the lines should affect the line thickness command. I would think only the UCS setting during the line thickness command should matter. Anyways, thanks for the advice.

[ReMark]

The line you're drawing will have thickness applied to it depending on the direction of the Z axis at the time the line is drawn. If you drew four lines and changed the location of the Z axis each time, when you applied thickness the lines would go in four different directions.

 

And...you're welcomed.