hatching?

[trang]

I've been try to create a hatch to resemble perforated metal, but I'm not understand how to do this...can anyone explain this process?

[Travis]

Try searching this board for threads regarding Hatch(es). I'd search both the general and the architect boards. I think you'll find quite a bit of information.

Just the reassure you, hatches are NOT easy. Sometimes they're not even straightforward. You might also check out VectorBits and VectorDepot to see if any of the available hatches will do what you need.

Good luck,

[jan15]

If you want to create your own hatches, you can open the hatch editing window by clicking on the word "Hatch..." at the bottom of that list of hatches in the attributes palette. A window will pop up. Click "New" (or select an existing hatch that's similar to what you want) and then click "Duplicate". Then click "Edit", and the Edit Hatch window pops up.

A Hatch consists of one or more "Levels". Each Level consists of an array of identical and equally spaced parallel lines. The lines can be dashed or solid. You make two-dimensional objects by designing the dash patterns of intersecting Levels to meet in just the right places.

The Levels are related to each other by a common Origin.

Each "Level" is defined by:

-- color & lineweight attributes the same as for any line in VW,

-- a DASH FACTOR (1.0 for a solid line)

-- 3 vectors

The 3 vectors are:

1. START POINT vector = angle and distance from the Origin to the start point of a dash. For a simple one-Level Hatch, or a two-Level cross-hatch, this vector can be set to 0,0.

2. REPEAT vector = angle of the line itself, and distance along the line itself from the start of a dash to the start of the next dash. DASH FACTOR is applied to REPEAT distance, so the length of a dash = DASH FACTOR x REPEAT. For a solid line, DASH FACTOR and REPEAT distance can both be set to 1.

3. OFFSET vector = angle and distance from any point on a line to the equivalent point on the next parallel line. For simple hatches, OFFSET angle = REPEAT angle + 90 degrees, in which case OFFSET distance has the same meaning as in the Offset tool.

The linear distances of the vectors can be:

-- WORLD = "to scale" (for example, brick coursing or ceiling grid)

-- PAGE = relative to print-out size (for example, shading or poche).

A Hatch can be either background-filled (any color) or not.

For simple one- or two-Level Hatches, it's easy to fill in numbers and see what it looks like, changing the numbers until it looks right.

For a complicated multi-Level Hatch, I usually draw (in VectorWorks) a small sample of the pattern I want, making each Level a different color for easy identification. I don't use dashed lines, but actually draw a dash and then repeat it a few times, so that I can later snap to the ends of the dashes. Then I draw X and Y axes, and for each Level I draw a thick polyline representing the 3 vectors. Then I print that out, and write the angle and distance of each vector next to it.