C-Clamp Bottom Bolt

[Joey Reynolds]

I am having trouble getting a bottom bolt to show correctly when adding a C-Clamp using the Lighting Accessory Tool in 2021. It seems that everything with the record containing Base is always attached to the light above the Yoke - although traditionally, there would always be a bolt below the yoke that screws into the C-Clamp. Anyone have any clue how to create an C-Clamp Lighting Accessory that has a bolt below?

 

[JBenghiat]

Technically, you can add a sample lighting device to the symbol definition for the clamp, which defines a user-specified spatial relationship.

 

But I would just add the bottom bolt to the yoke (when would you not have a bolt or nut?), which will let you place any hanging hardware and have the vertical offset calculate from its bounding cube.

 

Or just leave off the bottom bolt. Unless you're creating an engineering drawing, is that level of detail and the associated rendering time really necessary? Especially when you're not showing the yoke bolts, gel slot, screws...

[Pat Stanford]

Are you doing marketing drawings for the lamp or the clamp? Will the lamp be the only thing or the primary element in a drawing at 1:4 or larger scale?

 

If not, you are the ONLY person who will ever realize that there is not a bolt/nut there.

 

The model is for communicating the intent. It is not a replication of reality.

 

IMNSHO don't draw that doesn't matter.

[scottmoore]

I would agree with the above.  When thinking in terms of processing time, keeping things as simple as possible while generating the information you need to communicate the intent is paramount.  Things like threads on bolts, nuts, screws and other fasteners will slow down processes.  Depending on what elements are visible in 2D, you can even slow down standard plan views.  Case in point, my personal truss symbols include simple (a rectangle in 2D, an extruded rectangle in 3D), standard (detailed 2D and square tube 3D) and detailed (detailed 2D and round tube 3D) class options.  I only ever use the round tubing in scenarios where the truss is fairly close to a renderworks camera or if I need to show a close up detail of how fixtures and accessories mount to a truss.  Otherwise, square tubing works just fine and is MUCH faster.  

 

That said, if there are nuts included, it would be nice to have those line up correctly.  

[RickR]

For all that I agree with the 'why bother comments, this is one more example of VW creating confusion in a relatively simple situation.