By allowing you to customize and save your stan-dard and parts library configurations, the various template types help you to optimize your workflows. Drawing templates can save you time not only in creating new drawings, but also in the standardiza-tion of existing drawings such as those from 3rd parties. Screw connection templates leverage your existing design data, allowing you to standardize on common components used within your designs. Read on to learn a few tricks with templates that will allow you to re-use your work from yesterday to boost your productivity today.

Another Use for Drawing TemplatesTemplates; the last time I mentioned this word in front of a bunch of users, I got a mixed reaction – everything from nodding heads and smiles to blank looks. Thankfully, those blank looks quickly became “Ah! So that’s how it’s done!” looks, as soon as they saw a template used to update an existing drawing’s standard.

That’s right, AutoCAD Mechanical templates – they’re not just for new drawing creation anymore! Templates can also be used in conjunction with AMSETUPDWG to update standard settings within existing drawings; those created by contractors, for example.

When AMSETUPDWG is typed on the command line, the first thing you’ll see is a warning message telling you that the operation cannot be undone. Once that’s understood, on the command line, enter your template’s filename including its path. Here’s the trick! Enter the tilda (~) symbol to display the Select template drawing dialog box; saves typing it. You’ll then get the option to update layer/object settings. I’ll leave this up to you, but I normally take the default. And that’s it; your current drawing’s standard, its welding library, and a number of system variables have all been updated according to the settings in your template.

See how quickly AutoCAD

Mechanical can improve your

productivity with a tip from

Andrew de Leon, AutoCAD

Mechanical Product

Designer .

AutoCAD Mechanical Tips & Tricks

Optimize Workflows with AutoCAD® Mechanical TemplatesUsers of AutoCAD® Mechanical are often familiar with its most popular features, such as comprehensive parts libraries or automatic machinery generators. But relatively few users take full advantage of the time-saving power of templates, one of the application’s hidden gems.

Tip: Setting the EXPERT system variable to 5 (0 by default) removes AMSETUPDWG’s warning message and a number of others for that matter. This helps if you want to automate AMSETUPDWG using a macro.

Based on the changes, some existing symbols will update automatically. However, some may not, as your template’s settings may add or remove options, or even change the revision used by these symbols. Where this is the case, the existing symbol will be retained until edited. Once edited, the updated settings are made available and the symbol gets updated based on your input.

Default Standards Template So, as you can see, templates come in handy even if the drawing already exists. But what about drawings that weren’t created in AutoCAD Mechanical? Users can also add standards to Non-Mechanical drawings (for example, those created in basic AutoCAD®) with another simple trick.

Located on the AM:Standards tab, within Options, is the Default Standards Template setting. By default, its value is none. Therefore, when a non-Mechanical drawing is opened, AutoCAD Mechanical checks the MEASUREMENT system variable and loads either the ANSI or ISO standard based on its value.

AutoCAD Mechanical Tips & Tricks

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To override this behavior and load your custom standard from the drawing template you use every day, simply open your drawing template and enter its filename (including its path) to the Default Standards Template setting. Then, save and close your template. Clicking the Browse... button makes this a little easier.

Once configured, whenever you open a non-Mechanical drawing, AutoCAD Mechanical will load the active standard from the drawing template entered; your custom standard from your drawing template. That’s all there is to it. You don’t have to do anything extra to the drawing’s standard. All symbols, layers, the BOM, parts list, and balloons will be automatically setup and ready to go!

Screw Connection Templates Let’s face it, where would we be without screw connections in not only mechanical engineering, but in engineering in general? And because screw connections are so widely used, AutoCAD Mechanical has a Screw Connection wizard. It allows you to select a screw (or bolt), 2 washers, 2 holes (1 for each plate), another 2 washers, a nut, a lock nut and even a cotter pin if you select the right bolt and then place it using the correct representation. But how many of you know that you can save your screw connection selections as templates and then simply load the template next time you need it?

To create a screw connection template, make the screw connection selection like you normally would (using the Screw Connection wizard), or if you have an existing connection, use AMPOWERRECALL to retrieve the selection. However, instead of clicking Next, click the Back button. The wizard goes back one step and displays a list of the sample templates along with their selection. Click the Save button in the bottom right corner to save your selection as a new template. Once saved, it can be renamed by right clicking it in the list and selecting Rename from the context menu.

To load a screw connection template, use AMSCREWMACRO2D and simply double click on the template you need to use. The selection is loaded into the selection step of the wizard and all you need to do is select the right size, its placement within the design and the representation (normal, hidden (with lines), hidden (no lines) or sectional).

For all the advanced users out there who want to know where the screw connection templates are stored, they are stored in the AMSCT.GDB text file located in the Acadm\Gef\Gdb\ subfolder. For AutoCAD Mechanical 2008, and on my computer, this is the full location - C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Acadm 2008\Acadm\Gef\Gdb\amsct.gdb. By having your screw connection templates stored in a separate file, they (the file) can be distributed throughout your company ensuring consistency across designs.

Wrap-upAutoCAD Mechanical software is AutoCAD for manufacturing, purpose-built to accelerate the mechanical design process. Its comprehensive libraries of standards-based parts and tools for automating common design tasks offer significant productivity gains over basic AutoCAD software. Now, using the power of templates, you can compound those productivity gains and maximize the return on your design efforts.