Poly line to wall?

[CSDBuildingLLc]

Good Morning,

      I've got a couple of questions regarding poly lines and curved walls.  The first is can you create a poly line arch/curve and convert it to a interior/exterior wall?  I was having trouble with the interior curved wall function (trying to get it to snap and radius the way I wanted.  I've still had a bit of trouble with the ploy line but got the radius within hairs of what the original plan is.  I've included the original plan I'm working off of and the present drawing I've done.  I appreciate any and all advice.  I'm new to Chief Talk.  I've owned CA for a few years but have just recently started to put in the time and effort to learn the program better (including going to Denver training).  

 

Thanks,

Chris DeMarce

[JLDrafting]

Just an attempt. I didn't try to start with a polyline. I did a curved railing (I didn't see a curved wall option) which gave me a radius that I could specify. Changed the wall type to interior 4 and unchecked railing. May not be the best way.

[SNestor]

14 minutes ago, JLDrafting said:

Just an attempt. I didn't try to start with a polyline. I did a curved railing (I didn't see a curved wall option) which gave me a radius that I could specify. Changed the wall type to interior 4 and unchecked railing. May not be the best way.

 

Any wall can be curved in a click or two...see pic below.  Draw a wall, select the wall, click the "curve" wall button on the bottom bar.  Done.  Shape the curve as needed or open the DBX and specify the exact radius.  Select lock ends...or lock center.

 

 

[Kbird1]

There is a whole Menu for curved walls too , I don't use them often but have found a CAD arc or circle works well for snapping too if needed.

 

[Dermot]

"...can you create a poly line arch/curve and convert it to a interior/exterior wall?" - Yes, using the cad to walls tool but I'm not sure it's actually going to be easier.  There are a lot of special rules you need to follow in order to get the cad to walls tool to produce the results you want.

 

There are some other things that might be of more help though.  If you open the wall specification dialog, there is a setting for the exact radius if you know what you want it to be.  You can also turn on the display of Arc Centers to make sure the center of the arc is located where you want it.  You may be able to snap the wall ends to your cad lines and then set your arc radius to what you want to get the wall arc to match your cad arc.  Another thing that could be useful is that you can use the Arc Creation Modes for walls as well as cad lines.  These tools are often overlooked and can be very helpful when working with arcs.  Personally, I find the free form arc tool that is the default is usually the least helpful if you need a very specific arc.  And, as Steve pointed out, you can turn any straight wall into an arc by using the Change Line/Arc edit tool.  One more thing that can help is simply drawing a straight wall and turning it into a curve by holding down the alt while you are dragging one of the end handles.  Most of these tools work for walls, cad lines, stairs, and even some other objects.

 

"I didn't see a curved wall option" - If you look under the Build->Wall menu there are a number of curved wall options.  There is also a toolbar family with the curved wall tools in it (as shown in Mick's picture above). 

 

More information about drawing curved walls and arcs can be found in the reference manual and in the training videos.