About Non-Associative Hatches (AutoCAD Mechanical Toolset)

Use AMUSERHATCH to insert predefined, user-defined, or custom, non-associative hatches into object areas. With this command, you can also modify the properties of a selected hatch before inserting it into an object area. When you use the AMUSERHATCH command, the Hatch dialog box appears, enabling you to do the following:

• Set the angle of hatch lines.
• Set the spacing between hatch lines.
• Specify the minimum number of hatch lines to draw when hatching small areas. (You can set the minimum number of lines in the configuration).
• Shift hatch lines in an area in relation to the hatch lines in an adjacent area.
• Calculate the new boundaries of an area when editing a hatch.

Shifting Hatch Lines

In a hatch created with AMUSERHATCH, you can shift the hatch lines in one area in relation to the hatch lines in an adjacent area. This functionality is useful when the program hatches two adjacent areas with the same hatch pattern.

To shift hatch lines:

1. Select the hatch to define it as a reference for the offset.
2. Specify an offset before applying the hatch to the adjacent area.
3. Specify an offset factor or an offset value, depending on the type of hatch pattern you selected. You must specify an offset factor for a user-defined hatch and an offset value for a predefined hatch.

Offset factor

The factor you specify defines the offset in the X direction of the UCS . For example, 0.5 shifts the hatch lines by a distance equal to half the width between the hatch lines.

Offset value

The program defines points where the hatch lines intersect with the contour boundaries by using the AutoCAD drawing variable SNAPBASE (2D-Point) and the offset specified in the hatch definition. The offset in the hatch definition usually has the coordinate (0,0) so that the hatch passes through the point SNAPBASE defines.

The offset value is specified by entering a coordinate point, in the form of X, Y, in the Offset button in the Hatch dialog box. You can enter this value without using a decimal point; for example, instead of entering 10.0, enter 10. The program recognizes that the value in the Y direction is zero. SNAPBASE and the value you specify for the offset determine the point through which the hatch passes.