Editor’s Note: Welcome to Cadalyst's blog series by Patrick Hughes, A CAD Dinosaur's Journey into Modern Times.” In this three-month series, Hughes chronicles his transition from AutoCAD R14 to v2015 and from an outdated PC to a state-of-the-art professional workstation. Follow along and enjoy!

As I continue my quest to conquer AutoCAD 2015 and become a thoroughly modern Dinosaur, onto the scene comes AutoCAD 2016. I must leave its study and review to more capable AutoCAD experts, of which there are many. As it is, my tiny arms are full at the moment and I’m having too much fun with AutoCAD 2015.

I am amazed that I can use these new features as I learn them, including commands that I've used before somewhat infrequently. For example, I was able to put the Array command (new in AutoCAD 2012) to good use on a current project.

I’ve used the polar array, so I'm familiar with its associative capabilities. However, I've only adjusted the number of items or modified a bolt circle diameter. After I played around with some of the other adjustments, I realized that it is a powerful tool.

While designing a small machine for a client, one of the components was a good candidate to have multiple pieces cut from a sheet of insulating millboard using a water jet. After researching a supplier, I found stock that measured 39" square. After arranging a simple nesting pattern, I created my rectangular array. In no time, I laid out an array of 6 rows and 5 columns for a count of 30 items. Looking at the array I realized there was plenty of stock remaining that could be put to good use.

As I scanned the ribbon (which conveniently pops into contextual view after selecting the array), my tiny Dino eyes noticed the Edit Source and the Replace Item buttons. Well, that looked interesting.

I quickly rearranged my part geometry, creating a slightly different nesting pattern of the part and then clicked Replace Item. It prompted me to select an item to replace, and voilà! Because the original array was formed with the two nested items, I continued to select the other array elements. By picking an arrowed grip, I easily added an additional column and in short order my new array updated. Plus, my part count was increased to 36 items.

After my update, I saw that the overall height and width slightly exceeded the stock size. I knew that a small reduction in the part geometry wouldn't hurt the part function, so I quickly updated the geometry, ran one more Replace Item sequence, and my Dino toothy grin started to make my scaley face ache.

This tool is great. The outer square grip on the top right lets you quickly add rows and columns as you drag it to a new location or the outer arrowed grips provide individual rows or column additions. The inner arrowed grips adjust the column or row spacing. This all happens while you receive instant visual feedback during the grip dragging.

I can see that I’m going to have to come up with an excuse to make more arrays.

Rawrrr!

In closing, adding associative arrays to my repertoire really adds value to the work I produce. Additionally, my customer reaps the benefit, as in this case where the part count goes from 30 to 36 pieces — a 20% higher yield. It's likely that I would have optimized the nesting to gain the same higher yield, but it would have taken me a lot longer.

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About the author: Patrick Hughes, machine designer and owner of Engineered Design Solutions in Rockford, Illinois, has worked with AutoCAD since 1991. He has developed a number of AutoLISP and other software solutions to automate his workflow and increase productivity, including the commercially available time tracking program, CadTempo.