Autodesk 00128-051462-9310 - AUTOCAD 2008 COMM UPG FRM 2005 DVD, User Manual

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Using Boolean Operations to Create a Mass Group
You can combine the shapes of mass elements in the mass group—adding, subtracting, and intersecting them in a
specific order.
■
An additive operation combines the total volume of two or more solids or two or more regions into a composite
object.
■
A subtractive operation removes the common area of one set of solids from another.
■
An intersection removes non-overlapping portions and creates a composite solid from the common volume.
You can attach any closed, solid shape to a mass group. For example, a line has no solid properties and cannot be added
to the shape of the mass group. However, an AutoCAD 3D solid does contribute to the final shape.
You can also create and work with mass groups in the Model Explorer. For more information, see “ Using the Model
Explorer to Create Mass Models ” on page 623.
To further refine the building model, you can edit individual mass elements that are attached to a mass group.
Materials in Mass Groups
In AutoCAD Architecture, you can assign materials to a mass group. These materials are displayed in wireframe or
rendered views. Materials have specific settings for individual components of a mass group.
Mass groups with assigned materials in rendered view
AutoCAD Architecture provides predefined materials for common design purposes, which contain settings for mass
groups. You can use these predefined materials, or modify them to your special designs. You can also create your own
materials.
For more information, see “ Using Materials for Mass Elements and Mass Groups ” on page 621.
1 Open the tool palette that you want to use, and select a mass group tool.
If necessary, scroll to display the tool that you want to use.
2 Select the elements to attach to the group, and press
ENTER
.
3 Specify the insertion point of the mass group.
You can move or hide the Properties palette to expose more of the drawing area.
Assigning Materials to a Mass Group
Use this procedure to assign materials to the individual components of a mass group.
1 Select the mass group to which you want to assign materials, right-click, and click Edit Object Display.
2 To verify that the material assignment determines the display properties of the component, click the Display
Properties tab, select the display representation where you want the changes to appear, and click .
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