How Do You Separate Hatches in AutoCAD?

by

If you are an AutoCAD user, you may have come across situations where you needed to separate hatches in your drawing. Separating hatches can be a useful technique when you want to modify or edit specific areas of your design. In this tutorial, we will explore different methods to achieve this in AutoCAD.

Method 1: Exploding the Hatch

One of the simplest ways to separate a hatch is by exploding it. This method converts the hatch into individual lines and arcs, allowing you to modify each element separately. To explode a hatch, follow these steps:

  1. Select the hatch that you want to separate.
  2. Right-click on the hatch and choose “Explode” from the context menu.
  3. The hatch will now be exploded into its constituent elements.

Note that once a hatch is exploded, it loses its associative properties with the boundary object.

Method 2: Using Boundary Hatch

Another method to separate hatches is by using the Boundary Hatch command. This command allows you to create individual hatches within a larger one based on boundaries or regions. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Select the entire hatch that you want to separate.
  2. Type “BOUNDARYHATCH” in the command line and press Enter.
  3. In the “Boundary Hatch Creation” dialog box, choose “Pick Points” as the boundary type.
  4. Select all the points that define each individual area within the larger hatch.
  5. Press Enter when finished selecting points.

AutoCAD will create separate hatches for each defined area within the original one.

Method 3: Trim and Extend

The Trim and Extend commands can also be used to separate hatches. This method is useful when you have overlapping hatches that need to be separated. Here’s how it works:

  1. Select the hatch that you want to separate.
  2. Type “TRIM” or “EXTEND” in the command line and press Enter.
  3. Select the cutting or boundary edges that you want to use for separation.
  4. Press Enter when finished selecting edges.

AutoCAD will trim or extend the selected hatch based on the cutting or boundary edges, effectively separating them.

Method 4: Using Express Tools

AutoCAD provides a set of Express Tools that can simplify various tasks, including separating hatches. One such tool is called “Hatch Trim,” which allows you to trim hatches using existing objects as boundaries. To use this tool:

  1. Type “HATCHTRIM” in the command line and press Enter.
  2. Select the hatch that you want to separate.
  3. Select the boundary objects that will be used for trimming.
  4. Press Enter when finished selecting boundaries.

The selected hatch will be trimmed based on the boundaries, resulting in separated hatches.

Conclusion

Separating hatches in AutoCAD can be done using various methods, such as exploding, using boundary hatch, trim and extend commands, and utilizing express tools like Hatch Trim. Each method has its own advantages depending on your specific requirements.

Remember to save a backup of your drawing before attempting any modifications to ensure that you can revert back if necessary. Experiment with these techniques and find what works best for your design workflow.

Happy drafting!