Creating a Detail View in AutoCAD

February 21, 2018 Stan Wile

During my last AutoCAD Electrical Tips and Tricks presentation, I was asked how to create an enlarged detail view in AutoCAD.

Here is a quick overview of the process to creating scale detail view. Below is a 1/4 scale viewport in paper space. I drew a circle in model space of my detail circle. It will be deleted later. Once the viewport is properly scaled, create another circle in paper space referencing the circle in model space.
  Detail Circle

I’m assuming you already know how to create viewports and their proper use. If not, here are a few other articles about creating viewports.
http://blogs.rand.com/manufacturing/2015/10/using-revision-clouds-for-autocad-paper-space-viewports.html
http://www.cadalyst.com/cad/autocad/create-speedy-autocad-paper-space-viewports-%E2%80%94-right-way-34524

Copy the circle in paper space and position it where the new circular view port will live. Then scale it properly. I want to go from 1/4  to 1/1 so I scaled the circle up 4 times. Finally I turned the scaled up circle into a viewport. Once the viewport is positioned properly in paper space, Draw the connecting line if needed by snapping to center of the two circles.
VP Opject
Drawing VPs

To center the circular viewport, enter the viewport and then use the ZOOM command with the ‘Object’ option. Select the circle in model space and the viewport will zoom to, and center, around the circle. Now set the viewport scale to the proper scale. It should be pretty close as it is but not exact. After locking the viewport, switch to model space and delete the original circle.
Finished Drawing
 

There you have it. A detail view that is exactly to scale of it’s call-out circle.

About the Author

Stan Wile

Manufacturing Solutions Consultant<br><br>Specializing in manufacturing environments, Stan has implemented Autodesk manufacturing products with several industries including the extrusion, automotive, furniture, and custom machinery markets. He has extensive experience and a comprehensive understanding of the technical, practical business, and human dimensions of implementation. Stan is an Autodesk certified instructor and he provides training, support, and implementation for AutoCAD, Vault, Showcase, Inventor, and iLogic.

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