Hello!
What’s the best way to create a new hatch pattern, save it as a .pat file, and use it in Rhino or AutoCAD?
I’m not talking about downloading and importing existing patterns, but making your own.
I’m aware that a .pat file is a simple text file with point coordinates, but ‘writing’ one is clumsy, especially when the pattern is complex, or has curves (many line segments) in it.
Googled and found “HatchKit”, but they charge $70. Bit steep…
Also found a (old) lisp script for AutoCAD, “HatchMaker”, but the pattern I created and imported into Rhino was messed up, however.
Patterns do not sound like a big deal, but I find the matter to be surprisingly fiddly.
I would also like to know that.
I made a wish long time ago to have the ability to draw whatever pattern you want, then just save the file as .pat and the hatch pattern done. This is how Microstation works with its hatching.
would be great to have it in near future.
Any Python-coders around?
Should be a fairly simple exercise… just get the lines between 0,0/1,0 and write them to a file.
No bells an whistles needed for now, like displaying pattern repetitions somehow.
I used to write JScript plugins for XSI, but I’m completely unfamiliar with the Rhino SDK. How do you traverse the scene data etc. For some “insider”, it’s a matter of a few hours I’d say.
Wait… maybe this could be done in Grasshopper, too? Pick the lines, write a file…
In the past I’ve just drawn a pattern up in Rhino and then evaluated point positions and written the text file from that. Importing, checking, changing, … in the end it worked out OK.
True, but just for one person.
Why do I not like the idea that everyone with the same (simple) problem has to pay that sum again…? Let’s merge assets… I did so myself (not using XSI anymore now): http://www.keyvis.at/cg-tools/tools-for-softimage/
Writing a script and sharing it for free is it’s own reward.
Best
Eugen
Would be very helpful. Has anybody found a workaround in the meantime? I would like to use such pattern as in illustrator in Rhino for architectural drawings.
I also gave HatchKit a try. It doesn’t seem to work properly, awaiting the reply from the developers.
It shouldn’t be so difficult to implement such a basic drawing function, no?
There’s a very helpful little tool which seems to do the job. It worked for me. You have to join his telegram channel and then download the HatchMaker plugin:
