Tag: Rotate

Autodesk Fabrication Attacher Tips

10 Feb 2020 Darren Young

CADmep, ESTmep and CAMduct all use the concept of an Attacher. This is what tells Fabrication which way to route elbows and branches.

Most people know how to place and rotate the Attacher. There are a few other tricks to working with the Attacher that you may not know about.

Up or Down, How to Get Around

Depending on your view orientation, you may notice part of the Attacher turns from Red to Blue or Green. As you rotate the Attacher it’s color will change to indicate the direction the arrow is pointing.

  • Green = Grass (Attacher is pointing away from you)
  • Blue = Sky (Attacher is pointing toward you)

Rotation Tricks

Depending oh which program you’re in (CADmep, ESTmep or CAMduct) and the keys you press, the Attacher rotates differently. Here’s a chart explaining those nuances.

RotationMethodCADmepESTmepCAMduct
90 Degrees CCWClickYesYesYes
90 Degrees CWShift+ClickNoYesYes
180 Degrees (Flip)Ctrl+ClickYesYesYes
15 Degrees CCWAlt+ClickYesNoNo
CADmep – Click Attacher to Rotate Counter Clockwise 90 Degrees
CADmep – Ctrl+Click Attacher to Rotate 180 Degrees (Flip)
CADmep – Alt+Click Attacher yo Rotate Counter Clockwise 15 Degrees
ESTmep / CAMduct – Click Attacher to Rotate Counter Clockwise 90 Degrees
ESTmep / CAMduct – Shift+Click Attacher to Rotate Clockwise 90 Degrees
ESTmep / CAMduct – Ctrl+Click to Rotate Attacher 180 Degrees (Flip)

Fabrication – Attacher Tip #2

22 Feb 2019 Darren Young

Here’s another simple Attacher tip for Fabrication products. If you hold down the Shift key while clicking on the Attacher arrow in CADmep, ESTmep or CAMduct,. the arrow rotates the opposite direction.


Clicking the Attacher – Notice it Rotates in the “Clockwise” Direction

Clicking the Attacher – Notice it Rotates in the “Counter-Clockwise” Direction

Fabrication – Attacher Tip #1

19 Feb 2019 Darren Young

Sometimes the best tips are the simplest. They can often be forgotten about or never learned because of that. Here’s a reminder for those that may not know or have forgotten…

In CADmep, or the 3d viewer of ESTmep or CAMduct, you can hold the Control key while clicking the attacher arrow to rotate the arrow 180 degrees. The below screen recordings are both done from CAMduct but ESTmep or CADmep work just the same.

Clicking the Attacher – Notice it Rotates in 90-Degree Increments
Ctrl-Clicking the Attacher – Notice it Rotates in 180-Degree Increments