IsoMaker 14
Create isometric views.
by Pat Davis

Recently a co-worker was having difficulty accurately depicting curved surfaces for a part in an isometric view. I went to www.cadalog.com and found IsoMaker 14 from Chris Watts Design. IsoMaker 14 converts 2D AutoCAD entities to create isometric entities. For this review, I looked at the 40-day evaluation version of IsoMaker 14 for AutoCAD Release 14. IsoMaker 2000 works with AutoCAD 2000.

IsoMaker 14’s single dialog box lets you select the isoplane view for the new entities (top right, top left, right side, left side), layer management, and an optional setting for depth (parts thickness). To create an isometric view from within AutoCAD, first pick IsoMaker from the IsoMaker menu. The Isometric View Maker dialog box opens, and you can set view, layer, and the optimal depth values. Close the dialog box, and AutoCAD prompts you for objects to convert and then for a base point and an insertion point for the isometric view.

IsoMaker 14 lets you choose the isoplane view for new entities.

When you select entities, Isomaker automatically converts arcs, circles, lines, solids, and text found in orthographic views to isometric views. You can’t convert blocks, mtext, and polylines unless you explode them first. You must explode dimensions twice before you can process them.

IsoMaker 14 works very well turning orthographic views into isometric views. Keep in mind, though, that IsoMaker converts only entities that appear in the orthographic view. It doesn’t create entities normally shown in an isometric view that are not visible in orthographic view. IsoMaker isn’t a cure-all for creating complex isometric views, but if you have trouble creating isometric drawings or want a quick method to create isometric drawings from existing orthographic views, it can be a very worthwhile investment.

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