CADD Engineering Standards - Ohio Department of Transportation

400 PLOTTING
401 General
401.1 General
January 18, 2013
ODOT uses pen tables that are applied to the graphical elements when the design file is plotted. This
can be thought of as a type of filter. The pen tables translate various elements in the design file to the
final output version that can be used to map MicroStation line weights to specific pen sizes or
thicknesses. An example would be mapping all WT=0 lines to 0.006-inch and WT=1 to a 0.014-inch line
thickness to differentiate the design file elements’ weights on the plotted sheet. Line thickness should be
plotted as shown in the table below:
Element Weight Thickness (approximate inches)
WT= 0 0.006”
WT=1 0.014”
WT=2 0.026”
WT=3 0.036”
WT=4 0.046”
WT=5 0.056”
WT=6 0.066”
WT=7 0.076”
WT=8 0.086”
WT=9 0.096”
WT>=10 0.106”
Due to the variation in plotting accuracy of various printers, the thickness’ shown in the table above can
be modified as deemed necessary to achieve the desired results.
All elements should be plotted black, except for the major and minor grid lines on cross-section or profile
sheets. The major and minor grid lines on the cross-section and profile sheets should be prioritized so
that the details will be plotted on top of the grids. Cross section and profile grids should be plotted as
shown in the Location and Design Manual, Volume 3, Figure 1202-1.
Standard MicroStation pen tables and IPLOT design scripts are available on ODOT’s Pen Tables web
page. The files available for download include user documentation defining the pen table functions. The
Pen tables and Design Scripts were created to match ODOT’s current plotting standards.
ODOT CADD Engineering Standards 89