AUTOCAD

Computer Aided Design CT 121

Engr. Marjee Rose B. Parreo, REE, CoE, MBA

What is CAD?
Computer Aided Design. Allows you to accomplish design and drafting activities using a computer.

Design is a broad field involving the process of making an idea into a real product or system. Drafting is generally known as the production of drawings that are used to document a design from manufacturing or construction.

Why Use CAD?

Accuracy
It stores numeric data with great precision.

Productivity for Repetetive Operations.

Shaped, drawings and elements can easily be duplicated (copy/paste)

Sharing the CAD file with other software programs

Drawings can be imported to other programs.

In this course you will learn

Basic drawing and modify commands. Set up layers Put color in your drawing Define and insert blocks Use text in your drawings Putting dimensions in the floor plan.

References:
AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD LT 2004 by David Frey AutoCAD 2006 Instructor: A student Guide to Complete Coverage of AutoCADs Commands and Featured by Leach

Getting to know AutoCAD

Title bar Menu bar Layers Toolbar Properties toolbar

Draw Toolbar Modify Toolbar

Crosshair Cursor User Coordinate System

Model and Layout tabs Command Window Status bar

Parts of the AutoCAD Window

Title bar
Contains the program name and the title of the current drawing and its path.

Standard toolbar
Contains standard commands use in the program.

Menu bar
Bar that contains all the commands in autoCAD

Layers and Properties toolbar

Contains buttons and commands use to manipulate the properties and layers of the drawing.

Parts of the AutoCAD Window

Drawing area
Blank middle section of the screen. Where you draw your shapes

Crosshair cursor
Pointer

User coordinate system icon

Indicates the positive direction for the X and Y coordinates

Model and Layout tabs

Use to shift between different views.

Parts of the AutoCAD Window

Command window
Is where you tell the program what to do and where the program tells you whats going on.

Status bar
Displays the status of the programs commands:
Snap Grid Ortho Otrack LWT Model

Drop-Down Menus

View

Contains tools for controlling the display of your drawing file. Contains commands for placing drawings and images or parts of them inside other drawings. Contains commands for setting up general parameters for a new drawing. Contains special tools for use while you are working on the current drawing.

Insert

Format Tools

Drop-Down Menus

Draw
Contains commands for displaying new objects (lines, circles) on the screen.

Dimension
Contains commands for dimensioning a drawing.

Modify
Contains commands for changing existing objects in the drawing

Window
Contains commands for displaying currently open windows and lists currently open drawing files.

Command Entry

Methods of Entering Commands:

Toolbars
Select the command by picking an icon from a toolbar

Pull-down Menu
Select the command from a pull-down menu

Screen (side) Menu

Select the command from the screen (side) menu.

Keyboard
Type the command name, command alias or CTRL (accelerator) keys at the keyboard.

Command Entry

Using the Mouse

Left button PICK
Used to select commands or pick locations on the screen.

Right button Enter or shortcut Menu

This button either performs the same function as the enter key or produces a shortcut menu.

Middle button or wheel Pan / Zoom

Press and Drag Pan the drawing about on the screen. Wheel zoom in or zoom out

Function Keys

F1 Help
Opens help window providing written explanation on commands and variables.

F2 Flipscreen
Activates a text window showing the previous command line activity (command history)

F3 Osnap Toggle
Turns the Osnap on or off.

F4 Tablet
Turns Tabmode variable on or off.

Function Keys

F5 Isoplane
Isometric Style Snap and Grid Setting, Toggles the cursor to dram on one of the isometric planes.

F6 Coords
Toggles the coordinate display between cursor tracking mode and off.

F7 Grid
Turns the grid on or off.

F8 Ortho
Turns the ortho on or off.

Function Keys

F9 Snap
Turns the snap on or off.

F10 Polar
Turns the polar on or off.

F11 Osnap Tracking

Turns the osnap tracking on or off.

F12 Dyn
Turns the dynamic input on or off.

Drawing Aids

SNAP (F9)
Grid Snap forces the cursor to snap to regular intervals (grid) Polar Snap forces the cursor to snap regular intervals along angular lines.

GRID (F7)
Used as visual reference of units and lengths.

ORTHO (F8)
Lines are forced to an orthogonal alignment (only horizontal or vertical) when drawing.

Drawing Aids

Polar (F10)
Makes it easy to draw lines at regular angular increments, such as 30, 45 and 90 degrees.

OSNAP (F3, Object Snap) OTRACK (F11) DYN (F12)

A feature that helps you visualize and specify coordinates when drawing lines, arcs, circles and the like.

Basic Commands in AutoCAD

Standard Toolbar
New Drawing Save Copy Plot Preview 3DDWF Match Properties Undo

Print/Plot Open File Publish

Cu t Past e

Block Editor Redo

Standard Toolbar
Pan realtime Properties

Zoom window

Markup set manager Tool Palettes Window

Hel p

Zoom previous

Sheet Set Manager Design Center

Zoom realtime

Calculator

Drawing Toolbar
Ellipse Line Ellipse Arc

Construction Line
Polyline Polygon Rectangle Arc Gradient Circle Revision Cloud Spline Insert Block Make Block

Point
Hatch

Region
Table Text

Modify Toolbar
Erase Trim Extend Break at Point Break Join Chamfer Rotate Scale Stretch Fillet Explode

Copy
Mirror Offset

Array
Move

Modify Toolbar
Bring to front
Send to back

Bring Above Objects

Send Under Objects