6/8/2021 Instructions - Code 281 | CADD ARCHITECTURE 1 (2D) - CAD PLATE NO.

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Code 281 | CADD ARCHITECTURE 1 (2D)

PRELIM LEARNING RESOURCE

GUIDE TO AUTOCAD BASICS: Basics, Viewing, Geometry, and Precision

GUIDE TO AUTOCAD BASICS
In this section, you will find a comprehensive technical AutoCAD tutorial which includes all the basic commands you will need when creating 2D drawings
with AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT.

BASICS
This section reviews the basic AutoCAD controls.
 

VIEWING
Pan and zoom in a drawing and control the order of overlapping objects.
 

GEOMETRY
Create basic geometric objects such as lines, circles, and hatched areas.
 

PRECISION
Ensure the precision required for your models.
 

LAYERS
Organize your drawing by assigning objects to layers.
 

PROPERTIES
You can assign properties such as color and line type to individual objects, or as default properties assigned to layers.
 

MODIFYING
Perform editing operations such as erase, move, and trim on the objects in a drawing.
 

BLOCKS
Insert symbols and details into your drawings from commercial online sources or from your own designs.
 

LAYOUTS
Display one or more scaled views of your design on a standard size drawing sheet called a layout.
 

NOTES AND LABELS

Create notes, labels, bubbles, and callouts. Save and restore style settings by name.
 

DIMENSIONS
Create several types of dimensions and save dimension settings by name.
 

PRINTING
Output a drawing layout to a printer, a plotter, or a file. Save and restore the printer settings for each layout.

BASIC
After you launch AutoCAD, click the Start Drawing button to begin a new drawing.

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AutoCAD includes a standard tabbed ribbon across the top of the drawing area. You can access nearly all the commands presented in this guide from the
Home tab. In addition, the Quick Access toolbar shown below includes familiar commands such as New, Open, Save, Print, Undo, and so on.

NOTE: If the Home tab is not the current tab, go ahead and click it.

Command Window

At the heart of AutoCAD is the Command window, which is normally docked at the bottom of the application window. The Command window displays
prompts, options, and messages.

You can enter commands directly in the Command window instead of using the ribbon, toolbars, and menus. Many long-time AutoCAD users prefer this

method.

Notice that as you start to type a command, an autocomplete menu appears. When several options are available, such as in the example below, make your
choice by clicking the correct option or using the arrow keys and then pressing Enter or the Spacebar to confirm your selection.

Mouse

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Most people use a mouse as their pointing device, but other devices have equivalent controls.

Tip: When looking for a command or option, try right-clicking. Depending on where your cursor is located, different menus will display relevant commands
and options.

New Drawings

You can easily conform to industry or company standards by specifying settings for text, dimensions, line types, and several other features. For example, this
backyard deck design displays two different dimension styles.

All these settings can be saved in a drawing template file. Click New to choose from several drawing template files:

    For imperial drawings that assume your units are inches, use dwt or acadlt.dwt.
    For metric units that assume your units are millimeters, use dwt or acadltiso.dwt.

The “Tutorial” template files in the list are examples of the architectural or mechanical design templates using both imperial (i) and metric (m) measurements.
You might want to experiment with them.

Most companies use drawing template files that conform to company standards, and they will often use different drawing template files depending on the
project or client.

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Create Your Own Drawing Template File

You can save any drawing (.dwg) file as a drawing template (.dwt) file. You can also open any existing drawing template file, modify it, and then save it again
with a different filename if needed.

If you work independently, you can develop your drawing template files to suit your working preferences, adding settings for additional features as you

become familiar with them.

To modify an existing drawing template file, click Open, specify Drawing Template (*.dwt) in the Select File dialog box, and choose the template file.

Important: If your company has already established a set of drawing template files, check with your CAD manager before modifying any of them.

Units

When you first start a drawing, you need to decide what the length of one unit represents—an inch, a foot, a centimeter, a kilometer, or some other unit of
length. For example, the objects below could represent two buildings that are each 125 feet long, or they could represent a section from a mechanical part
that is measured in millimeters.

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Unit Display Settings

After you decide what unit of length that you want to use, the UNITS command lets you control several unit display settings including the following:

Format (or Type): For example, a decimal length of 6.5 can be set to display as a fractional length of 6-1/2 instead.

Precision: For example, a decimal length of 6.5 can be set to display as 6.50, 6.500, or 6.5000.

If you plan to work in feet and inches, use the UNITS command to set the unit type to Architectural, and then when you create objects, specify their lengths in
inches. If you plan to use metric units, leave the unit type set to Decimal. Changing the unit format and precision does not affect the internal precision of your
drawing, it affects only how lengths, angles, and coordinates are displayed in the user interface.

Tip: If you need to change the UNITS settings, make sure that you save the drawing as a drawing template file (.dwt). Otherwise, you will need to change the
UNITS settings for each new drawing.

VIEWING

Zoom in on a drawing to better control the order of overlapping objects.

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The easiest way to change your view is by using the mouse wheel.

    Zoom in or out by rolling the wheel.

    Pan a view in any direction by holding the wheel down while moving your mouse.
    Zoom in on a specific area for greater detail holding your mouse over the area and clicking the wheel twice.

Tip: When you zoom in or out, the location of the cursor is important. Think of your cursor as a magnifying glass. For example, if you position the cursor in
the upper-right area of the floor plan as shown below, zooming in magnifies the dressing room without shifting the view.

NOTE: If you cannot zoom or pan any more, type REGEN in the Command window and press Enter. This command regenerates the drawing display and
resets the extents available for panning and zooming.

Overlapping Objects

If you create objects that overlap, you might need to change which objects are displayed on top or in front of the others. For example, if you want the yellow
highway to cross the blue river rather than the other way around, use the DRAWORDER command to reorder the objects.

You can access several draw order options from the Modify panel on the ribbon. Click to expand the Modify panel, and then click the down-arrow as shown
below.

  The draw order options that are listed include sending all hatches to the back, all text to the front, and so on.

GEOMETRY
Create basic geometric objects such as lines, circles, and hatched areas.  You can create many different types of geometric objects in AutoCAD, but you only need to know a
few of them for most 2D drawings.

NOTE: If you want to simplify the display while creating geometric objects, press F12 to turn off dynamic input.

Lines

The line is the most basic and common object in AutoCAD drawings. To draw a line, click the Line tool. Alternatively, you can type LINE or just L in the
Command window, and then press Enter or the Spacebar.

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Notice the prompt in the Command window for a point location.

To specify the starting point for this line, you would type in the coordinates 0,0. It is a good idea to locate one corner of your model at 0,0, which is called the
origin point. To locate additional points, you could specify additional X,Y coordinate locations in the drawing area, however more efficient methods for
specifying points are available, and will be presented in the Precision topic.

After you specify the next point, the LINE command automatically repeats itself, and it keeps prompting you for additional points. Press Enter or the
Spacebar to end the sequence.

The User Coordinate System

The user coordinate system (UCS) icon indicates the direction of the positive X and Y axis for any coordinates that you enter, and it also defines the
horizontal and vertical directions in a drawing. In some 2D drawings, it can be convenient to click, drag, and rotate the UCS to change the origin point, and
the horizontal and vertical directions.

Grid Display

Some people like working with grid lines as a reference, while others prefer working in a blank area. To turn off the grid display, press F7. Even with the grid
turned off, you can force your cursor to snap to grid increments by pressing F9.

Lines as Construction Aids

Lines can serve as reference and construction geometry such as:

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    Property line setbacks
    The mirror line of a symmetrical mechanical part
    Clearance lines to avoid interferences
    Traversal path lines

Circles

The default option of the CIRCLE command requires you to specify a center point and a radius.

The other circle options are available from the drop-down:

Alternatively, you can also enter CIRCLE or just C in the Command window and click to choose an option. If you do, you can specify a center point, or you
can click one of the highlighted command options as shown below.

Circles can be useful as reference geometry. For example, you can see that the two doors in the illustration can interfere with each other.

 
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Polylines and Rectangles

A polyline is a connected sequence of line or arc segments that is created as a single object.

 Use the PLINE command to create open or closed polylines for:

   Geometry that requires fixed-width segments

   Continuous paths for which you need to know the total length
   Contour lines for topographic maps and isobaric data
   Wiring diagrams and traces on printed circuit boards
    Process and piping diagrams

Polylines can have a constant width, or they can have different starting and ending widths. After you specify the first point of the polyline, you can use the
Width option to specify the width of all subsequently created segments. You can change the width value at any time, even as you create new segments.

Rectangles

Polylines can have different starting and ending widths for each segment as shown here:

A fast way to create closed rectangular polylines is to use the RECTANG command (enter REC in the Command window).

 Simply click two diagonal points for the rectangle as illustrated. If you use this method, turn on grid snap (F9) for precision.

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Hatches and Fills

In AutoCAD, a hatch is a single, compound object that covers a specified area with a pattern of lines, dots, shapes, a solid fill color, or a gradient fill.

 When you start the HATCH command, the ribbon temporarily displays the Hatch Creation tab. On this tab, you can choose from over 70 industry-standard
imperial and ISO hatch patterns along with many specialized options.

 The simplest procedure is to choose a hatch pattern and scale from the ribbon and click within any area that is completely enclosed by objects. You must
specify the scale factor for the hatch to control its size and spacing.

After you create a hatch, you can move the bounding objects to adjust the hatch area, or you can delete one or more of the bounding objects to create
partially bounded hatches:

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Tip: If you set a solid or gradient fill hatch pattern, also consider setting a transparency level on the Hatch Creation tab for interesting overlap effects.

Tip: If you need to align the pattern in a hatch, which might be the case with the decking boards above, use the Set Origin option to specify an alignment
point.

PRECISION
Ensure the precision required for your models.

There are several precision features available, including:

    Polar tracking: Snap to the closest preset angle and specify a distance along that angle.
    Locking angles: Lock to a single, specified angle and specify a distance along that angle.
   Object snaps: Snap to precise locations on existing objects, such as an endpoint of a polyline, the midpoint of a line, or the center point of a circle.
    Grid snaps: Snap to increments on a rectangular grid.
    Coordinate entry: Specify a location by its Cartesian or polar coordinates, either absolute or relative.

The three most used features are polar tracking, locking angles, and object snaps.

 Polar Tracking

When you need to specify a point, such as when you create a line, you can use polar tracking to guide the movement of your cursor in certain directions.

For example, after you specify the first point of the line below, move your cursor to the right, and then enter a distance in the Command window to specify a

precise horizontal length for the line.

By default, polar tracking is turned on and guides your cursor in a horizontal or vertical direction (0 or 90 degrees).

Locking Angles
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If you need to draw a line at a specified angle, you can lock the angle for the next point. For example, if the second point of a line needs to be created at a
45-degree angle, you would enter ‘<45’ in the Command window.

After you move your cursor in the desired direction along the 45-degree angle, you can enter the length of the line.

Object Snaps

By far, the most important way for you to specify precise locations on objects is to use object snaps. In the following illustration, several different kinds of
object snaps are represented by markers.

Object snaps become available during a command whenever AutoCAD prompts you to specify a point. For example, if you start a new line and move your
cursor near the endpoint of an existing line, the cursor will automatically snap to it.

Default Object Snaps

Enter the OSNAP command to set the default object snaps, which are also called “running” object snaps. For example, you might find it useful to turn on the
Midpoint object snap by default.

Recommendations

At any prompt for a point, you can specify a single object snap that overrides all other object snap settings. Hold down Shift, right-click in the drawing area,
and choose an object snap from the Object Snap menu. Then move the cursor to select a location on an object.

Make sure that you zoom in close enough to avoid mistakes. In a densely populated model, snapping to the wrong object will result in an error that can
propagate throughout your model.

Object Snap Tracking

During a command, you can align points both horizontally and vertically from object snap locations. In the following illustration, you first hover over endpoint
1 and then hover over endpoint 2. When you move your cursor near location 3, the cursor locks into the horizontal and vertical location shown.

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You can now finish creating the line, circle, or other object that you were creating from that location.

Verify Your Work

Recheck your geometry to catch mistakes early. Enter the DIST command (or just DI) to measure the distance between any two points in your model.

For example, you might need to find the clearance between two points shown, which might represent the corner of a wall and a small table, or perhaps a 2D
section of a plastic part and a wire.

After you enter DIST, click the endpoint on the corner (1). Next, hold down Shift as you right-click, and then choose Perpendicular from the object snap
menu. Finally, click the circle (2).

The number of decimal places and unit style displayed in the result is controlled by the UNITS command.

Function Key Reference

All keyboard function keys have assignments in AutoCAD. The ones that are most turned on and off are indicated with a key.

NOTE: F8 and F10 are mutually exclusive turning either one on will turn the other one off.

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BASIC DATA ENTRY

1. CARTESIAN COORDINATE SYSTEM

A Cartesian coordinate system has three axes, X, Y, and Z. When you enter coordinate values, you indicate a point's distance and its direction (+ or -)
along the X, Y, and Z axes relative to the coordinate system origin (0,0,0).

    Absolute Cartesian coordinate

Type the X and Y coordinates to locate the

point on the current coordinate system relative to the origin.
Example: 7,3

    Relative Cartesian coordinate).

Type the X and Y coordinates relative to the last point.

Example: @7,3
 

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2. POLAR COORDINATES

Polar coordinates use a distance and an angle to locate a point. With both Cartesian and polar coordinates, you can enter absolute coordinates based
on the origin (0,0) or relative coordinates based on the last point specified.

Absolute Polar Coordinate

Example: 6<45

Relative Polar Coordinate

Type a distance and angle relative to the last point.

 Example: @6<45
 

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3. DIRECT DISTANCE

Specifying a point is by moving the cursor to indicate a direction, and then entering a distance.

RECORDED LECTURE:
 

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