AutoCad Tutorial by Muhanned Moussallati

AutoCad Tutorial

" " IMPORTANT SHORTCUTS TO USE IN AUTOCAD.! " AR ! ARRAY TOOL ! " WBLOCK "

WRITE BLOCK (A BLOCK IS A GROUP OF OBJECTS SAVED AS A FILE ) "

" F"

FILLET "

" O"

OFFSET "

" " ARRAY "

" TR"

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When copying an object you can copy it using a reference point from outside the object you are copying. That means you can copy to exactly the same point onto the object on which you are copying to. "

• O if for offset. Click on the line give it the o command. Then you can specify the distance of the recurring line. And that would repeat. "

TRIM "

" C"

Its the point where you can copy or move the object from and to a new point on the grid. "

• What is a reference point?

REC " RECTANGLE "

AR "

• What is a base point?

• The command line in the bottom is important since you can find out what other options you have and the offset and the details about the tools you have in hand. "

CIRCLE "

AutoCad Tutorial â&#x20AC;¨

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Z(enter) A(enter) " "

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RE (Regenerate)" "

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REA (regenerate all)"

AutoCad Tutorial

SAVING IN AUOCAD.!

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*ALWAYS USE ACADISO*"

When working in auto auto cad you need to save the file as a AutoCad file.

That will give it the file the format of .DWG. This is the universal one for AUtocad.

If files are to be used in the workshop they need to be saved as 2010 because elf the compatibility of the laser cutter with the new AutoCad.

AutoCad Tutorial

" DRAWING UNITS! "

You can set the drawing units in Tools > Units . As a default, the measurements in the drawing is unitless. For example, when you draw a line with length “10”, AutoCAD doesn’t know if it is 10 miles or 10 millimetres until you set the unit. Remember to set it before you start drawing, or scale the drawn objects accordingly if you change the unit in the existing drawing."

AutoCad Tutorial

" SELECT & DESELECT ! "

You can select the objects by clicking on an object or drawing a window around it. Drawing a window from left to right selects everything that the window crosses. Drawing a window from right to left selects everything that the window contains. You can deselect objects by doing the same operation while holding down Shift key, or deselect everything by hitting Esc key." "

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LEFT TO RIGHT

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RIGHT TO LEFT

SOME MORE SHORTCUTS TO USE !

Ctrl+S saves the dwg fi le (qsave)" Ctrl+Z undoes the previous action (u) and Ctrl +Y redo the undone action again (redo)"

Ctrl+C copies and Ctrl+V pastes" Ctrl+P opens the plot window (plot)"

AutoCad Tutorial "

SNAP AND TRACKING!

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There are settings that help you draw accurately." "

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Snap Mode: snaps to increments of the spacing that you specify. (i.e. if you set it to 2 in both x,y direction," it will snap on 2,2:2,4:10,8 etc)" " Grid Display: displays grids with the spacing that you specify"

" Ortho Mode: restricts movements to horizontal and vertical directions." "

Polar Tracking: tracks increments of the angle that you specify(i.e. if you set it to 30 degrees, it will track" 30,60,90,120 degrees etc.)"

Object Snap : snaps to existing objects on the screen. You can also activate specifi c Object Snap during" drawing/inquiry operations by right clicking and selecting snap overrides."

" Show/Hide Lineweight: turns on/off the line width on display.It does not affect the line widths on plot." "

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Quick Properties: displays the properties of selected object(s). Another way to show properties: After" select a object/objects, right click and select â&#x20AC;&#x153;Quick Propertiesâ&#x20AC;?. You can change the object(s) properties" here(layers,color and linetype.)"

LINE AutoCad Tutorial "

TOOLS!

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LINE (l): draws a line from one point to another." " "

POLYLINE (pl): draws a line/curve with multiple" control points. Pay attention to the command line while using" POLYLINE tool; it will show you variety of options" for the next move you can take."

If you hit “Esc ” while drawing a polyline, the line terminates at the" last point you clicked."

If you type “cl ” while drawing a polyline, it draws a segment that" connects the starting point and the last point you clicked (the line" becomes a closed shape)."

" " RECTANGLE (rec): draws a rectangle by defining two corners." " " "

Click on the point where you want to place the first corner of a" rectangle or type in x,y coordination for precise input."

If you type “d ” after the fi rst corner, you can specify the second" corner by the x and y distance from the fi rst corner. For example," type “d” > space > 36 > space > 24 for 36” x 24” box."

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POLYLINE

AutoCad Tutorial " " POLYGON: draws a polygon by number of edges."

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If you choose to inscribe in circle, it draws a polygon inside the" circle with the radius you specify. " " CIRCLE (c): draws a circle."

First click will define center of the circle. define the radius by" typing it in or clicking"

If you type â&#x20AC;&#x153;dâ&#x20AC;? after the first click, it will draw a circle with the" diameter that you specify."

" SPLINE (spline): draws a spline connecting multiple points." Define the points that a spline goes through by clicking."

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AutoCad Tutorial

HATCH TOOL!

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HATCH(h): fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a hatch pattern or fills." "

Pattern: choose the pattern from list (pulldown) or clicking either of these."

The window below pops up. ISO has basic patterns. Other predefine ned tab shows commonly used patterns such as BRICK, EARTH, GRAVEL, CONC, SANDâ&#x20AC;Ś"

" " You can modify the angle and scale of patterns" " " " " You can copy/paste the exact hatch properties from existing hatches by clicking this." " " " " " " " " " " "

AutoCad Tutorial

" MODIFY! "

There are two ways to modify" 1. type full or short name in command line(increase effi ciency)" 2. Icon: Home/Modify"

ERASE (e): erases the selected objects. You can get the same effect by selecting objects and hitting Delete key." "

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COPY (cp): copies the selected objects from one place to another." Select objects, click/type the base point and the second point that you want to copy objects to."

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MIRROR (mi): mirrors objects along the line that you define It will ask you whether you want to keep the original object or not after defining the mirror line. type “y” for yes or “n” for no." "

OFFSET(o): offsets objects to the distance you specify." It will ask you the distance to offset objects first. you can specify it by typing the distance in or clicking two points on screen." After entering the distance, grab an object to offset and click on the side that you want to offset it to." You can offset an object multiple times in the same distance by repeating click."

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MOVE (m): moves the selected objects from one place to another." Select objects, click/type a base point and the second point that you want to move objects to." "

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SCALE (sc): scale objects by the ratio you specify." select objects, click/type a base point and click/type the scale numerically." You can also scale objects by the relative distances using “Reference” points. Select objects, click/type a base point, then"

AutoCad Tutorial "

LAYERS!

AutoCAD uses layer systems like Photoshop and SketchUp to organise a drawing. Layer palette shows your current layer name and state. To access Layer Manager, click on the highlighted icon or type “layer” on the command"

Please make a habit to name and manage your layers appropriately. Generally, it is better to put the same objects in the same layer. For example, you can name them “column”, “plant”, “building”, “road” and etc. If you manage your layers appropriately, you can lock/turn off/freeze all the layers except for the layers you are working on easily. In this way, you can select the objects you want easily."

turns on/off the layer" turned-off layers become invisible on the screen but geometric information is still in the" drawing"

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freezes/defreezes the layer" frozen layers are invisible and geometric information is unavailable" "

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Locks/unlocks the layer" locked layers are visible but objects are not modifiable"

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Changes layer line type (dotted,dashed etc.).You have to load " the line type in a different window to be able to use it in the " drawing."

changes line weight" turns on/off on the plot. "

AutoCad Tutorial ! ANNOTATE!

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Set the right style as current if there are several by choosing “set current”"

" Modify dimension styles by choosing “modify”" " " "

DIMENSIONS ! !

" " " " Set a new layer for dimension, then use the following tools." " " "

If the dimension is not correct but it is hard to change the drawing, you can override the text by: select the" dimension>right click>select “properties”> “Text”> “Text override”> type the number you want"

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AutoCad Tutorial

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UTILITIES!

" MEASURE" " Distance (di): measure the distance between two points. click the fi rst point and then the second one."

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Clipboard" MATCH PROPERTY (matchprop): applies the properties of a selected object to other objects (layer, color, line type...)." Matchprop, select the source object - the object you want to copy from, click the lines/objects that you want to paste the property."

ZOOM!

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" There are 3 ways to zoom:" "

1. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out" 2. ZOOM keyboard shortcut Z in the command line to bring the zoom option." 3. ZA to Zoom all"

AutoCad Tutorial Sometimes you cant zoom out enough. ZA or REGEN ( regenerate ) will reset the zoom and allow you to zoom out again. "

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VIEWPORTS !

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You can work on several layouts to print out or export the work in several views or sheets. "

To print any of the work you will need to enter in Layout and create a viewport. "

Scaling is important to print out the floor plans in a specific layout and insure that it is accurate."

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To add 1or more viewports to the same layout You need to " View â&#x20AC;&#x201D;> Viewports â&#x20AC;&#x201D;> Select viewport"

You can set different viewports to different scales if needed."

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To save the file a a pdf you will need to go to the print menu and select the pdf on the bottom. "

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AutoCad Tutorial "

SUMMATIVE FEEDBACK !

When I first started university AutoCad was a totally new software that I had no knowledge in. It was completely new to me. "

We started learning AutoCad during Monday in the after noons, shortcuts were the first thing we were taught. Paul emphasised on the importance of learning how to use keyboard shortcuts rather than having to choose a tool every time from the tool bar. That benefited me because i had the habit of not learning shortcuts and having to go back and pick the tool i wanted to use on other softwares. "

Several weeks into learning how to use AutoCad i started to get the hand of it. I began to automatically remember the keyboard shortcut for lines, circles, triangles, hatching, copying ect. I stopped referring back to my notes or having to ask Paul for a quick reminder of how to offset. "

Our Centenary building project later came up. Design procedures was the first challenge i was up against to apply all my knowledge that i have learned within the classes about AutoCad and all the various possibilities of using it. It was a challenge, however at the end of the project i was satisfied about the work that i did on AutoCad. I applied all my knowledge i had learned up to that point. "

The second time i had to apply my AutoCad skills that i have learned was during Mattâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s module Designs and Materials. Unlike my previous project this one was a major challenge compared to the centenary building module. I had to do repetitive shapes, elevations of my module, top, bottom, side, and front view including dimensions for everything. I struggled at the beginning of my design on AutoCad because i had to learn even more and discover a lot more techniques than the basics that we were taught. At the end i was able to produce professional technical drawings of my module on AutoCad."

Both final submission are on the right