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Lecture Notes Spring Semester 2012: Computer Aided Engineering Drawing - CIV 104
Lecture Notes Spring Semester 2012: Computer Aided Engineering Drawing - CIV 104
Lecture Notes Spring Semester 2012: Computer Aided Engineering Drawing - CIV 104
CIV
104
-
Computer
Aided
Engineering
Drawing
Prof.
Carmen
Amaddeo
This image shows the 2D Drafting and Annotation interface with some of the most important elements highlighted. The current drawing name is always displayed at the top. The Ribbon Control Panels, Quick Access Toolbar and Command window provide access to commands. The Layout tabs allow you to switch between the drawing and plotting environments. The Application and Drawing Status bars provide access to drawing aids and text scaling options, and the Info Center on the right side of the title bar allows you to search the Help resources by keywords for information on any commands or procedures. Right-clicking with or without a command active, will provide access to an extensive assortment of options and other commands. The Application Menu, under the letter A in the top left corner, provides access to all commands and interface elements as well as plotting and file utility options. Exporting and Drawing Utilities are also found in the Application menu.
3.
AutoCAD
Workspaces
AutoCAD
2012
allows
us
to
select
from
four
separate
drawing
environments,
saved
as
Workspaces,
when
starting
or
working
on
a
drawing.
The
workspace
Switching
control
window
on
the
Quick
Access
toolbar,
lets
us
easily
choose
from
one
of
the
available
workspaces.
2D
Drafting
and
Annotation
is
the
default
workspace
in
AutoCAD
2012.
This
workspace
uses
a
series
of
2D
control
panels
available
through
a
dock
able
palette
called
the
Ribbon.
3D
Modeling
workspace
is
a
working
environment
that
displays
all
of
the
3D
related
panels
in
addition
to
the
most
common
2D
Control
Panels
with
all
major
3D
commands
and
options.
New
CIV
104
-
Computer
Aided
Engineering
Drawing
Prof.
Carmen
Amaddeo
drawings started with a 3D template will use this workspace and start with a 3D view of the work area instead of the plan view used in 2D drawings. 3D Basics workspace provides a streamlined version of the 3D modeling workspace. It hides the Surface and Mesh modeling tools as well as some of the more advanced 2D panels. AutoCAD Classic workspace is the traditional environment used in older releases of AutoCAD. This workspace uses Toolbars instead of Ribbon Control Panels as the primary means of accessing commands, and was the default workspace in releases prior to version 2008. Custom Workspaces may also be easily defined by opening and closing various interface elements, such as Ribbon Tabs, Control Panels, Palettes, as well as traditional toolbars. When you have set up the interface in the desired manner, you can use the "Save Current As" option from the Workspace Switching control window, and then give a name to your custom workspace. Named Workspaces allow you to easily change the interface elements to a specific configuration with only the tools required for your style of work.
The Quick Access Toolbar located beside the Application Menu (Red letter A) in the upper left corner of the interface, contains icons for starting new files, opening files, saving files, Undoing and Redoing commands, and Plotting your drawing. If you choose the triangular arrow at the right end of the Quick Access toolbar, you can add and remove commands from this interface element.
CIV
104
-
Computer
Aided
Engineering
Drawing
Prof.
Carmen
Amaddeo
To Open traditional toolbars to add to a custom workspace, use the Toolbars fly out on the Windows panel found on the View tab on the Ribbon. Move the toolbars and dock them around the edges of your screen to provide additional options for accessing commands.
If you Show the Menu bar, from the Tools menu, choose Toolbars / AutoCAD, to display the entire list of available traditional style toolbars. Pick a toolbar name such as Draw, Modify, Layers, etc. to open that toolbar. The Ribbon groups common commands required for the current workspace in a single area, reducing the need for traditional toolbars. The Ribbon contains all of the commands which were found on the Toolbars in older versions of AutoCAD. The Ribbon replaced the traditional toolbar interface with a series of tabbed control panels which more closely resembles the interface in current versions of Microsoft Office products such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The Ribbon can display up to nine control panels in each of twelve different tabs or groups of panels. You can hide the control panels that are not currently in use. Select the desired tabs and panels from the right-click shortcut menu.
To
change
the
display
of
the
Ribbon,
select
the
arrow
at
the
right
end
of
the
tab
titles.
You
can
minimize
the
ribbon
so
it
displays
only
the
tab
and
panel
titles
until
you
move
your
cursor
over
one
of
the
panels.
You
can
also
open
and
close
the
Ribbon.
It
is
possible
to
Anchor
the
Ribbon
at
the
left
or
right
edge
of
the
screen
to
automatically
hide
or
display
as
required.
Right-click
on
the
titlebar
to
see
available
options
for
anchoring,
etc.
CIV
104
-
Computer
Aided
Engineering
Drawing
Prof.
Carmen
Amaddeo
Some of the Ribbon panels display triangular dropdown arrows which allow you to access less commonly used commands and options in that panel category. Selecting these expand arrows displays a drop down list of commands that wont fit within default control panel. The expanded panel may be pinned to keep it from auto-closing when you move your cursor away from the panel. There are Iso black diagonal arrows at the lower right corner of the some of the ribbon panels. These arrows open related dialog boxes or windows such as the Properties Panel.
The X icon to the right of the Search icon will open the Exchange window with the Home tab current and displays links to information about product updates, subscriptions, and even RSS feeds. The Star button to the right of the Communication Center button is the Favorites button which displays saved links to topics or locations. (if you sign in to Autodesk Online first!). AutoCAD Help contains complete information about using AutoCAD. To access the online help system, use the pull down menu and select Help or use the F1 key.
In the Help window, you use the left pane to locate information. The tabs above the left pane give you several ways for finding the topics you want to view. The right pane displays the topics you select. Find Information in Help - The tabs on the left side of the Help window provide different methods for finding information. The Browse tab allows you to browse books and chapters. The Search tab allows you to type in a word or words and then hit enter to show you a list of matching help entries. You can find information by typing a question phrased in everyday language or by using keywords. The Help Searches can also take advantage of Boolean operators used in Search engines. These include AND, OR, and NOT. If you start a command and then hit F1, it will open the help system for that command.
5.
File
Utilities
Starting
a
New
Drawing
-
There
are
several
methods
for
starting
a
new
drawing.
You
can
press
CTRLN
on
your
keyboard,
select
the
New
icon
from
the
Quick
Access
toolbar,
or
you
can
choose
the
New
Drawing
fly
out
from
the
Application
menu.
In
AutoCAD
2012,
all
methods
will
prompt
you
to
select
a
Drawing
Template
and
starting
a
new
drawing
will
take
you
directly
to
the
templates
folder
where
you
can
select
from
a
list
of
templates,
some
containing
title
blocks
conforming
to
various
international
standards.
If
you
want
to
start
a
simple
drawing
with
Imperial
units,
(inches),
select
the
ACAD.dwt
template.
If
you
want
to
work
with
Metric
units,
select
the
ACADISO.dwt
template.
Ensure
you
choose
the
correct
template
for
the
system
of
measure
you
will
be
using
as
many
default
options
will
be
controlled
by
the
template.
All
Drawing
template
files
have
a
.dwt
file
extension.
Custom
template
drawings
can
be
created
by
saving
any
drawing
with
a
.dwt
extension.
To
start
a
drawing
with
a
custom
template
file
that
is
not
located
in
the
default
templates
folder,
just
browse
to
the
template
and
double-click
it.
Saving
a
Drawing
-
You
save
drawing
files
for
later
use
just
as
you
do
with
any
other
computer
application.
AutoCAD
provides
an
automatic
saving
feature,
backup
files,
and
other
options
for
saving.
When
you
are
working
on
a
drawing,
you
should
save
it
frequently.
Saving
protects
you
from
losing
work
in
the
event
of
a
power
failure
or
other
unexpected
event.
If
you
want
to
create
a
new
version
of
a
drawing
without
affecting
the
original
drawing,
you
can
save
it
under
another
name
with
the
SAVEAS
command.
The
file
extension
for
AutoCAD
drawing
files
is
.dwg,
and
unless
you
change
the
default
file
format
in
which
drawings
are
saved,
drawings
are
saved
in
the
latest
drawing-file
format.
To
save
a
drawing
On
the
Quick
Access
toolbar,
click
the
Save
icon.
(If
you
previously
saved
and
named
the
drawing,
AutoCAD
does
a
quick
save.
If
you
have
never
saved
the
drawing,
the
Save
Drawing
As
dialog
box
is
displayed.
You
can
also
use
the
shortcut
CTRL-S
to
save
your
drawing.
In
the
Save
Drawing
As
dialog
box
under
File
Name,
enter
the
new
drawing
name;
the
file
extension
is
not
required.
Then
click
Save.
Use
the
shortcut
CTRL-SHIFT-S
to
open
SAVEAS.
Opening
a
Drawing
-
To
open
an
existing
AutoCAD
drawing,
you
can
use
the
Open
icon
on
the
Quick
Access
toolbar
to
display
the
Select
File
dialog
box
or
type
CTRL-O
(letter,
not
zero).
You
could
also
choose
Open
from
the
Application
Menu.
If
you
use
the
Application
Menu,
AutoCAD
will
display
a
list
of
Recent
Documents
which
can
be
filtered
by
ordered
list,
access
date,
file
size,
etc.
The
drawings
can
also
be
displayed
as
thumbnail
images
as
well
as
filename.
CIV
104
-
Computer
Aided
Engineering
Drawing
Prof.
Carmen
Amaddeo
You can double-click a drawing in Windows Explorer to launch AutoCAD and open the drawing. If AutoCAD is already running, the drawing opens in the current session rather than in a second session. If you have more than one Autodesk program or version installed, it is a good idea to start the program you want to use before double-clicking the file name. File Management with Windows Explorer AutoCAD is excellent at creating drawings but is not a sophisticated file management tool. It is very helpful to be able to use Windows Explorer to be able to find and copy your files and organize them into folders. To open Windows Explorer, right-click on the Windows start menu and choose Open Windows Explorer. The keyboard shortcut, Windows-E also provides access to the utility. The image above shows Windows Explorer. It is divided vertically into two panes: a browser and a contents pane. Use the left pane to find drives and folders, and display their contents, folders and files, in the right pane. If you right click on a file in the right pane, you can copy it to the Windows clipboard.
When you right-click over a folder or in an empty area of the contents pane you will see an option to paste the file from the clipboard. Another very useful operation to know is how to create a folder: Right-Click in an empty area of the contents pane and choose New / Folder. Give the folder a descriptive name.
10
11
The Ribbon will display different control panels depending on the currently selected Tab. The available Tabs, in turn are dependent on the current workspace with the 3D modeling workspace including tabs specific to 3D.
Right-click on the Ribbon title bar to access options for managing Tabs, opening and closing Panels, displaying titles, and Undocking the Ribbon. When the ribbon is undocked you can float it in the middle of the drawing area or dock it in a vertical orientation at either side of the screen. Cursor Menu - Shortcut menus give you quick access to commands relevant to your current activity. You can display different shortcut menus when you right-click different areas of the screen, including: 1. Within the drawing area with one or more objects selected; 2. Within the drawing area without any objects selected; 3. Within the drawing area during a command. 12
Shortcut menus typically include options to 1. Repeat the last command entered 2. Cancel the current command 3. Cut and copy to the Clipboard and paste from the Clipboard 4. Select a different command option 5. Display a dialog box, such as Options or Customize 6. Undo the last command entered Tool Palettes Tool Palettes, accessed from the Palettes panel on the View tab of the Ribbon provide another means to access commands. Tabbed sections within the Tool Palettes Window provide further options for accessing tools such as blocks, hatches and custom commands. This method will be covered extensively in the level two course. To cancel a command, hit the ESC key in the upper left corner of the keyboard or right-click your mouse and select the cancel option from the cursor menu. To repeat the last command, hit the space bar on the keyboard or right-click your mouse and select the repeat command option from the cursor menu.
13
perform several additional commands, the Undo command would not be very useful to restore the deleted object as you would also undo the additional work since the object was erased. OOPS will retain the last few commands and simply restore the erased object. To access the OOPS command, type it at the command line and hit enter.
Line
Creates
straight
line
segments.
Start
the
command
and
then
pick
points
on
the
screen
to
draw
segments.
To
undo
a
single
segment,
type
U
and
enter
or
right-click
and
choose
Undo.
To
create
a
closed
shape
draw
2
or
more
segments
and
then
type
C
and
hit
enter
or
right-click
and
choose
Close.
To
continue
a
line
from
the
endpoint
of
the
last
line
segment
added,
start
the
command
and
then
right-click
instead
of
picking
a
start
point
for
the
line.
Polyline
Creates
line
and
arc
segments
that
are
end-connected
and
can
be
selected
and
modified
as
a
single
entity.
You
can
create
straight
line
segments,
arc
segments,
or
a
combination
of
the
two.
Right-click
and
choose
Arc
or
Line
to
switch
between
modes.
There
are
several
other
options
for
polylines
that
will
be
covered
in
a
later
class.
Polygon
-
Creates
an
equilateral
closed
polyline
with
3-1024
segments
that
can
be
defined
with
a
radius
fitting
inside
a
circle
(inscribed)
or
around
a
circle
(circumscribed).
Polygons
may
also
be
defined
by
specifying
the
endpoints
of
the
first
edge.
(Edge
mode)
Rectangle
Creates
a
rectangular
polyline
that
is
defined
by
picking
or
specifying
the
locations
of
diagonally
opposite
corners.
The
rectangle
may
optionally
be
created
with
chamfered
or
filleted
corners.
Arc
Creates
a
curved
segment
that,
with
the
default
method,
passes
through
three
user
specified
points.
Many
other
methods
may
be
used
to
draw
the
arc
depending
on
the
data
that
is
available.
Possibilities
include
the
start,
centre,
and
end
points,
the
start,
end,
and
radius
of
the
arc,
the
start,
end,
and
included
angle
of
the
arc.
**
To
access
sub
options
of
a
command,
view
the
command
line
while
the
command
is
active
and
type
the
capital
letters
of
the
options
displayed
within
brackets.
Another
method
would
be
CIV
104
-
Computer
Aided
Engineering
Drawing
Prof.
Carmen
Amaddeo
14
to select the specific sub option displayed from the dropdown options on the control panel. Most commands will also display valid sub options in the cursor menu if you start the command and then right-click your mouse. These allow you to switch from the initial command type. Circle Creates a circle that can be defined by various combinations of center, radius, diameter, points on the circumference or points on other objects. The default method is to pick or specify a centre point and a radius for the circle. Other methods include a circle that passes through 2 or 3 user specified points, or is tangent to 2 or 3 other objects. As with the arc command, you can access options by typing, right-clicking, or by choosing the desired method from the dropdown list on the control panel when you start the command. Revision Cloud Creates a polyline of sequential arcs to form a cloud shape. These objects are used to highlight specific areas of a drawing, usually for areas that requires a revision. Spline Creates a non-uniform rational Bezier Spline (NURBS) curve. A spline passes through or near a given set of control points. Tangencies and tolerances further refine the shape of the spline. Splines may be created with Fit Points or Control Vertices. Ellipse Creates an ellipse whose shape is derived from two axes defining the length and width of the ellipse. The ellipse can be defined by specifying the endpoints of the axes or by choosing a Center point and then the axis endpoints. Elliptical Arc The Elliptical Arc command is actually an option of the Ellipse command which allows you to specify the start and end angle of the included portion of an ellipse. Multiline Text Creates a text object. Text is covered in depth in lesson 8.
15
Create your Autocad Folder This first exercise can be done without AutoCAD and will simply involve some basic file utility procedures. An understanding of how to manage your files is an essential skill to master.
Open Windows Explorer by selecting the Windows key and the letter E at the same time. You can also open the File explorer by right-clicking on the Start menu and choosing Explore. The image above shows the Windows Explorer from the Windows Vista operating system. If you are using Windows XP or Windows 7, you will have a slightly different interface but similar options. . Browse to a location where you would like to save your files for this course. It could be in the My Documents folder or another location. Create a new folder and name the Folder AutoCAD 1. Double-click the new folder name to open it. Create two new folders inside the AutoCAD 1 folder. Name the new folders Practice and Assignments. This is where you will save your drawings as you create them. It is always a good idea to back up your drawing files by saving them or copying them to a new location.
16
Practice
Drawings:
Creating
and
Saving
Drawings
This
exercise
involves
creating
and
saving
several
drawings
to
separate
drawing
files.
Although
it
would
be
possible
to
create
all
of
the
drawings
in
a
single
file,
the
exercise
is
meant
to
reinforce
the
concepts
of
file
management
and
saving
files.
Each
time
you
complete
a
drawing
exercise,
save
and
close
the
file.
To
start
the
next
drawing,
start
a
new
file.
The
first
2
drawings
are
not
dimensioned
and
are
not
drawn
to
scale.
They
are
merely
quick
sketches
that
will
serve
to
familiarize
you
with
some
of
the
most
common
drawing
tools.
Do
your
best
to
replicate
the
drawings
while
estimating
the
dimensions.
Remember
to
create
separate
files
for
each
drawing.
Refer
to
the
drawing
samples
at
the
end
of
the
lecture
notes
for
this
class
and
reproduce
the
drawings
as
shown.
Start
a
new
file
for
each
drawing.
Use
the
acad.dwt
template
to
start
the
files.
After
you
have
started
creating
the
drawings
you
should
save
them
every
5
or
10
minutes.
Use
the
shortcut
keys
or
open
the
File
menu
to
access
the
save
options.
After
you
have
created
all
two
drawings
and
saved
them
to
your
Practice
folder,
use
the
Open
option
from
the
File
menu
to
reopen
the
first
practice
drawing.
Draw
a
few
new
objects
and
then
use
the
Save
As
command
to
save
the
file
with
a
new
name.
This
method
of
opening
an
existing
file,
editing
it
and
saving
it
with
a
new
name
is
a
very
common
practice
and
a
great
timesaver.
**TIP
There
is
a
button
on
the
status
bar
called
OSNAP
that
is
very
powerful,
very
helpful
and
turned
on
by
default.
In
most
cases
you
work
with
it
enabled,
but
in
your
first
practice
drawings,
it
may
interfere
with
your
progress
by
snapping
to
the
endpoints
of
lines
or
other
geometric
points.
Just
pick
the
button
to
disable
it
when
you
have
trouble
selecting
a
desired
point.
Turn
it
back
on
whenever
possible
as
it
will
allow
you
to
draw
more
accurately.
Prof.
Carmen
Amaddeo
17