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UNIT1
UNIT1
INTRODUCTION TO CAD
UNIT 1
INTRODUCTION TO CAD
OBJECTIVES
General Objective : To understand the function of CAD and how to begin using
AutoCAD
Specific Objectives : At the end of the unit you should be able to:
Explain CAD.
INPUT 1a
Design is a broad field involving the process of making ideas into a real
product or system. The design process requires repeated refinement of ideas until a
solution results a manufactured product or constructed system. Traditionally,
design involves the use of sketches, drawings, renderings, 2-dimensional and 3-
dimensional models, prototypes, testing, analysis, and documentation. Drafting is
generally known as the production of drawing that is used to document a design for
manufacturing or construction or to archive the design.
CAD is a tool that can be used to design and draft activities. CAD can be
used to make rough ideas drawing, although it is more suited to create accurate
finished drawing and rendering. CAD can be used to create a 2-dimensional or 3-
dimensional computer model or system for further analysis and testing by other
computer programs. In addition, CAD can be used to supply manufacturing
equipment such as lathes, mills, laser cutter, or rapid prototyping equipment with
numerical data to manufacture a product. CAD is also used to create the 2-
dimensional documentation drawing for communicating and archiving the design.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
There are many CAD packages that we can use to make a drawing. Each
CAD package has an advantage to make drawing easier. Example of the
packages are listed below;
AutoCAD
Catiar
AutoCADLT
MasterCAM
PSPICE
AutoSketch
Although there are many methods used to design and draft activities, CAD
offers the following advantages over other methods in many cases:
Improving productivity, capability and accuracy.
Faster editing, reviewing and designing.
Improving quality of end product.
Save storage for drawing.
Simple drawing created manually requires lesser time than larger and
more complex drawings, particularly those involving similar shapes
or repetitive operations. It may take some time to set up the first
drawing and create some of the initial geometry, but any of the
existing geometry or drawing setup can be easily duplicated in the
current or for new drawings.
ACTIVITY 1a
1.2 List all the CAD packages that you know of.
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FEEDBACK TO ACTIVITY 1a
ANSWERS.
1.2 There are many CAD packages that we can use to make a
drawing. Each CAD package has an advantage to make drawing easier. Example of
the packages are listed below;
a. AutoCAD
b. Catiar
c. AutoCADLT
d. MasterCAM
e. PSPICE
f. AutoSketch
1.3. Although there are many methods used to design and draft activities, CAD offers the
following advantages over other methods in many cases:
Improving productivity, capability and accuracy.
Faster editing, reviewing and designing.
Improving quality of end product.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
INPUT 1b
If the icon does not appear on the desktop, press the Start button,
highlight Programs, and search for AutoCAD R14 in the menu. From the
list displayed, select AutoCAD R14.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
When you start AutoCAD, the Start Up dialog box appears. This dialog box
includes several tools to help you open an existing drawing or set up a new
drawing.
The following is the content of the instructions for the Start Up dialog box
as it explains the purpose of the first four buttons.
USE A WIZARD
If you want to set up a drawing using a dialog box, choose Use a Wizard.
You can choose from two wizards: Quick Setup and Advanced Setup.
Quick Setup.
Choose the Quick Setup wizard to set up the drawing area and change
settings, such as text height and snap spacing, to an appropriate scale. With
the Quick Setup wizard, you establish basic settings that help define the units
of measure and drawing area. These settings include the basic unit type (such
as architectural, decimal, engineering, fractional, or scientific units) to be
used for display and plotting.
You also specify the width and length of the drawing area, and
thereby establish the drawing's boundaries, called limits. The area within
these limits defines the final plotted sheet size. After you accept the settings,
the drawing session will begin.
Step 1: Units
Step 2: Area
Enter the approximate width and length in full-scale units of what you
plan to draw. This limits the area of the drawing covered by grid dots when
the grid is turned on. It also adjusts several default settings, such as text
height, linetype scaling, and snap distance, to convenient values. You can
also adjust these settings, individually, from the Format menu later in the
drawing session.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
Advanced Setup.
Choose the Advanced Setup wizard to set up the drawing area and
change settings, such as text height and snap spacing, to an appropriate scale.
You can also establish basic layout features.
Step 1: Units
Select the format in which you want to enter and display coordinates
and measurements. Several measurement styles are available in AutoCAD.
Two of them, Engineering and Architectural, have a specific base unit
assigned to them (inches). You can choose from other measurement styles
that can represent any convenient unit of measurement:
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
The precision that you specify controls the number of decimal places or
fractional size to which you want linear measurements displayed.
Step 2: Angles
Select the format in which you want to enter and display angles:
Decimal Degrees. Select to enter and display partial degrees as decimals.
Deg/Min/Sec. Select to enter and display partial degrees as minutes
and seconds.
Grads. Select to enter and display angles as grads.
Radians. Select to enter and display angles as radians.
Surveyor. Select to enter and display angles in surveyor units.
Select the direction of the zero angles for the entry of angles:
East. Select to specify the compass direction east as the zero angle.
North. Select to specify the compass direction north as the zero angle.
West. Select to specify the compass direction west as the zero angle.
South. Select to specify the compass direction south as the zero angle.
Other. Select to specify a direction different from the points of the compass
as the zero angle.
Step 5: Area
Enter the approximate width and length of what you plan to draw in
full-scale units. This limits the area of the drawing covered by grid dots when
the grid is turned on. It also adjusts several default settings, such as text
height, linetype scaling, and snap distance, to convenient values. You can
also adjust these settings, individually, from the Format menu later in the
drawing session.
Step 7: Layout
Select Yes to use advanced paper space layout capabilities in
AutoCAD. Paper space is often used to create complex multiple-view
drawings. Select No to use model space only. If you select Yes to use paper
space, you have three choices of where you want to begin working.
USE A TEMPLATE.
Template Drawing is a drawing file that you can use as a starting point for
new drawings. It stores all the settings for a drawing and may also include
predefined layers, dimension styles, and views. Template drawings are
distinguished from other drawing files by a different file extension, .dwt.
They are normally kept in the template directory. Several template drawings
are included with AutoCAD. You can make additional template drawings by
changing the extensions of drawing file names to have a .dwt extension.
If you want to begin drawing quickly using default English or metric settings,
choose Start from Scratch.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
Figure 1.14 : Create New Drawing box using Start From Scratch
From the Select Default setting field, we can choose either English or Metric
setting.
Below are the standard screens for AutoCAD R14. We can adjust the screen
weather to add or remove some toolbar or change the toolbar or resize the screen
arrangement. In a standard AutoCAD R14, we can see the Menu Bar,
Toolbar, Layer Status Windows, Command Line, Status Line, Drawing
Area and Cursor Pointing.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
Crosshair
Cursor
Toolbars
Command Line
Status Line
Toolbars
AutoCAD R14 provides a variety of toolbars. Each toolbar contains a
number of icon buttons that can be selected to invoke command.
Menu Bars
These menus provide an alternative method of accessing command and
dialog boxes other than the Command Prompt or a toolbars button. They are
termed pull-down menus because when you choose one with your left mouse
button, the menu is displayed beneath its title, as if you were pulling the
menu down from its title.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
Pull-Down
Menu
Command Line
The command line is a docked or floating window where you can enter
names or command and where AutoCAD displays prompts and messages.
Status Line
The status line is a set of informative words or symbols that gives the status
of the drawing aids. The following drawing aids can be toggled on or off by
double-clicking on the desired word or by using Function keys or Ctrl key
sequences.
Choose any of the toolbar checkboxes displays the toolbar. The toolbar can
then be moved anywhere in the application window by selecting the title bar
and dragging the toolbar to a location.
The SAVE command saves the drawing with the current filename or a
specified name when saved the first time. We can get the command with the
following ways
Menu : File>Save
Command : SAVE
The QSAVE command saves currently named drawing one at a time without
requesting a filename
Toolbar :
Menu : File > Save
Command : QSAVE
2. When the Save Drawing As appears, enter the name of the drawing in
file name field. ( the file extension is not required)
After saving the file we can continue or exit the AutoCAD application. To
exit from AutoCAD, use the following method;
1. Click at the very right upper button of the screen
Menu : File>Exit
Command : EXIT
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
ACTIVITY 1b
EXERCISES.
1.5 Draw a line by typing L at the command line. Click the cursor at the
drawing area and move it to other point. Save your drawing and name it
exercise1.
1.6 Exit AutoCAD by selecting the exit option from the pull down menu or
click the upper right button on the screen. Repeat the open and exit steps until
you are confident with the procedure.
1.7 Try to start a new drawing with another set up use a wizard and use a
template
Drag the modify 11 toolbar to the docking region under the Object
Properties toolbar, then release the left mouse button. When the
toolbar is docked, the title bar name is no longer displayed.
In the Toolbar dialog box, clear the Modify 11 Checkbox. The Modify
11 toolbar is no longer displayed.
Choose Close to close the Toolbars dialog box.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
FEEDBACK TO ACTIVITY 1b
QUESTION 1-1
a) How many ways can you start an AutoCAD drawing session? What
are they?
b) How can you disable and reactivate the display of the Start Up dialog
box?
Crosshair
Toolbars
Cursor
Command Line
Status Line
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
e) What is the purpose of Advanced Setup and list all the steps to draw
by using Advanced Setup format.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
FEEDBACK TO SELF-ASSESSMENT
ANSWERS
QUESTION 1-1
a) Two ways to start AutoCAD
i. Click on icon AutoCAD R14 on the Desktop
ii. Press Start>Programs>AutoCAD R14
Toolbar :
We can disable by clicking cancel button at start up dialog box
and upper right click at the start up dialog box.
c)
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
Crosshair
Cursor
Toolbars
Command Line
Status Line
Toolbars
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
Menu Bars
These menus provide an alternative method of accessing command and
dialog boxes other than the Command Prompt or a toolbars button. They are
termed pull-down menus because when you choose one with your left mouse
button, the menu is displayed beneath its title, as if you were pulling the
menu down from its title.
Command Line
The command line is a docked or floating window where you can enter
names or command and where AutoCAD displays prompts and messages.
Status Line
The status line is a set of informative words or symbols that gives the status
of the drawing aids. The following drawing aids can be toggled on or off by
double-clicking on the desired word or by using Function keys or Ctrl key
sequences.
e) Advanced Setup.
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INTRODUCTION TO CAD
Choose the Advanced Setup wizard to set up the drawing area and
change settings, such as text height and snap spacing, to an appropriate scale.
You can also establish basic layout features.
Step 1 : Units
Step 2 : Angles
Step 3 : Angle Measure
Step 4 : Angle Direction
Step 5 : Area
Step 6 : Title Block
Step 7 : Layout