Computer Aided Design

1 Background
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computer hardware and software systems to assist in
the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. CAD software is used to increase
the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve communications through
documentation, and to create a database for manufacturing. CAD output is often in the form of
electronic files for print, machining, or other manufacturing operations. As in the manual drafting
of technical and engineering drawings, the output of CAD must convey information, such as
materials, processes, dimensions, and tolerances, according to application-specific conventions.
CAD may be used to design curves and figures in two-dimensional (2D) space; or curves, surfaces,
and solids in three-dimensional (3D) space. CAD is an important industrial art extensively used in
many applications, including automotive, shipbuilding, and aerospace industries, industrial and
architectural design, prosthetics, and many more. CAD is also widely used to produce computer
animation for special effects in movies, advertising and technical manuals, often called digital
content creation. The modern ubiquity and power of computers means that even perfume bottles
and shampoo dispensers are designed using techniques unheard of by engineers of the 1960s.

Starting around the mid-1970s, as computer aided design systems began to provide more capability
than just an ability to reproduce manual drafting with electronic drafting, the cost benefit for
companies to switch to CAD became apparent. The benefit of CAD systems over manual drafting
are the capabilities one often takes for granted from computer systems today; automated
generation of Bill of Material, auto layout in integrated circuits, interference checking, and many
others. Eventually CAD provided the designer with the ability to perform engineering calculations.
During this transition, calculations were still performed either by hand or by those individuals that
could run computer programs. CAD was a revolutionary change in the engineering industry, where
draftsmen, designers and engineering roles begin to merge. It did not eliminate departments, as
much as it merged departments and empowered draftsman, designers and engineers. CAD is just
another example of the pervasive effect computers were beginning to have on industry.

Current computer-aided design software packages range from 2D vector-based drafting systems to
3D solid and surface modelers. Modern CAD packages can also frequently allow rotations in three
dimensions, allowing viewing of a designed object from any desired angle, even from the inside
looking out. Some CAD software is capable of dynamic mathematical modeling, in which case it
may be marketed as CADD.

CAD is used in the design of tools and machinery and in the drafting and design of all types of
buildings, from small residential types (houses) to the largest commercial and industrial structures
(hospitals and factories).CAD is mainly used for detailed engineering of 3D models and/or 2D
drawings of physical components, but it is also used throughout the engineering process from
conceptual design and layout of products, through strength and dynamic analysis of assemblies to
definition of manufacturing methods of components. It can also be used to design objects.
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Furthermore many CAD applications now offer advanced rendering and animation capabilities so
engineers can better visualize their product designs.CAD has become an especially important
technology within the scope of computer-aided technologies, with benefits such as lower product
development costs and a greatly shortened design cycle. CAD enables designers to layout and
develop work on screen, print it out and save it for future editing, saving time on their drawings.

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CAD is one part of the whole Digital Product Development (DPD) activity within the Product
Lifecycle Management (PLM) processes, and as such is used together with other tools, which are
either integrated modules or stand-alone products, such as:

• Computer-aided engineering (CAE) and Finite element analysis (FEA)

• Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) including instructions to Computer Numerical
Control (CNC) machines
• Photorealistic rendering
• Document management and revision control using Product Data Management (PDM).

CAD is also used for the accurate creation of photo simulations that are often required in the
preparation of Environmental Impact Reports, in which computer-aided designs of intended
buildings are superimposed into photographs of existing environments to represent what that
locale will be like were the proposed facilities allowed to be built. Potential blockage of view
corridors and shadow studies are also frequently analyzed through the use of CAD.

There are various CAD software available in the market today such as CATIA, SolidWorks,
Pro/Engineer, Rhinoceros, Solid Edge, Google’s Sketch Up, Sweet Home 3D, Blender, progeCAD
Smart!, Sculptris etc. to name a few. But AutoCAD because of its user friendly GUI and exceptional
features is the bestselling CAD software in the world. It has established itself as the ubiquitous CAD
software in most of the design firms throughout the world.

AutoCAD is a commercial software application for 2D and 3D computer-aided design

(CAD) and drafting — available since 1982 as a desktop application and since 2010 as a mobile web
and cloud-based app marketed as AutoCAD 360.

AutoCAD is used across a wide range of industries, by architects, project managers, engineers,
designers, and other professionals. As Autodesk's flagship product, by March 1986 AutoCAD had
become the most ubiquitous CAD program worldwide. As of 2014, AutoCAD is in its twenty-ninth
generation, and collectively with all its variants, continues to be the most widely used CAD program
throughout most of the world.

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 Introduction to AutoCAD
After completing this chapter you should be able to:
• Run AutoCAD and start a drawing in AutoCAD
• Understand the various components in the AutoCAD screen
• Invoke commands from keyboard, menu and tool palettes
• Save your work
• Close a drawing
• Open an existing drawing
• Use AutoCAD Help option
• Exit AutoCAD

1 Starting AutoCAD
After you switch on your computer, the operating system loads and you see your desktop. On the
desktop you will see an icon named AutoCAD. Double clicking this icon will start AutoCAD on your
computer. It can also be loaded by going to start menu, choosing programs and then clicking on
AutoCAD. The software must be installed first to follow this procedure.

2 AutoCAD Screen Components

The various components of the initial AutoCAD screen are the title bar, drawing area, toolbars,
menu bar, command window, model and layout tabs and the status bar.

The title bar has the AutoCAD symbol and the current drawing name displayed on the top of the
screen.

The drawing area covers the major portion of the screen. With the help of commands and cursor
objects can be drawn on this area. This window also contains the standard Windows buttons such
as close, minimize, scrollbar and so on, at the top right corner.

The command window is present at the bottom of the drawing area and has the prompt where
you can enter the commands. It also displays the subsequent prompt sequences and the messages.

The menu bar is used to access the various features and options available in AutoCAD.

The toolbars are the GUI shortcuts for the commands and menu bar options. These make using the
pointing device easier and quicker for the designer.

The model and layouts tab enable the designer to switch between model view and layout view. It
helps the designer visualize the drawing on the paper.

The status bar is displayed at the bottom of the screen. This bar contains some useful information
and buttons that will make it easy to change the status of some AutoCAD functions. On the left
hand corner the coordinate information is displayed. At the middle are the toggle switches for
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snap, grid, ortho, polar, osnap, otrack, lwt and model.

• SNAP mode will allow you to move the cursor in fixed increments. To switch it on you can
simply click it or press F9.

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 • Similarly grid lines are displayed if GRID button or F7 is pressed. These lines are useful as
reference lines to draw objects in AutoCAD.
• ORTHO mode allows you to draw lines at right angles only. It can be switched on by clicking
on ortho or by pressing F8.
• If POLAR mode is on, the movement of the cursor is restricted along a path based on the
angle set as the polar angle settings. F10 also engages this mode.
• When OSNAP is on, you can use the running objects snap to snap on to a point. F3 can also
be used to engage this mode.
• Choosing the OTRACK button turns object snap tracking on or off.
• Choosing LWT allows you to turn on or off the display of line weights in the drawing.
• The MODEL button is displayed when working in the model space to create drawings. This
button can be used to shift to the layouts where you can create drawing views.

On the right hand corner of the status bar are the status bar tray options such as communication
center, manage xrefs, CAD standards and validate digital signatures.

The Communication Center displays a message and alert whenever Autodesk provides the latest
information regarding software updates and their other products.

The Manage Xrefs icon is displayed whenever an external reference drawing is attached to the
selected drawing.

The CAD Standards icon is displayed whenever a standard drawing is associated with the selected
drawing to compare the standards.

The Validate Digital Signatures icon is displayed whenever AutoCAD drawing has a valid digital
signature.

3 Invoking Commands in AutoCAD Invoke :- Call

When you start AutoCAD and you are in the drawing area, you need to invoke AutoCAD commands
to perform any operation. For example, if you want to draw a line, first you have to invoke the LINE
command, and then define the start point and the endpoint of the line. There are three methods to
invoke commands in AutoCAD that are through Keyboard, Drop down Menu and Toolbar.
1st Method from Keybord/ Command Window
You can invoke any AutoCAD command through the keyboard by typing the command name at the
Command prompt, and then pressing ENTER or SPACE. Before entering the command make sure
the command prompt is displayed at the last line else you must cancel the existing command by
pressing ESC on the keyboard. The following example shows how to invoke the LINE command
from the keyboard:

Command: LINE<enter>

At the Menu bar, you can choose the desired item by pressing the left button on your mouse. Once
the item is selected, the corresponding menu is displayed directly under the title. You can invoke
the command by left click in the desired command.
2nd Method From Tool Bar (Draw toolbar / Modify Toolbar)
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At the Toolbars such as Draw toolbar and Modify toolbar, you can directly click on the icons of the
commands to invoke the command. If you hover the cursor over the icon you will see a tooltip that
describes the icon. Then you can select the required command icon to invoke it.

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 System variables are the settings that AutoCAD checks before it decides how to do something.
Most system variables are controlled by the OPtions command, but you can also change the value
of a system variable by simply typing its name at the AutoCAD command prompt and pressing
Enter.
Tool Palettes are separate windows that are a modified version of the toolbars. They have large
icons and the name of the icon is listed just besides the icon. Hence it is more user friendly. The
icons can be clicked to invoke the command.

4 Commands and System Variables

Commands are defined as the valid input given by the user to AutoCAD. It may be related to
drawing, modifying, customizing, changing preferences etc. There are various commands that can
be used in AutoCAD. Most of these commands will be discussed in the subsequent chapters.

System Variables are the special commands that enable the user to change the settings of
AutoCAD. Most system variables are controlled by the OPtions command, but you can also change
the value of a system variable by simply typing its name at the AutoCAD command prompt and
pressing Enter. Or you can type SETVAR command to change the value of the variables or get the
list of system variables. Use GETVAR command to get the values of the variables. Some of the
variables are listed below.
example • APERTURE controls how closely the crosshairs must be to an object before an object snap
marker appears. You can set APERTURE from the command line between 0 and 50 pixels,
or you can set it in the Options dialog box by adjusting the slider to a maximum of 20
pixels. The default value is 10.
• When MENUBAR is 1, AutoCAD displays its traditional classic menu bar below the
application title bar. If MENUBAR is set to 0 (the default), the menu bar doesn’t appear.
MENUBAR is set automatically when you switch between the AutoCAD Classic and Drafting
& Annotation workspaces.
• The PICKBOX is the little square box that the crosshairs turn into when AutoCAD prompts
you to select an item. You control the pickbox size by setting a value in pixels for the
PICKBOX variable. The initial setting of PICKBOX is 3, which is fine for a lower screen
resolution, such as 1024 x 768. But, a higher setting might be useful for higher resolutions.

5 Coordinate Systems
AutoCAD provides the user with an infinite two dimensional area to work with. Any place on the
working two dimensional plane can be defined relative to the Cartesian coordinate system. The
Cartesian coordinate system divides a two dimensional plane with two perpendicular axis. The X
axis runs horizontal across the bottom of the screen. The Y axis runs vertically along the left side of
the screen. These two axes intersect at the bottom left corner of the screen.

Each of these axes is further divided into segments. Each segment is given a value. The X axis
segments increase in value to the right. The positive X values are to the right of the intersection of
the two axes. The negative X values are to the left. The positive Y values are above the intersection
and increase up. The negative Y values are below.

5.1 Absolute Coordinate System

In the absolute coordinate system, the points are located with respect to the origin (0,0). For
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example, a point with X=4 and Y=3 is measured 4 units horizontally and 3 units vertically from the
origin. In AutoCAD the absolute coordinates are specified by entering X and Y coordinates,
separated by a comma. For example 3,4or as polar coordinates as 2<45. Where, 2 is the distance
from the origin and 45 is the angle made with the positive x-axis by the line traced.

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5.2 Relative Rectangular Coordinates
In the relative rectangular coordinate system, the displacements along the X and Y axes are
measured with reference to the previous point rather than the origin. In AutoCAD, the relative
coordinate system is designated by the symbol @and it should precede any relative entry. For
example @2,2

5.3 Relative Polar Coordinates

In relative polar coordinate system, a point is located by defining both the distance of the point
from the current point and the angle that the line between the two points makes with the positive
X axis. In AutoCAD the relative polar coordinates are designated by @ at the beginning and < sign in
between the distance and the angle formed with the positive X axis. For example @2<45(for two
units long and 45 degrees angle).
3rd Method :- Direct Distance Entry
With direct distance entry, you can quickly specify a point
6 Starting a New Drawing relative to the last point you entered. At any prompt for
a point location, you move the cursor first to specify the
6.1 New Drawing direction, and then enter a numeric distance
COMMAND: QNEW OR NEW
TOOLBAR: STANDARD TOOLBAR>NEW
MENU BAR: FILE > NEW

You can open a new drawing by following any of the above mentioned method. By default,
AutoCAD will display the Select Template dialog box. The dialog box will list the default templates
available in AutoCAD. The most common template used is the “acad.dwt”. We will be using the
same for our educational purpose.

6.2 Naming and Saving a File

COMMAND: QSAVE OR SAVEAS
TOOLBAR: STANDARD TOOLBAR>SAVE
MENU BAR: FILE > SAVE

In AutoCAD or any other computer systems, it is recommended to save your work at frequent
intervals and compulsorily before exiting the software so that it can be retrieved easily when
required. If the current drawing is unsaved then the QSAVE command will prompt you to enter the
file name before saving, but if it is already saved, it will not provide any such option. But if you use
the SAVEAS command it will allow you to save the current file as a duplicate with another file
name. Then it will let you continue with the new file.

6.3 Closing a File

COMMAND: CLOSE
MENU BAR: FILE > CLOSE

You can close an AutoCAD file without exiting AutoCAD by using this command. If you have not
saved a file before invoking this command you will be asked to save the file or discard it. You will
have an option of opening a new file or an existing file once you close a file.
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6.4 Ending Session

After the files have been saved, you can exit AutoCAD by clicking on the close button at the top
right corner of the window.

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 Basic Drawing Commands
After completing this chapter you should be able to:
• Create points
• Create lines and construction lines
• Create circle, arc and ellipse
• Create polygons
• Create splines

1 Creating Points
COMMAND: POINT OR PO
TOOLBAR: DRAW > POINT
MENU BAR: DRAW > POINT
TOOL PALETTES: DRAW > POINT

Points are generally used as reference in AutoCAD drawing. These are used to specify points that
have significance while sketching some drawings. Above mentioned are the ways in which a point
command can be invoked. After it is invoked the coordinates of the points can be entered manually
by typing in absolute, relative or polar coordinate mode. The point can also be defined by directly
clicking on the desired spot in the drawing area. With the command option you will have to give
the command to specify each point but with other options you can create multiple points with
single command input.

Example 1:

Regenerating model.
AutoCAD menu utilities loaded.*Cancel*
Command: point<enter>
Current point modes: PDMODE=0 PDSIZE=0.0000
Specify a point: 2,4<enter>
Command: point
Current point modes: PDMODE=0 PDSIZE=0.0000
Specify a point: @2,0<enter>
Command: point
Current point modes: PDMODE=0 PDSIZE=0.0000
Specify a point: 3,0<enter>
Command: zoom<enter>
Specify corner of window, enter a scale factor (nX or nXP), or
[All/Center/Dynamic/Extents/Previous/Scale/Window/Object] <real time>: a<enter>
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2 Creating Lines
COMMAND: LINE OR L
TOOLBAR: DRAW >LINE
MENU BAR: DRAW > LINE
TOOL PALETTES: DRAW > LINE

The most fundamental object in a drawing is the line. It can be simply drawn between two points
by invoking the line command. After you invoke the command the command prompt will ask you
enter the first point and then the second point. These points can be specified by entering the
respective coordinates or directly clicking on the drawing area with the cursor.

After specifying the points, you can press ENTER, SPACE or ESC to terminate the command or you
can enter CLOSE to create a closed polygon.

You can type U to undo the last segment of the line in case of an error. You can invoke the ERASE
command and then select objects that need to be cleared as well.

Example 2:

Regenerating model.
AutoCAD menu utilities loaded.*Cancel*
Command: zoom<enter>
Specify corner of window, enter a scale factor (nX or nXP), or
[All/Center/Dynamic/Extents/Previous/Scale/Window/Object] <real time>: a<enter>
Regenerating model.
Command: line<enter>
Specify first point: 3,1<enter>
Specify next point or [Undo]: 3,6<enter>
Specify next point or [Undo]: 4,6<enter>
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: @0,-4<enter>
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: @1,0<enter>
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: @1,1<enter>
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: 1<0<enter>
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: u<enter>
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: @1<0<enter>
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: @2<270<enter>
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: close<enter>
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 Figure 1: Creating Lines

3 Creating Construction Lines

COMMAND: XLINE OR XL
TOOLBAR: DRAW > CONSTRUCTIONLINE
MENU BAR: DRAW > CONSTRUCTION LINE
TOOL PALETTES: DRAW > CONSTRUCTION LINE

Construction lines are infinitely long lines that can be used as reference while drawing. They are
not a part of the drawing but are used to visualize the projection of shorter lines or points. The
options available with construction lines are Horizontal, Vertical, Angular, Bisect and Offset. With
the help of these options, horizontal, vertical, angular, bisecting and offset construction lines can
be drawn.

• For horizontal and vertical construction lines, after invoking the xline command, type h or v
then specify a point through which the line should pass.
• For angular construction lines, after invoking the xline command, type a then specify the
angle then the point through which the line should pass.
• For bisecting lines, invoke the xline command then type b then select the vertex of the
angle that has to be bisected. Then select the start and end points of the angle.
• For offset lines, invoke the xline command then type o then enter the offset distance, then
select the line to be offset then, select the side on which you require the offset line.

Example 3:

Regenerating model.
AutoCAD menu utilities loaded.*Cancel*
Command: zoom<enter>
Specify corner of window, enter a scale factor (nX or nXP), or
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[All/Center/Dynamic/Extents/Previous/Scale/Window/Object] <real time>: a

Regenerating model.
Command: xline<enter>
Specify a point or [Hor/Ver/Ang/Bisect/Offset]: h<enter>

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 Specify through point: 1,1<enter>
Specify through point:<enter>
Command: xline<enter>
Specify a point or [Hor/Ver/Ang/Bisect/Offset]: v<enter>
Specify through point: 1,1<enter>
Specify through point: <enter>
Command: xline<enter>
Specify a point or [Hor/Ver/Ang/Bisect/Offset]: a<enter>
Enter angle of xline (0) or [Reference]: 135<enter>
Specify through point: 5,5<enter>
Specify through point: <enter>
Command: xline<enter>
Specify a point or [Hor/Ver/Ang/Bisect/Offset]: b<enter>
Specify angle vertex point:<select the angle vertex>
Specify angle start point:<select a point on the angle start line>
Specify angle end point:<select a point on the angle end line>
Specify angle end point:<enter>
Command: xline<enter>
Specify a point or [Hor/Ver/Ang/Bisect/Offset]: o<enter>
Specify offset distance or [Through] <Through>: 5<enter>
Select a line object:<select a line>
Specify side to offset:<click on either side>
Select a line object:<enter>

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4 Creating Circles
COMMAND: CIRCLE OR C
TOOLBAR: DRAW > CIRCLE
MENU BAR: DRAW > CIRCLE
TOOL PALETTES: DRAW > CIRCLE
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The CIRCLE command can be invoked by above mentioned methods. There are various options
within this command. They have been explained briefly below:

4.1 The Center and Radius Option

In this option, you can draw a circle by defining the center and the radius of the circle. After
entering the circle command, the command prompt will ask you to enter the center of the circle
then to enter the radius of the circle. For example:

Command: CIRCLE<enter>
Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: 3,2<enter>
Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]: 1<enter>

4.2 The Center and Diameter Option

In the above option when prompted to enter the radius, if you enter ‘d’ the command prompt asks
you to enter the diameter. For example:
Command: CIRCLE<enter>
Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: 2,3<enter>
Specify radius of circle or [Diameter] <5.0000>: d<enter>
Specify diameter of circle <10.0000>: 2<enter>

4.3 The Two Point Option

In this option AutoCAD allows you to draw the circle by specifying the two endpoints of the circle’s
diameter. For example:
Command: CIRCLE<enter>
Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: 2p<enter>
Specify first end point of circle's diameter:0,0<enter>
Specify second end point of circle's diameter:5,0<enter>

4.4 The Three Point Option

For this option you can define any three points on the circumference of the circle to create a circle.
For example:
Command: CIRCLE<enter>
Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: 3P<enter>
Specify first point on circle: 1,1<enter>
Specify second point on circle: 4,5<enter>
Specify third point on circle: 3,2<enter>

4.5 The Tangent Tangent Radius Option

A tangent is an object such as line, circle or arc that contacts the circumference of a circle at only
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one point. In this option AutoCAD uses the tangent object snap to locate two tangent points on the
selected objects that are to be tangents to the circle. Then you have to specify the radius of the
circle. If you specify too small or large radius, you may get unexpected results or the “Circle does
not exist” prompt. For example:

Command: CIRCLE<enter>
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 Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: T<enter>
Specify point on object for first tangent of circle:Select an object<enter>
Specify point on object for second tangent of circle:Select an object<enter>
Specify radius of circle <3.5355>: 0.75<enter>

4.6 The Tangent Tangent Tangent Option

You can invoke this option from the menu bar only. This option is a modification of the 3P option.
In this option AutoCAD uses the Tangent osnap to locate three points on three selected objects to
which the circle is drawn tangent. For example:

Menu Bar > Draw > Circle > Tan, Tan Tan

Command: _circle Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: _3p
Specify first point on circle: _tan to Select an object<enter>
Specify second point on circle: _tan to Select an object<enter>
Specify third point on circle: _tan to Select an object<enter>

5 Creating Arcs
COMMAND: ARC OR A
TOOLBAR: DRAW > ARC
MENU BAR: DRAW > ARC
TOOL PALETTES: DRAW > ARC

The ARC command can be invoked by above mentioned methods. There are various options within
this command that can be invoked from the menu bar but the default method is the 3 point
method. The Arc are always drawn in a counterclockwise direction. The various methods for
defining an arc are:
5.1 3 Points
In this option, you have to define the start point, second point and the end point in order.

5.2 Start, Center, End

In this option, you have to define the start point, center of the arc and the end point of the arc in
the same order.

5.3 Start, Center, Angle

This option is the best choice if you know the included angle of the arc. The included angle is the
angle formed by the start point and the endpoint of the arc with the specified center. For this
option you can specify negative angle value to generate clockwise arc also.

5.4 Start, Center, Length

In this option you are required to specify the start point, center point and the length of the chord. A
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chord is defined as the straight line connecting the start point and the end point of an arc. Positive
chord length gives the shortest possible arc and negative chord length gives the largest possible arc
with that length.

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5.5 Start, End, Angle
In this option you can draw an arc by specifying the start point of the arc, the endpoint and the
included angle. A positive included angle value draws an arc in counterclockwise direction from the
start point and a negative value draws an arc in clockwise direction.

5.6 Start, End, Direction

In this option, you can draw an arc by specifying the start point, endpoint and the starting direction
of the arc, in degrees. In other words, the arc starts in the direction you specify (the start of the arc
is established tangent to the direction you specify). Negative direction makes the arc in clockwise
direction. The degree is specified with respect to positive x-axis.

5.7 Start, End, Radius

This option is used when you know the start point, end point and the radius of the arc. A negative
radius value results in a major arc, the largest arc between two endpoints, while a positive radius
value results in a minor arc, smallest arc between the start point and the endpoint.

5.8 Center, Start, End

This option is a modification of the Start, Center, End option. Use this option whenever it is easier
to start drawing by establishing the center first.

5.9 Center, Start, Angle

This option is a modification of the Start, Center, Angle option. Use this option whenever it is easier
to start drawing by establishing the center first.

5.10 Center, Start, Length

This option is a modification of the Start, Center, Length option. Use this option whenever it is
easier to start drawing by establishing the center first.

5.11 Continue
With this option you can continue drawing an arc from a previously drawn arc or line. When you
select the Continue option (Draw Menu), then the start point and the direction of the arc will be
taken from the endpoint and ending direction of the previous line or arc drawn on the current
screen. When this option is used to draw arcs, each successive arc is tangent to the previous one.

6 Creating Ellipses
COMMAND: ELLIPSE
TOOLBAR: DRAW > ELLIPSE
MENU BAR: DRAW > ELLIPSE
TOOL PALETTES: DRAW > ELLIPSE

If a circle is observed from an angle, the shape seen is called an ellipse. The ELLIPSE command can
be invoked by above mentioned methods. There are various options within this command. The
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various methods for defining an ellipse are:

6.1 Axis and Endpoint Option

In this option you draw an ellipse by specifying axes endpoint and the other endpoint of the axis.
The angle at which the ellipse is drawn depends on the angle made by these two axis endpoints.

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The next prompt asks you to specify the distance to the second axis endpoint, this distance is half
the length of this axis.

If you enter Rotation at the “Specify the other axis” prompt, the first axis specified is automatically
taken as the major axis of the ellipse. Then the major axis is taken as the diameter line of the circle,
and the rotation takes place around this diameter line into the third dimension. You can enter the
rotation angle value in range of 0 to 89.4 degrees only, because an angle value greater than that
changes the circle into a line.

6.2 Center and two Axes Option

In this option you can draw an ellipse by specifying the center point, the endpoint of one axis, and
the length of the other axis. The only difference between this method and the ellipse by axis and
endpoint method is that instead of specifying the second endpoint of the first axis, the center of
the ellipse is specified.

7 Creating Elliptical Arcs

COMMAND: ELLIPSE > ARC
TOOLBAR: DRAW > ELLIPSE ARC
MENU BAR: DRAW > ELLIPSE > ARC
TOOL PALETTES: DRAW > ELLIPSE ARC

You can use this command to draw an elliptical arc. Initially you will be prompted similar sequence
as while defining the ellipse. Once the ellipse is defined you can define the arc limits by using the
following options:

7.1 Start and End angle of the Arc

The angles are defined with respect to the positive x-axis and is formed in counterclockwise
direction.

7.2 Start and Included angle of the Arc

Again the angles are defined with respect to the positive x-axis and is formed in counterclockwise
direction.

7.3 Start and End Parameters

The start and end parameter of an elliptical arc are determined by specifying a point on the circle
whose diameter is equal to the major diameter of the ellipse. Once you specify these points
AutoCAD will project these points on the major axis and determine the endpoints of the elliptical
arc.

8 Creating Rectangles
COMMAND: RECTANG
TOOLBAR: DRAW > RECTANGLE
Suyesh Bhattarai

MENU BAR: DRAW > RECTANGLE

TOOL PALETTES: DRAW > RECTANGLE

After invoking RECTANG command, you are prompted to specify the first corner of the rectangle.
Then you are prompted to enter the coordinates of the other corner or enter the dimensions of

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rectangle in form of length and width. This other corner is taken as the corner diagonally opposite
the first corner.

There are various other options available within the Rectang command. They are listed below as:

8.1 Chamfer
This option creates a chamfer by specifying the chamfer distances. You can give two different
chamfer values to create an unequal chamfer. The chamfer is created on all the four corners of the
rectangle.

8.2 Fillet
This option allows you to create a fillet at all the four corners of the rectangle by specifying the
fillet radius. To generate fillets the length and the width of the rectangle must be more than twice
the value of the specified fillet, else rectangle without fillets will be created.

8.3 Width
This option allows you to create a rectangle whose line segments have some specified width.

8.4 Thickness
This option allows you to draw a rectangle that is extruded in the z direction by the specified value
of thickness. You can view this thickness by selecting MenuBar>View>3D Views> SW Isometric.

8.5 Elevation
This option allows you to draw a rectangle at a specified distance from the XY plane along the Z
axis. You can view this elevation by selecting MenuBar>View>3D Views> SW Isometric.

8.6 The Area Option

This option allows you to enter the area of the rectangle then enter either the length of the width
of the rectangle.

Command: RECTANG<enter>
Specify first corner point or [Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]: 3,3<enter>
Specify other corner point or [Area/Dimensions/Rotation]: A<enter>
Enter area of rectangle in current units <100.0000>: 100<enter>
Calculate rectangle dimensions based on [Length/Width] <Length>: L<enter>
Enter rectangle length <10.0000>: 12<enter>

8.7 The Dimensions Option

This option allows you to enter the length and width of the rectangle.

Command: RECTANG<enter>
Specify first corner point or [Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]: 3,3<enter>
Specify other corner point or [Area/Dimensions/Rotation]: D<enter>
Specify length for rectangles <12.0000>: 5<enter>
Suyesh Bhattarai

Specify width for rectangles <8.3333>: 4<enter>

Specify other corner point or [Area/Dimensions/Rotation]:<click on either side>

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8.8 The Rotation Option
This option allows you to create rectangles at angles to the x-axis. Below is an example of a
rectangle at 30 degrees.

Command: RECTANG<enter>
Specify first corner point or [Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]: 3,3<enter>
Specify other corner point or [Area/Dimensions/Rotation]: R<enter>
Specify rotation angle or [Pick points] <0>: 30<enter>
Specify other corner point or [Area/Dimensions/Rotation]: D<enter>
Specify length for rectangles <5.0000>: 5<enter>
Specify width for rectangles <4.0000>: 4<enter>
Specify other corner point or [Area/Dimensions/Rotation]:<click on either side>

9 Creating Regular Polygons

COMMAND: POLYGON
TOOLBAR: DRAW > POLYGON
MENU BAR: DRAW > POLYGON
TOOL PALETTES: DRAW > POLYGON

A regular polygon is a closed geometric figure with equal sides and equal angles. The number of
sides varies from 3 to 1024. Once you invoke this command AutoCAD prompts you to enter the
number of sides. Then you have two options:

9.1 Center of the Polygon Option

In this option you are prompted to enter the center of the polygon. Then you can enter the radius
of the inscribed in circle or the circumscribed around circle. The inscribed in circle option creates
the polygon within the circumference of the circle with the vertices of the polygon on the
circumference. The circumscribed about option creates the polygon outside the circle with each
side tangent to the circle.

9.2 Edge Option

This option allows you to enter the two end points of one edge of the polygon. The polygon is
drawn in counterclockwise direction.

Command: POLYGON
Enter number of sides <5>:
Specify center of polygon or [Edge]: e
Specify first endpoint of edge: Specify second endpoint of edge: @10<60
Suyesh Bhattarai

Command: POLYGON
Enter number of sides <5>: 5
Specify center of polygon or [Edge]:
Enter an option [Inscribed in circle/Circumscribed about circle] <I>: i
Specify radius of circle: 10

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COMPUTER AIDED
DRAWING
Lecture 2

By : Kapil Khanal

9th Dec, 2014

Kapil Khanal
3. Modifying Commands (8 hours)
3.1 Erasing the Object
3.2 Creating multiple Objects
3.3 Scaling the Object
3.4 Creating Chamfer and Fillet
3.5 Trimming and Extending of the Object
3.6 Breaking and Dividing
3.7 Modifying colors, styles, etc. the Object

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3. Modifying Commands
3.1 Erasing the Object
Commands: Erase
Erases or Delete the selected objects. You can get the same
effect by selecting objects and hitting Delete key.

Procedure
Command: erase
Command: select object to erase
then hit the ENTER key
Polyline (pline) Vs line
 The PLINE command allows you to create "grouped" objects that can be
extruded, given line width on the screen, and can contain arc segments.
The " LINE " Command is used To Create The Line.

 Since it is harder to create objects from Polylines, it is usually easier to create

the object out of standard lines, arcs, and circles and then convert it to Polylines
using Pedit's Join option.

 A rectangle created with the line command consists of four separate

entities. The sample rectangle created with one continuous polyline would be
treated by AutoCAD as a single entity.
 Line is just one straight segment, Polyline is a series of segments (lines or arcs)
 Line can be 3D, plain Polyline cannot (there are also 3DPolylines)
 You can convert Lines to Polylines (e.g. with PEDIT) and Polylines to Lines
(with EXPLODE)
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Move command
3.2 Creating multiple Objects
 Copy option
3.2 Creating multiple Objects
 Offset command
3.2 Creating multiple Objects
3.2 Creating multiple Objects
3.2 Creating multiple Objects
Rectangular array Polar array

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3.3 Scaling the Object
3.4 Creating Chamfer and Fillet
 Fillet
3.4 Creating Chamfer and Fillet
 Chamfer
3.5 Trimming and Extending of the Object
3.5 Trimming and Extending of the Object
3.6 Breaking and Dividing
3.6 Breaking and Dividing
Ddptype: to change the point type
COMPUTER AIDED
DRAWING
Lecture 3

By : Kapil Khanal

23rd Dec, 2014

Kapil Khanal
4. Drawing Aids and Tools (8 hours)
4.1 Setting up Units and Limits
4.2 Using Ortho, Grids and Snap
4.3 Help and Undo Commands
4.4 Display Commands
4.5 Creating Isometric Drawing

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4.1 Setting up Units and Limits
Drawing Units:
For starting AutoCAD command UNITS:
- Type Units on the command line.
In either case, the units dialog box opens.

-Units command in AutoCAD used to select

units of measurement( length; angle; precision)
for the objects that you are drawing.

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 4.1 Setting up Units and Limits
Drawing Limits:
You use drawing limits to predetermine the size of the drawing area. The drawing
limits represent the coordinates of the lower left and the upper right corners of a
rectangle in terms of x and y coordinates.
Command: Limits
At the Specify Lower Left Corner or [ON/OFF] prompt, you can press enter to keep the
default 0, 0 coordinates or you can type the new coordinates x, y that you want to use to identify the
lower left corner of your drawing.
At the Specify Upper Right Corner prompt, type X, Y coordinates that you want to use to
identify the upper right corner of your drawing area.

Zoom>All command from View menu to display the actual drawing area defined by
the new drawing limits.
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4.2 Using Ortho, Grids and Snap
• Ortho mode command( ortho )
Ortho mode restricts movements to horizontal and vertical directions.

• Grid display command (Grid)

Displays grids with spacing that you specify.

• Object snap command (snap)

Snaps to exiting objects on the screen.

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Polar Snaps
work
independently
from snaps.
With Polar
Snaps on,
AutoCAD
shows the
distances and
angles being
displayed as
the cursor
moves.

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4.3 Help and Undo Commands

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4.4 Display Commands
1. Zoom command

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4.4 Display Commands
2.

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4.4 Display Commands

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List Commands

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4.5 Creating Isometric Drawing

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COMPUTER AIDED
DRAWING
Lecture 4

By : Kapil Khanal

11st Feb, 2015

Kapil Khanal
5. Fine Tuning Drawings and Grouping (4 hours)
5.1 Hatching Command
5.2 Working with Layers
5.3 Creating and Inserting Blocks

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5.1 Hatching Command

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5.1 Hatching Command

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Different between the boundary and the region command

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5.2 Working with Layers

• The concept of layers is very important in AutoCAD and the correct

use of layers can make your drawing much easier to work with.
• Basically, layers are the computer equivalent of tracing overlays on a
drawing board.
• However, layers are much more powerful because you can have many
layers in a single drawing and you can control
the visibility, colour and linetype of layers independently

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5.3 Creating and Inserting Blocks

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6. Working with Text and Dimensions (4 hours)
6.1 Inserting Text on drawing
6.2 Dimension Styles, Dimensioning Commands,
Tolerance, Limits, Dimension Setup, Dimension
Variables, Dimension Scale

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6.1 Inserting Text on drawing
• TEXT COMMAND
• It helps to input single line text
object.
• The Text command can also enter
multiple lines of text, but each line
of text is a separate entity, and
they can be selected or edited
respectively
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• MTEXT COMMAND
• It helps to input multi line text
object
• Mtext command is different from
the Text command, Mtext input
multiline paragraphed text. As the
text is an entity, you can only
select and editor the entire text.
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COMPUTER AIDED
DRAWING
Lecture 5

By : Kapil Khanal

Feb, 2015
Kapil Khanal
7. Working with Three Dimensional Drawing (12 hours)
7.1 Wireframe, Surface and Solid Modeling
7.2 Creating 3D Drawing using THICKNESS and ELEVATION Commands
7.3 Solid Modeling, Standard
7.4 Creating 3D Drawing using EXTRUDE Command
7.5 Standard Solid Editing Commands
7.6 3D Modifying Commands: move, rotate, mirror, array
7.7 Shading and Rendering and their Options, Motion Path Animations

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7.1 Wireframe, Surface and Solid Modeling
A 3-D model defined by surfaces. The surface
consists of polygons. (See facets.)
Surface
Model

A 3-D model creating using solid 'building blocks'.

This is the most accurate way of representing real-
Solid Model world objects in CAD.

A 3-D shape that is defined by lines and curves.

Wire-frame A skeletal representation. Hidden line removal is
Model not possible with this model.

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 Wireframes model

A wireframe model is a skeletal description of a 3D

object. There are no surfaces in a wireframe model; it
consists only of points, lines, and curves that describe the
edges of the object. With AutoCAD you can create
wireframe models by positioning 2D (planar) objects
anywhere in 3D space. AutoCAD also provides some 3D
wireframe objects, such as 3D polylines (that can only
have a CONTINUOUS linetype) and splines. Because
each object that makes up a wireframe model must be
independently drawn and positioned, this type of
modeling can be the most time-consuming.
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Surfaces model
Surface modeling is more sophisticated than
wireframe modeling in that it defines not only
the edges of a 3D object, but also its surfaces.
The AutoCAD surface modeler defines faceted
surfaces using a po-lygonal mesh. Because the
faces of the mesh are planar, the mesh can only
approximate curved surfaces. With Mechanical
Desktop, you can create true curved surfaces.
To differentiate these two types of sur-faces,
AutoCAD calls faceted surfaces, meshes.

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Solid model
Solid modeling is the easiest type of 3D modeling to
use. With the AutoCAD solid modeler, you can make
3D objects by creating basic 3D shapes: boxes, cones,
cylinders, spheres, wedges, and tori (do-nuts). You can
then combine these shapes to create more complex
solids by joining or subtracting them or finding their
intersecting (over-lapping) volume. You can also create
solids by sweeping a 2D object along a path or
revolving it about an axis.
NOTE: Because each modeling type uses a different
method for constructing 3D models and editing
methods vary in their effect on the different model
types, it is recommended that you not mix modeling
methods.

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7.2 Creating 3D Drawing using THICKNESS and ELEVATION Commands

Although AutoCAD has a number of

commands for creating special
3D objects, a lot can be achieved by
changing the properties of basic 2D
objects like polylines. Most 2D objects
can be given a thickness using
the thickness option in the Propertie
command. Although objects with a
thickness can be said to be extruded,
this should not be confused with
the EXTRUDE command which
creates solid extrusions

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7.3 Solid Modeling
What is Solid Modeling?
Solid modeling is the most advanced method of geometric modeling in three dimensions.
Solid modeling is the representation of the solid parts of the object on your computer. The
typical geometric model is made up of wire frames that show the object in the form of
wires. This wire frame structure can be two dimensional, two and half dimensional or
three dimensional. Providing surface representation to the wire three dimensional views
of geometric models makes the object appear solid on the computer screen and this is
what is called as solid modeling.

Advantages of Solid Modeling

Solid modeling is one of the most important applications of the CAD software and it has
been becoming increasingly popular of late. The solid modeling CAD software helps the
designer to see the designed object as if it were the real manufactured product. It can be
seen from various directions and in various views. This helps the designer to be sure that
the object looks exactly as they wanted it to be. It also gives additional vision to the
designer as to what more changes can be done in the object.

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7.4 Creating 3D Drawing using EXTRUDE Command

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7.5 Standard Solid Editing Commands

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7.5 Standard Solid Editing Commands

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7.5 Standard Solid Editing Commands
COMMAND INPUT ICON DESCRIPTION

UNION Joins two or more solids into creating one based on the
UNION / UNI total geometry of all.

Subtracts one or more solids from another creating a solid

SUBTRACT based on the remaining geometry.
SUBTRACT / SU

Creates a single solid from one more solids based on the

INTERSECT intersected geometry.
INTERSECT / IN

EXTRUDE Allows you to increase the size of a solid by extruding out

SOLIDEDIT one of its faces.
FACE
Slices a solid along a cutting plane.
SLICE SLICE

Aligns 2 3D Objects in 3D space.

3D ALIGN 3DALIGN

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7.6 3D Modifying Commands: move, rotate, mirror, array

• Move, rotate, mirror, array are same as the 2D. (look at the 2D slide)
• Extrude, move, rotate, offset, taper, copy, delete are editing
command.

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7.7 Shading and Rendering and their Options, Motion Path Animations

The process of generating a shaded

image of how geometry might look
under a given set of lighting
conditions, and based on a given
set of materials, is called
"rendering." Architects frequently
provide rendered images of
buildings to their customers as part
of the design process. Mechanical
designers often provide rendered
images of components prior to
producing them.

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Motion Path Animations
• Motion path animations, such as 3D animated walk-throughs of a
model, allow you to visually demonstrate a model to both a technical
and non-technical audience. You can record and play back a
navigation to communicate your design intent dynamically.
• Topics in this section
• Control a Camera Motion Path
• Specify Motion Path Settings
• Record a Motion Path Animation

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8. Plotting Drawings (4 hours)
8.1 Layout Management
8.2 Plotting 2D and 3D Drawings
8.3 Creating multiple views for a 3D drawing

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8.1 Layout Management
Following thing can be done in layout management
1. Create a "Layout" and assign plotting parameters to it
2. Set up one or more viewports in the Layout
3. Set the scale that each viewport will be plotted to
4. Set visibility of layers in each the viewports
5. Set shading or hidden line parameters in each viewport (so-called “Visibility”)
6. Select the "Plot Device" to print to for the Layout
7. Select the "Plot Style Table" to be used for the Layout (color based - .ctb, or
style based -stb)
8. Select the "Paper Size" that you want to plot to
9. Select the "Plot Area" - this should almost always be "Extents"
10. Set the "Plot Scale" - this should always be 1:1
11. Set the "Drawing Orientation" - this should always be "Landscape"

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8.2 Plotting 2D and 3D Drawings
• "Plotting" is also called "Printing" because you can print to both large-format plotters as
well as small printers just like any other windows operation to produce hard-copy
output. AutoCAD uses standard Windows printer drivers to control plotters and
printers, but there is also In order to plot a drawing, it must be open. Plotting is always
done through “Layouts.” Before plotting different thing are to be done( in Layout
Management).
• Select the plot icon, or type <Ctrl>P, or Select from the "File" pulldown menu and
then "Plot..."
• In the Plot Select the " Preview" button
• If everything looks good, right click, then select "Plot." If it does not look good,
click "Exit" and then fix the setup.
• When the setup is fixed, select OK and the drawing will plot.
• To use this plot setup again in the same drawing, pull down the list of Page Setup
Names and select the one you want.
• The Page Setup controls everything on the dialogue boxes about plotting, such as the
Plot Device, the Plot Style Table, the paper size, the plot area, the plot scale, and the
drawing orientation.
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8.3 Creating multiple views for a 3D drawing

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9. Other Facilities (4 hours)
9.1 Use of Script Files
9.2 Working with Standard Symbols
9.3 Import/Export

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9.1 Use of Script Files
In computer programming terms, a script is a programme that will run with no interaction from the user. To AutoCAD, a script
file is an ASCII text file that contains a set of command line instructions for AutoCAD to follow – just like an actor reading from
a script. AutoCAD script files always have a file extension of ‘.scr’.
Script files are simply a list of commands that are run as a group. A script file does not have the ability to stop
and wait for user input.
Many AutoCAD commands bring up special dialog boxes to assist the user in the setting of system variables
and in running the specific command. When running a script, these dialog boxes are not used, as the script
cannot pause for user input. Therefore, a command line menu is used when running a script file and the user
must become familiar with this method of command input.
A sample script file is displayed below:
DRF271.SCR This script sets the ‘SNAP’ to .125 and the ‘GRID’ to .5
snap .125 It then creates a new layer called vports and sets the
grid .5 vports layer color to blue
Finally it does a ‘ZOOM’ to place everything in the drawing
layer make vports color blue vports
on the screen

zoom all

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9.2 Working with Standard Symbols
• Standard symbols likes used in Mechanical ;Civil; Architecture;
Construction; etc. can be used directly from the standard
symbols available in AutoCAD
• Mechanical symbol include different types of bolts, nuts,
screw and so on

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9.3 Import/Export
It is used to import/ export (copy) the files from different
software having the file extension Dxb, Wmf, Esp and 3d
Studio.

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