COORDINATES

By: Ma. Ellen L. Estrellado

COORDINATES
 ARE SET OF NUMBERS THAT DESCRIBE
POSITION –POSITION ALONG A LINE, ON A
SURFACE, OR IN A SPACE

 COORDINATE of a point – a pair of numbers

defining the position of a point on a two
dimensional plane (X,Y)

 PLANE – a flat surface that is infinitely large

and with zero thickness
Coordinates
There are two coordinate systems in
AutoCAD:
1. World Coordinate System (WCS) and

2. User Coordinate System (UCS) which

define the angle of the XY plane you are
working in.
WCS
 The WCS should always be used to reference
geometry to ensure everything aligns to the centre of
a file in real-world location.
 The WCS is the file’s origin.
 The location of the WCS cannot be moved. If a user
coordinate system is set, then drawing elements will
use the rotated coordinate system but the WCS can
always be set.
WCS
 By default, the Ribbon View tab > Coordinates panel
is turned off. To show the panel, click the View tab
then, Click New View, right-click to the side of the
available panels and click Show
Panels > Coordinates.
• The Coordinates panel will be displayed.

• To set the coordinate system to World from the

Ribbon Home tab > UCS panel, click
the World button.
UCS • A UCS is a “User Coordinate
System” which defines the
angle of the XY plane you are
working in. Defining a User
Coordinate System rotates the
XY plane, making it more
convenient for working to
other orientations.
• In the example, the site is not
orthogonal and the site grid is
rotated to match the site
orientation.
• To set a UCS from the Ribbon View tab
> Coordinates panel, click the 3 Point button.

• AutoCAD will prompt Specify new origin point click

the point you wish to be the 0,0 location for the
new UCS. You will see the UCS icon being relocated.
• You will then be prompted Specify point on positive portion
of X-axis. Click a point to identify which direction the X-
axis should align with. In the example, the gridlines would be
used.
 You are then prompted Specify point on positive-Y portion of

the UCS XY plane. Click a point on the Y-axis.

 Once the UCS has been relocated and reorientated, the UCS

Icon will be shown in the new location.

 When using the AutoCAD drafting tools, they will now align
with the new UCS.
 The current WCS or UCS orientation is
indicated by the UCS icon in the bottom left
corner of the screen.
UCS Icon (User Coordinates System)
 The drawing area
displays an icon
representing the XY axis
of a rectangular
coordinate system called
the user coordinate
system, or UCS.
 You can select, move,
and rotate the UCS icon
to change the current
UCS. The UCS is useful
in 2D, and essential in
3D.
UCS Icon
• The most important
visual clue is the box
that appears at the
intersection of the
axes. When you see
the box, you know that
you are working in the
World Co-ordinate
System (WCS). If you
do not see the box,
you are working in a
User Co-ordinate
System (UCS).
The X,Y coordinate system
 Everything that you draw in AutoCAD is exact
 All objects drawn on the screen are placed

there based on a simple X,Y coordinate

system.
 AutoCAD uses points to determine where an
object is located.
 There is an origin where it begins -this point is
(0,0).
 Every object is located in relation to the origin.
 If you were to draw a line straight out to the
right from the origin, that is the positive X axis.
 If you were to draw a line straight up, this
would be the positive Y axis.
 The picture above shows a point located at
(9,6). This means that the point is 9 units
over in the X axis and 6 units up in the Y
axis.

 When you are working with points, X always

comes first. The other point shown is (-10,-
4). This means that the point is 10 units in
the negative X-axis (left) and 4 units in the
negative Y-axis (down).
ANGULAR MEASUREMENT
 When drawing lines at an angle, you have to
begin measuring the angle from 0 degrees,
which is at the 3 o'clock position.

 If you draw a line at 90 degrees, it would go

straight up. The example above (when you
move your mouse over) it shows a line drawn
at +300 degrees (270+30), or -60 degrees.
 Entering Points in AutoCAD
 The three ways of entering coordinates :

 ABSOLUTE COORDINATES - Using this method, you

enter the points as they relate to the origin of the WCS.
To enter a point just enter in the exact point as X,Y.
Example: 9,6

 RELATIVE COORDINATES - This allows you to enter

points in relation to the first point you have entered.
After you've entered one point, the next would be
entered as @X,Y.
 This means that AutoCAD will draw a line from the first

point to another point.

 X units over and Y units - relative to the previous point.
 POLAR CO-ORDINATES - You would use this
system if you know that you want to draw a line
with a certain distance at a particular angle.
 You would enter this as @D<A.
 In this case, D is the distance and A is the angle.
 Example: @10<90 will draw a line 10 units
straight up from the first point.
3 Ways to Activate the Commands

 Thru Tool Bars – Select the Icon of a particular

command.

Example: Line command

 Entering the shortcut keys orKeyboard

Commands
Setting Up the Units
 Every object we construct in a CAD system is
measured in units. We should determine the
system of units within the CAD system before
creating the first geometric entities.
 Before starting a new activity in CADD, you

should first set up the units so that CADD

system will know what units you are working
with.
 UNITS: Meters, Inches, Centimeter, etc..
Setting up the Limits
Setting the Drawing Limits controls the extents of the display
of the grid.

It also serves as a visual reference that marks the working

area.

It can also be used to prevent construction outside the grid

limits and as a plot option that defines an area to be
plotted/printed. Note that this setting does not limit the region for
geometry construction.
Limits
 In the command prompt area, Type Limits, then set –Up
your drawing area limits. The message “Reset Model
Space Limits: Specify lower left corner or [On/Off] :” is
displayed. Press the ENTER key once to accept the default
coordinates . (Refer to Figure 5 below)
References:
 https://evolve-consultancy.com/product/
coordinates-in-autocad/#:~:text=There
%20are%20two%20coordinate%20systems,file
%20in%20real%2Dworld%20location.