CAD

Computer Aided Design/Drafting.

 CAD

Use of computers in designing, drafting, and/or

modeling parts, products, or structures.
is the use of computer software's to aid in the creation,
modification, analysis, or optimization of a design.
TYPES OF CAD SOFTWARE

2 Dimensional CAD (2D CAD)

3 Dimensional CAD (3D CAD)

• …2 Dimensional CAD (2D CAD)

2D CAD relies on basic geometric shapes like lines, rectangles,
circles, etc. to produce flat drawings
TYPES OF CAD SOFTWARE
3 Dimensional CAD (3D CAD)..

These images are called 3D models as they can be

viewed and rotated in any direction – X, Y or Z.

You can also display views from a 3D model, such as

isometrics or perspectives, from any angle using 3D
CAD.
The Mouse

• Most people use a mouse as their pointing device, but other

devices have equivalent controls.
SOFTWARE (ENTITIES) FOR CREATING DRAWINGS.

Auto-CAD
Solid Works
Pro-E
CATIA
AutoCAD LT
AutoCAD civil 3D
Revit LT
 AutoCAD
 AutoCAD package is suitable for accurate and prefect
drawing of engineering designs.

 The drawing of machine parts, isometric views and

assembly drawings are possible in Auto-CAD.

 This package is suitable for 2 D & 3 D drawings

Function Keys and Accelerator Keys
Function Keys and Accelerator Keys
Function Keys and Accelerator Keys
AUTOCAD SCREEN COMPONENTS

• Various components of the initial AutoCAD screen are drawing

area, command window, menu bar, several toolbars, model and
layout tabs, and status bar.

• A title bar that has AutoCAD symbol and the current drawing
name is displayed on top of the screen.
Illustration on the important areas of AUTOCAD
INTERFACE:
Interface Bars
1. Application menu and quick access toolbar
2. Ribbon
3. Drawing area
4. Command window
5. Status bar
6. Info Centre and communication Centre
7. workspace
 Application Status Bar

• The Status Bar is displayed at the bottom of the

screen, as shown in Figure above.
• some useful information and buttons that will make it
easy to change the status of some AutoCAD
functions.
• You can toggle between on and off states of most of
these functions by choosing them.
 Drawing Area
• The drawing area covers the major portion of the screen.
Here, you can draw the objects and use the commands. To
draw the objects, you need to define the coordinate points,
which can be selected by using your pointing device.
• The position of the pointing device is represented on the
screen by the cursor. There is a coordinate system icon at
the lower left corner of the drawing area.
• The window also has the standard Windows buttons such
as close, minimize, scroll bar, and so on, on the top right
corner.
• Buttons have the same functions as for any other standard
window.
 Command Window
• The command window at the bottom of the drawing
area has the Command prompt where you can enter
the commands.
• It also displays the subsequent prompt sequences
and the messages.
• You can change the size of the window by placing the
cursor on the top edge (double line bar known as the
grab bar) and then dragging it.
Drawing Coordinates
• The information about the coordinates is displayed on the left-
corner of the Status Bar. You can select this coordinate button
to toggle between the on and off states. The COORDS system
variable controls the type of display of the coordinates.
• If the value of the COORDS variable is set to 0, the coordinate
display is static, that is, the coordinate values displayed in the
Status Bar change only when you specify a point.
• If the value of the COORDS variable is set to 1 or 2, the
coordinate display is dynamic. When the variable is set to 1,
AutoCAD constantly displays the absolute coordinates of the
graphics cursor with respect to the UCS
 Snap Mode

• If the Snap Mode button is chosen in the Status Bar,

the snap mode is on. So, you can move the cursor in
fixed increments.
• The F9 key acts as a toggle key to turn the snap off
or on.
 Grid Display

• The grid lines are used as reference lines to draw

objects in AutoCAD.
• If the Grid Display button is chosen in the Status Bar,
the grid display is on and the grid lines are displayed
on the screen.
• The F7 function key can be used to turn the grid
display on or off.
 Ortho Mode

• If the Ortho Mode button is chosen in the Status Bar,

you can draw lines at right angles only.
• You can use the F8 function key to turn Ortho on or
off.
 Polar Tracking

• If you turn the polar tracking on, the movement of the

cursor is restricted along a path based on the angle
set as the polar angle.
• Choose the Polar Tracking button in the Status Bar to
turn the polar tracking on.
• You can also use the F10 function key to turn on this
option.
• Note that turning the polar tracking on, automatically
turns off the ortho mode.
 Object Snap Spur
• When the Object Snap button is chosen in the Status
Bar, you can use the running object snaps to snap on
to a point.
• You can also use the F3 function key to turn the
object snap on or off.
• The status of OSNAP (off or on) does not prevent you
from using the immediate mode object snaps.
 Allow/Disallow Dynamic UCS (User
Coordinates System)
• Choosing this button allows or disallows the use of
dynamic UCS. Allowing the dynamic UCS
• ensures that the XY plane of the UCS got
dynamically aligned with the selected face of the
• model. You can also use the F6 function key to turn
the DUCS button on or off.
• DUCS - Dynamic User Coordinates System
 Dynamic Input
• The Dynamic Input button is used to turn the Dynamic Input on or
off. Turning it on facilitates the heads-up design approach because
all commands, prompts, and dimensional inputs will now be
displayed in the drawing area and you do not need to look at the
Command prompt all the time.
• This saves the design time and also increases the efficiency of the
user.
• If the Dynamic Input mode is turned on, you will be allowed to enter
the commands through the Pointer Input boxes, and the numerical
values through the Dimensional Input boxes.
• You will also be allowed to select the command options through the
Dynamic Prompt options in the graphics window. To turn the
Dynamic Input on or off, use the CTRL+D keys.
 Object Snap Tracking

• When you choose this button in the Status Bar, the

Inferencing lines will be displayed.
• Inferencing lines are dashed lines that are displayed
automatically when you select a sketching tool and
track a particular key point on the screen.
• Choosing this button turns the object snap tracking
on or off.
Pan
• This button allows you to view the portion of the drawing
that is outside the current display area.
• To do so, choose this button in the Status Bar, press and
hold the left mouse button and then drag the drawing
area. Press ESC to exit this command.

Zoom
• Choose this button to enlarge the view of the drawing on
the screen without affecting the actual size of the objects.
• You will learn more about zoom in later chapters .
 AutoCAD Screen Components cont
• Annotation Visibility
• This button is used to control the visibility of the
annotative objects that do not support the current
annotation scale in the drawing area.
• Automatically Add Scale
• This button, if chosen, automatically adds all the
annotation scales that are set current to all the annotative
objects present in the drawing.
 AutoCAD Screen Components cont.
• Steering Wheels
• The Steering Wheels has a set of navigation tools such as pan,
zoom, and so on. You will learn more about the Steering Wheel in
the later chapters.
• Show Motion
• Choose this button to capture different views in a sequence and
animate them when required.
• Annotation Scale
• The annotation scale controls the size and display of the
annotative objects in the mode ls pace.
• The Annotation Scale button has a drop-down list that displays all
the annotation scales available for the current drawing.
 Manage Xrefs
• The Manage Xrefs icon is displayed whenever an external
reference drawing is attached to the selected drawing.
• This icon displays a message and an alert whenever the
Xreffed drawing needs to be reloaded.
• The detailed information regarding the status of each Xref
in the drawing and the relation between the various Xrefs,
click on the Manage Xrefs icon; the External References
Palette will be displayed.
 Tool Palettes
• AutoCAD has provided Tool Palettes as an easy and
convenient way of placing and sharing hatch patterns and
blocks in the current drawing.
• By default, the Tool Palettes are not displayed. Choose
View > Palettes > Tool Palettes Windows from the Ribbon
or choose the CTRL+3 keys to display the Tool Palettes
as a window on the right of the drawing area.
• You can resize the Tool Palettes using the resizing cursor
that is displayed when you place the cursor on the top or
bottom extremity of the Tool Palettes.
 Menu Bar

• You can also select commands from the menu bar.

Menu Bar is not displayed by default.
• To display the menu bar, choose the down arrow in the
Quick Access toolbar; a fly out is displayed.
• Choose the Show Menu Bar option from it; the menu
bar will be displayed.
 STARTING A NEW DRAWING
• Start from Scratch
• When you choose the Start from Scratch button
AutoCAD provides you with options to start a new
drawing that contains the default AutoCAD setup for
Imperial (Acad.dwt) or Metric drawings (Acadiso.dwt).
• If you select the Imperial default setting, the limits
are12X9, text height is 0.20, and dimensions and
linetype scale factors are 1.
 Use a Template

• When you choose the Use a Template button in the

Create New Drawing dialog box, AutoCAD displays a list
of templates.
• The default template file is acad.dwt or acadiso.dwt,
depending on the installation.
• You can directly start a new file in the 2D sketching
environment by selecting the acad.dwt or acadiso.dwt
template
Start dwt
 Use a Template cont.
• You can use the Browse button to select other template files.
When you choose the Browse button, the Select a template file
dialog box is displayed with the Template folder open,
displaying all the template files.
 Use a Wizard

• The Use a Wizard option allows you to set the initial

drawing settings before actually starting a new
drawing.
• When you choose the Use a Wizard button, AutoCAD
provides you with the option of using the Quick Setup
or Advanced Setup,
Use a Wizard
AutoCAD Utility

Blocks:
• Block: group of objects joined together as one entity.

Dimension:
• Under Annotate, you can choose dimensions and leaders to
makes notes on your drawings. Dimensions are simply the
dimensions of the object (be it length, radius, etc.).

Leaders:
• Are ways to make annotations in a drawing for a variety of
reasons (manufacturing notes, detail bubbles, etc.).
•
AutoCAD Utility
• Chamfer change an angle into line at the intersection of
two selected lines
• Erase Deletes objects from the drawing
• Explode Changes a block or a polyline back to
individual objects
• Extend Extends a line or arc to meet another object
• Fillet Constructs an arc between to lines
• Grid Displays a grid of dots that can be used to snap to
and design with
AutoCAD Utility

• Mirror Creates a symmetrical reflected object from the

original selected objects
• Move Moves selected objects to another location in the
drawing
• Offset Creates parallel copies of lines, arcs, and circles
• Purge Removes unused items from a drawing
• Trim Deletes portions of selected objects that cross a
selected cutting edge
• Grips small "handles" on objects that allow for quick
editing
Layers

• In AutoCAD, layers are used to help give structure to

your drawing. They are stacks of transparent overlays
(or planes) located on the same coordinate system. It
allows you to organize your drawings in a clearer
manner.
Layer Properties include:

• Name – Unique name for each layer (Be Descriptive)

• Color – Color of the layer
• Linetype – Continuous line, dashed line, dotted line, etc.
• Lineweight – How thick or thin the line is
• On [Visibility] – Makes the layer visible or not visible (If light bulb
is yellow, it’s on. If it’s dark, it’s off)
• Freeze – Freezes the layer, doesn’t allow you to see it
• Lock – locks the layer from being selected but it is still visible
(although more transparent then other layers)
• Difference between Visibility vs. Freeze is that frozen layers
aren’t included in regeneration, while layers with visibility off.
Regen (re):
• Regen (re) – regenerates the display, smoothing it out after
zooming in or out and updates the screen, essentially a refresh
button.
Advantage of AutoCAD
 Improved productivity in drafting.
 Shorter preparation time for drawing.
 Reduced manpower requirements.
 Customer modifications in drawing are easier.
 More efficient operation in drafting.
 Low wastage in drawing.
 Minimized transcription errors in drawing.
Limitation of AutoCAD
 It require large amount of computer memory.
 The size of the software package is large.
 Skill and judgment are required to prepare the
drawing.
 Huge investment
Save DWG to PDF.pc3

• To create a PDF file from an AutoCAD® drawing

• Click File menu > Plot.
• Select PDF to DWG.pc3 from the Printer/Plotter drop-
down list.
• Configure other settings in the Plot dialog box, if
necessary.
• Click OK.
• Enter a name for the PDF file and save it to the
desired location.