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Archive March 2008
March 16, 2008

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-4



Review and practice of accurate input

Now it's time to see if you were paying attention in the first lesson. In this lesson you will complete the drawing that will test your knowledge of drawing accurately using different types of precision input. Clients expect 100% accurate drawings from YOU. It is up to the YOU to ensure that YOU have the ability to draw quickly and accurately. There is a lot of room for error when drafting, as you need to read accurately, transfer the numbers to AutoCAD accurately, and draw accurately. It is the job of this tutorial to help you learn to draw accurately - speed will come only through practice.

You can download the DWG file HERE and view the image HERE
Print the file out and try to reproduce it. Start at the bottom left corner. Use the drawing tools you have learned in the previous lessons. You will have to use a combination of absolute, relative, and polar co-ordinate input

1.Open AutoCAD and set up the drawing as you have for the previous assignments.

2.Complete the assignment by drawing it accurately using the dimensions provided.

3. If you make an error along the way, remember that you can use your ENDPOINT Osnap to begin where you left off.

4. Save your drawing.

5.Print your drawing using the guidelines given in the previous assignments.

Click HERE to check the command line input for this drawing.

As mentioned earlier, AutoCAD is accurate. It is up to the user to ensure that they give the proper input to make sure that the drawing is accurate. It can be extremely costly to make mistakes with what seem to be 'minor' errors in accuracy.

By this point in the tutorials, you should able to do the above drawing without referencing other materials. If this isn't the case, you should review the previous lessons. Here are two more practice exercises to work on your input and drawing skills.

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing - extra_005.gif

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing - extra_006.gif


 
Design
sb
March 16, 2008
Sorry, but the blog post could not be located.
Design
sb
March 16, 2008

Do you feel cramped in your home Well, many people do but then again many people do not know much about home interiors and gardens. There are many home interiors design tips that can remarkably alter the look and feel of a home through some cosmetic changes and leave the same dwelling place unrecognizable to the dwellers.There are several factors like light, furniture style, arrangement, paint, and minor accessories that affect the appearance of home interiors and gardens in a far more serious way than more people ever think about. That is what keeps home interior design professionals in business.The most basic thing that you can learn from them when it comes to home interiors and gardens is that beneficial changes do not have to be expensive or difficult. Surprisingly, the first bit of advice for home interiors design is not related to design. Just keep the place neat and tidy. Clutter takes up space and if you are feeling cramped then just close your eyes and think how appealing a bed looks when it is made and how you wish someone would make the bed when it is not.Well, tidiness is nothing revolutionary or radical, we need order around us and a lack of order is not going to feel comfortable no matter how much it appeals to the laziness hidden within each of us. So get a drawer instead of a counter-top and start storing unwanted items instead of putting them up where they are always imprinting on your retina.Besides ordinary clutter a big culprit are books that tend to scatter themselves as bread crumbs if you are not careful. Good home interiors design for people who like books is never complete without a bookshelf and use it once you do get it. It is not usual to find home interiors loaded with storage spaces or other accessories that are left unused. This tendency is especially found in people who are hoarders by nature and end up feeling confused to the point of inaction when they must decide what to keep and what to discard. Just close you eyes and follow the one-year-mantra. If you have not used it, worn it, read it, or needed it in the past year then you might as lose it. Despite the fact that Murphy's Laws still hold and that if something can go wrong it will, this is a bit of sound home interiors design advice that you can make use of.Light is a very important factor in home interiors design. While the plant life in the garden needs life, the room interiors feel more breathable when they are well lit. Darkness is closely associated with claustrophobia so stay away from dark shades and low wattage lighting fixtures. Finally, furniture placement is not something that involves throwing a chair by the window and the bed against the wall (or the other way around if you prefer). When purchasing furniture for a small square footage always go for height rather than width and always arrange the furniture in a "facing" or conversation placement.
 
Design
sb
March 16, 2008
Sorry, but the blog post could not be located.
Design
sb
March 16, 2008
Topics covered in this Lesson:1-2

Line | Circle | Erase | Print | Undo


AutoCADallows you to have access to a large number of commands. The general rule is that you will use 20% of the commands 80% of the time. We will start by introducing you to the most common drawing commands. When you combine these with the basic modify commands, you will be able to make elaborate drawings quite quickly.

The important thing to remember is that AutoCAD will expect you give it information in a very particular order. The most frustrating thing when you begin using this program is that you will try to do something, but AutoCAD will 'not work'. In most cases, it means that you are trying to input information at the wrong time. This is why it is very important to be in the habit of looking at the command line.


The command line tells you what information AutoCAD requires to continue.

Your first drawing assignment will be to use the drawing commands in conjunction with the co-ordinate system defined in Lesson 1-1. This is a basic assignment, but it is very important to understand how to give the program accurate information. You will use the following commands:

Line :Line / L Draw > Line Draw a straight line segment from one point to the next

Circle :Circle / C Draw > Circle > Center, Radius Draws a circle based on a center point and radius.

Erase Erase / E Modify > Erase Erases an object.

Print Print / Plot Cntl+P File > Print Enables the Print/Plot Configuration Dialog Box

Undo U Edit > Undo Undoes the last command.
(Don't use 'Undo' for now)


Assignment #1 - Drawing lines to exact points

Duplicate the drawing called Assign #1.

Watch the assignment as a Flash Movie.

Click HERE to see the finished drawing in JPG format.
Click HERE to download the DWG file.

You will not have to worry about the title block or text, or dimensioning.

Make sure you are comfortable with the co-ordinate system as explained in Lesson 1-1. When you are finished this assignment, check the printed drawing with a scale ruler. All lines should measure up exactly if all went well.

Steps:

Start AutoCAD and a new drawing by using the menu option File > New. You will see a dialog box open that asks you to select a template drawing to use (as shown below):
Select the "acad.dwt" template file and press the Open button to continue to the drawing screen.

Once there, type in Z E this will zoom into to the extents of the drawing area and make it easier to see what you are drawing (NOTE: nothing will appear to happen).

For all lessons on this level, make sure that you do not have Dynamic Input turned on. You can check this on the status bar. Make sure Dynamic Input on the Status Bar (the DYN button) isn't depressed. This is a new system of entering points that will be covered in a later lesson, but personally I find them less convenient and distracting from the objects on the screen.

Start the LINE command (as explained in the table above) and draw a line from 1,2 to 3,2 to 3,4 to 1,4 Press enter after each point. (*Remember to watch the command line as you do this.) For the last line, you can either type in 1,2 or C to close the line back to the first point you entered. You have just drawn a 2" square using absolute co-ordinates. Your command history (F2 key) should look like this:

Command: L LINE Specify first point: 1,2

Specify next point or [Undo]: 3,2

Specify next point or [Undo]: 3,4

Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: 1,4

Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: 1,2

Specify next point or [Close/Undo]:

If you make a mistake, you can use the undo icon, Undo Icon press U or press CTRL+Z.

You can also use the ERASE command to get rid of lines you don't want.

Next draw a similar box using relative co-ordinates. Start the LINE command and begin at point 4.5,2. From there draw a line two units to the right by typing @2,0 (this means 2 units in the X direction, 0 units in the Y direction based on the last point you entered). Next type @0,2 then @-2,0 then @0,-2 to finish the box. (Remember to press enter after each point.)

Now erase the last box you just drew. Start the ERASE command and then select the lines you want to erase. Then press . Now redraw the box for more practice!

Draw a third box using polar co-ordinate input. Start the LINE command and begin at point then enter. Type 8,2@1<45 to draw the first line. Next enter @1<135 then @1<225 then @1<315>(or C to close). What you have just done is drawn a line 1 unit long at 45o, then another at 135o and so on. Start the CIRCLE command and add a circle that has a center point at 7,6 with a radius of .75 (Watch the command line for instructions). To finish the drawing, try putting a 10"x7" border around the page starting at 0,0 using the any of the methods shown above (relative, absolute or polar). When you have done the assignment, print (or plot) it out. To do this, bring up the plot dialog box using any method explained above (plot will work). Set it up to print as shown below. Follow these steps for a successful plot (see diagram below):

1.Select your printer - laser or inkjet will work fine.

2.Select the paper size - "Letter" ( 8-1/2" x 11") is needed in this case.

3.For the "Plot Area", select "Extents" - that will plot everything you drew.

4.Select the checkbox to "Center the Plot" on your sheet of paper (looks better).

5.If "Fit to Paper" is selected by default, uncheck it and select a scale of 1 inch to 1 paper unit. This will make your printout 'life-sized'.

6.Now Preview your drawing. I strongly recommend that you preview EVERY drawing you will ever draw in AutoCAD - a lot can go wrong, so you don't want to waste paper (especially when you're using expensive 3'x4' sheets!).If your preview looks good, cancel out of it by clicking on the large red X icon.

7.If you're sure that everything's ok (this is where good habits begin), press the OK button.
Note: You may have to change the paper size in your printer (Use the Windows printer settings to do this.) You may also have to change the rotation or origin of the plot. Check the Landscape radio button in the Drawing Orientation section.

If everything worked out, you should be able to measure your drawing and have it exactly the way you drew it (a couple of 2" squares, an angled 1" square and a 1-1/2" circle).

Save your drawing as you would any other Windows file CTRL+S will bring up the Save or Save as dialog box. More Info

If you want to check your input, click HERE to see the commands needed to complete this assignment.

This assignment has given you a basic introduction to drawing using a variety of methods. Once you have completed the assignment, practice these methods, as you will be using them often.

Your boxes should match the drawing example. They will be the same size and on the same place in the drawing. If you have a ruler, you will see that your lines are life-size (1:1). From these basic concepts, you can now draw lines anywhere if you know where they should go. The next lessons will add to these commands. As you get used to the AutoCAD interface, you will find it easier and easier to learn the new commands. But for now, mastering the co-ordinate systems, inputting commands and reading the command line should be your priority.

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing using the same methods as above. - Extra_001.gif

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing using the same methods as above (all measurements needed are in the drawing) - Extra_002.gif

 
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Design
sb
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