AutoCAD 2006 Online Tutorial
AutoCAD is an example of computer-aided design (CAD) software that architects and engineers use to design structures requiring precise measurements. Learning AutoCAD involves building the following skills: navigating in two- and three-dimensional (3-D) space; building basic 2-D and 3-D objects like lines and boxes; and shaping those objects by rotating, scaling and moving them or their components. If you're new to AutoCAD, acquiring all these skills may seem daunting. However, if you work within the context of simple projects, you'll naturally acquire the skills by completing the steps to build the project.
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Instructions
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Open AutoCAD and begin drafting the floor plan of a simple house: Click the "Draw" menu heading, then click the "Rectangle" item within that menu.
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Click any location in the main drawing area, then drag to define the rectangle. Make the rectangle any size you want, but ensure that its length is about 1.5 times its width.
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Change to a 3-D view: Select the "View" menu heading, followed by "Orbit," then "Constrained Orbit." Then drag the mouse slightly upward and to the left. This action moves your viewpoint from directly above the rectangle to slightly behind it. Exit orbit mode by right-clicking and selecting "Exit."
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Expand the rectangle into a 3-D object: Click the rectangle to select it, then select the "Mesh editing" item under the "Modify" menu. Select "Extrude face." Notice that the rectangle is now a box.
(Extrusion is the CAD term for stretching a 2-D shape into a 3-D surface.)
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Drag the mouse to make the box's height about the same as its width, then click to end the extrusion.
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Make the roof: Press "Control" while clicking the house's top face to select the face. Then extrude the face to about twice the height of the house. (See steps 4 and 5 to recall how to extrude.)
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Shape the roof: Select "View," "Visual Styles," "Conceptual." Press "Control" and click the house's top face. Right-click and select "Scale."
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Hover the mouse pointer over the tri-color tripod. When the color changes to yellow, drag the mouse until the house's top face shrinks to the smallest rectangle you can make. Click the mouse to complete the shaping of the roof and finish the house.
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Display a realistically shaded drawing of the house: Enter "-Render" at the command prompt, then choose "Medium" to set the quality of the rendering.
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Click the "View" menu, then click the "Render" item, followed by the "Render" function within that item. AutoCAD will draw the shaded house.
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References
- Photo Credit house plan image by Jon Le-Bon from Fotolia.com
