A Tutorial for Drafting in AutoCAD 2011
Autodesk AutoCAD 2011 is a computer-aided design (CAD) application that drafts orthographic drawings, such as plans, sections and elevations, as well as three-dimensional projections, such as axonometric and perspective drawings. The application uses commands or buttons to draw elements, and the drawings print from "paper space" layouts. AutoCAD 2011 provides several tools to draw precisely, such as the "Ortho" and "Osnap" tools. However, you can also type lengths, dimensions and angles for lines and shapes. AutoCAD 2011 also provides several tools to modify drawing elements, including "Scale," "Mirror" and "Copy."
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Instructions
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Open AutoCAD 2011 and select "New" in the "File" menu; a toolbar appears to the left of the drawing plane. Explore the tool button in the toolbar, which includes drawing, modifying and selection tools.
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Type "Units" in the command line to set up the drawing units, angle dimensions and base angle direction for the drawing. AutoCAD defaults to millimeters, so you will need to change the units if you are working on drawings that require feet, inches or another base drawing unit. Press "OK" to exit the menu.
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Type commands to draw. Most commands use standard words to describe a line or shape. Type "Line" in the command line to construct a simple line, "Rectangle" to construct a rectangle, "Circle" to construct a circle and "Pline" to construct a polyline with multiple segments. Dimensions are slightly more difficult, but they conform to AutoCAD 2011's Cartesian grid. Press the "Enter" key on your keyboard to finish each command and exit.
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Type dimensions or points with "@X,Y,Z," or "@D<A." "@" represents the point or dimension is relative to the previous, entered point, "X" represents the horizontal change in distance, "Y" represents the lateral change in distance and "Z" represents the elevation change in distance. For example, "@34',56',78'" draws an endpoint 34 feet horizontal, 56 feet lateral and 78 feet in height, above the first endpoint. "@D<A" is used for lines with angles, where "D" represents the distance of the line, "<" represents the line has a vector or angle and "A" represents the angular dimension. For example, "@123'<45" draws a line from a point that is 123 feet long at a 45 degree angle. Some commands do not require the "@" or "Z" notations.
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Modify the drawing with typed commands. Like the drawing commands, the modify commands are similar to the action taken. Type "Trim" or "Extend" in the command line to trim or extend multiple lines. Type "Copy" to copy an element. Type "Rotate" to rotate an element about a point and type "Move" to move an element from one place to another.
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Use drawing layers to draw elements on separate layers, or levels. Click on the "Layers" window or type "Layer" in the command line to open the "Layers" window. Press the "New Layer" button to create a new layer, then highlight the layer you would like to draw on. Adjust layer properties such as "Lineweight," "Linetype" and "Color" in the "Properties Inspector" window.
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Select drawing tools, such as "Ortho," "Osnap" and "Grid" from the buttons along the bottom of the drawing window, or you can type "Dsettings" in the command line to turn on and off or change the drawing tool settings.
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Select the "Layout" fly-out menu to choose a drawing print layout or create a new layout. Select a drawing layout, and the layout will appear. Double-click inside the layout window to adjust the scale and orientation of the layout view. Select the "Scale" button in the "Annotation" selections, in the lower right side of the window, to select a drawing scale, such as "1/4" = 1'-0", or hold down the space bar or mouse wheel to pan around the drawing.
Select the "Layout" fly-out menu again and choose "Model" to return to the "model space." Select "Print" from the "File" menu to print the drawing.
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Tips & Warnings
There are hundreds of commands available for AutoCAD 2011, so look through the documentation to see what other actions you can make with the application.
References
Resources
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