QuickStart CAD - An Introduction to Cad drafting with AutoCAD & IntelliCAD

Our courses feature many small instructional movies. These show you how to carry out a task and invite you to follow suit. Click here to download a movie showing CAD in action. In it, we look at a number of CAD drawings from different disciplines - landscape, landscape architecture, mechanical engineering, electrical schematics, instrument loop drawings, civil road design drawings and 3D representations of traffic control devices.

Here is a movie in which we discuss some of the editing commands available in AutoCAD, IntelliCAD and DraftSight.

Here is a movie that shows how to switch the user interface in later versions of AutoCAD back to the classic view.

Here is another movie from the course showing how 'add-ons' to CAD software can be used to greatly speed the drafting process.

   Module

   Description

Preliminaries

CAD and the operating system. Installing CAD software. Tuning and maintaining your CAD workstation. Setting screen resolution. Selecting the correct pointing device. Codes for CAD software. Creating the correct environment for CAD - making a folder structure & filing system suitable for CAD work. Copying some sample files. Starting your CAD program.

The CAD process

A detailed look at some discipline specific CAD drawings. Drafting on paper vs. using CAD software? Some advice for learning. Real world units; handling scale in CAD drawings. AutoLISP and speed automating CAD. The importance of understanding that AutoCAD/IntelliCAD are command driven. What are the advantages of a 'command driven' CAD program? Setting up AutoCAD and adjusting preferences. Creating an intelligent desktop shortcut, setting drawing preferences. A detailed look at the CAD interface, including title bar, standard and formatting toolbars, the command area, the status line etc. Learning to float and dock toolbars. The ZOOM command. Layer control. The text screen window. Saving files. File formats. Learning the underlying command sequence in IntelliCAD/AutoCAD, selecting commands. Creating your own logo. 3D visualization techniques.

Viewing Drawings

Controlling your view of a CAD drawing. The use of ZOOM, PAN, HIDE, VPOINT, REGEN and REDRAW commands. Getting help in IntelliCAD and AutoCAD. The importance of recognizing the underlying sequence in all AutoCAD/IntelliCAD commands. The value of a proper printed manual. Moving between Paper space and model space. The importance of the UCSICON. The TILEMODE command. Building a list of shortcuts for individual commands.

Precise Geometry

Experimenting with some of the more esoteric drawing commands in AutoCAD and IntelliCAD. Compound lines with the POLYLINE command, the SPLINE command, the RAY command, the ELLIPSE command, the POLYGON command, the POINT command. The ERASE command. Setting up a 400mm GRID. Building a design for a courtyard by snapping to grid points to demonstrated that drawing with precision can be a simple process. The COPY command - using the multiple option. Some simple editing commands - ERASE, TRIM, EXTEND. Using CAD to create a very simple design - we will take a design for a rose garden as a simple example. The CIRCLE and OFFSET commands. Using the entity snap functions - calling the Endpoint, Centre, PERpendicular, Quadrant options from the command line. The value of setting up and using a template drawing. Using the DISTANCE command. The RECTANGLE command. The ROTATE command. The DTEXT command with a hand lettered font.

Creating a title block sheet drawing using Cartesian coordinates. We emphasize the importance of working to a defined drafting standard using AS1100 - Australian Standard 1100 for technical drafting - as an example. Setting LIMITS, using the SNAP and GRID commands. Creating a block library and saving drawings sheets to it.

Using Blocks

Creating and inserting a logo and schedule in a block library. Using block library symbols, inserting blocks into a drawing sheet. Using object/entity snaps.

Layers and Colours

Using the LAYER command. Creating new layers, assigning layer colours and linetypes. Accurate geometry by length, angle, OFFSET, FILLET and TRIM. Placing entities on layers, inserting a north indicator, controlling colour BYLAYER and by colour entity. Blocks, layers and colour.

Manipulating Text

Placing text. Using drawing aids to align text. Using the STYLE command. Style names and fonts. The DTEXT, TEXT and MTEXT commands. Controlling text justification, text height, inserting text in title blocks, single line text, paragraph text, using grid and snap.

Building the model

Creating an accurate model (the design) ready for the subsequent insertion of title block drawing at an appropriate scale. We create an accurate 2D model of a table and a drawing of a rectangular house block with a building and landscaping located on it.

Dimensioning and drawing settings

We apply some simple horizontal and vertical dimensions to an accurately drawn 2D model, explaining the use some of the various DIM commands. Some discussion of dimension styles is provided together with the role of the dimension toolbar.

Plotting

The PRINT command. Inserting a drawing sheet around your design. Controlling pen weights in drawings - using the Rotring system. Setting colours, adjusting pens and line thickness. Previewing plots, plot configuration parameter files. Using paper space and model space.