The Notes Below Cover Various Useful Autocad Commands

Lecture 3 - AutoCAD

The notes below cover various useful AutoCAD commands:

· Osnap

· Grips

· Lines of precise length at precise angles

· Tracking

· Hatching

· Donuts

· Arc

· Stretch

1 Osnap

3 ways to Osnap

· View, Toolbars, Object snap, Close

· Shift + right click OR push down wheel (depends on setup)

· Status bar, right click on OSNAP, settings to permanently

Go to http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/~maylmer/web/index.htm, 2D AutoCAD and download the Osnap 1 drawing.

2 Osnap with Modify

Go to http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/~maylmer/web/index.htm, 2D AutoCAD and download the Edit and Osnap drawing.

3 Grips

Click on an entity, press enter to scroll through stretch, move, rotate, scale and mirror.

4 Lines of precise length at precise angles

5 ways to draw precisely

· Construction lines (see lecture 2)

· Draw one line and then use offset command

· Set snap and grid (OK for ‘round’ numbers) Tools, Drafting Settings. Click on co-ords in Status line to change display.

o See Ex 1 on separate notes titled Introduction to AutoCAD.

· Cursor in direction of line and type length (ortho and polar useful)

· Using @ (see separate notes titled Introduction to AutoCAD)

5 Precise modifications

Go to http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/~maylmer/web/index.htm, 2D AutoCAD and download the Edit and @ drawing.

6 Tracking

Not a command but a command modifier. Type TK or click tracking tool.

7 Hatch

Draw, Hatch. Always preview the hatch before selecting OK. Modify, Object, Hatch to change existing hatch.

Edit the boundary shape (grips) and notice how the hatch changes to fit the new shape.

8 Donut

Use the Donut command (Draw menu) to draw thick rings or solid circles (for solid circles make ID = 0).

9 Arc

Arcs are always formed anti-clockwise.

Go to http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/~maylmer/web/index.htm, 2D AutoCAD and download the Arcs drawing.

9 Stretch

Go to http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/~maylmer/web/index.htm, 2D AutoCAD and download the Stretch drawing.

Plan for future weeks

Week 5 Blocks and Xrefs

Week 6 Dimensioning and text

Week 7 Paper Space and plotting

Week 8 3D Solids

Week 9 Assessment

Week 10 Menu customisation

If time Isometric drawing and preparing drawings for reports.

Mary Aylmer