AutoCAD 2016 For Beginners PDF

Chapter 3: Drawing Aids In this chapter, you will learn to do the following: Use Grid and Snap Use Ortho Mode and Polar Tracking Use Object Snaps and Object Snap Tacking Create Layers and assign properties to it Zoom and Pan drawings Drawing Aids This chapter teaches you to define...

Chapter 3: Drawing Aids In this chapter, you will learn to do the following: Use Grid and Snap Use Ortho Mode and Polar Tracking Use Object Snaps and Object Snap Tacking Create Layers and assign properties to it Zoom and Pan drawings Drawing Aids This chapter teaches you to define the drawing settings, which will assist you to easily create a drawing in AutoCAD. Most drawing settings can be turned on or off from the status bar. You can also access additional drawing settings by right-clicking on the button located on the status bar. Setting Grid and Snap Grid is the basic drawing setting. It makes the graphics window appear like a graph paper. You can turn ON the grid display by clicking the Grid icon on the status bar or just pressing F7 on the keyboard. Snap is used for drawing objects by using the intersection points of the grid lines. When you turn the Snap Mode ON, you will be able select only grid points. In the following example, you will learn to set the grid and snap settings. Example:  Click Application Menu > New; the Select Template dialog appears. Select the acadISO-Named Plot Styles template. Click Open. On the Status bar, click the down arrow next to the Snap Mode icon and select Snap Settings. The Drafting Settings dialog appears. Click the Snap and Grid tab on the dialog. Set Grid X spacing to 10 and press TAB key; the Grid Y spacing is updated with the same value. Set Major line every to 10. Select the Snap On check box. Make sure that Snap X spacing and Snap Y spacing is set to 10. Make sure that the Grid snap option is selected in the Snap type group. Click OK on the dialog. Activate the Grid icon on the Status Bar. Setting the Limits of a drawing You can set the limits of a drawing by defining its lower-left and top-right corners. By setting Limits of a drawing, you will define the size of the drawing area. In AutoCAD, limits are set to some default values. However, you can redefine the limits to change the drawing area as per your requirement. Type Limits at the command line and press ENTER.  Press ENTER to accept the lower limit as 0,0. Now, you need to define the upper limit. Type 80,50 and press ENTER key. On the Navigate Bar, click Zoom > Zoom All; the graphics window will be zoomed to the limits. Setting the Lineweight Line weight is the thickness of the objects that you draw. In AutoCAD, there is a default lineweight assigned to objects. However, you can set a new lineweight. The method to set the lineweight is explained below. On the Status bar, click the Customization option, and then select LineWeight from the flyout. This shows the LineWeight icon on the status bar. Activate the Show/Hide Lineweight icon located on the status bar. Right click on the Show/Hide Lineweight icon, and then select Lineweight Settings. The Lineweight Settings dialog appears. On the Lineweight Settings dialog, select 0.40 mm from the Default drop-down. Click OK. Type L in the command line and press ENTER. Type 10,10 and press ENTER to define the first point. Move the pointer horizontally toward right and click on the sixth grid point from the first point.  Move the pointer vertically upwards and select the third grid point from the second point. Move the pointer horizontally toward left and select the second grid point from the previous point. Move the pointer vertically downwards and select the grid point next to the previous point. Move the pointer horizontally toward left and select the second grid point from the previous point. Move the pointer vertically upwards and select the grid point next to the previous point. Move the pointer horizontally toward left and select the second grid point from the previous point. Right-click and select Close. Save and close the file. Using Ortho mode and Polar Tracking Ortho mode is used to draw orthogonal (horizontal or vertical) lines. Polar Tracking is used to constrain the lines to angular increments. In the following example, you will create a drawing with the help of Ortho Mode and Polar Tracking. Open a new AutoCAD file. Deactivate the Grid Display and Snap Mode icons on the status bar. Click the Ortho Mode icon on the status bar. Click Zoom All on the Navigation Bar. Click the Line button on the Draw panel. Select an arbitrary point to define the starting point. Move the pointer toward right, type 100 and press ENTER; you will notice that a horizontal line is created. Move the pointer upwards, type 50 and press ENTER; you will notice that a vertical line is created. Click the Polar Tracking icon on the status bar. Click the down arrow next to the Polar tracking icon, and select 30 from the menu. You will notice a track line at 30-degree increments when you rotate the pointer. Move the pointer and stop when the tooltip displays Zoom Previous on the Navigation Bar. Using Zoom-Realtime Using the Zoom-Realtime tool, you can zoom in or zoom out of a drawing in real time. Click Zoom > Zoom Realtime on the Navigation Bar; the pointer is changed to a magnifying glass with plus and minus symbols. Press and hold the left mouse button and drag the mouse forward to zoom into the drawing. Drag the mouse backward to zoom out of the drawing. Using Zoom-All The Zoom All tool is used to adjust the drawing space to the limits set by using the LIMITS command.  Click Zoom > Zoom All on the Navigation Bar; the drawing will be zoomed to its limits. Using Zoom Dynamic With the Zoom Dynamic tool, you can zoom to a particular portion of a drawing by using a viewing box. Click Zoom Dynamic on the Navigation Bar; the drawing will be zoomed to its limits. In addition, a viewing box is attached to the pointer. Click and drag the pointer to define the shape of the viewing box. Left-click and move the pointer the area to be zoomed.  Click the right mouse button. The area covered by the viewing box is magnified. Using Zoom-Scale Using the Zoom-Scale tool, you can zoom in or zoom out of a drawing by entering zoom scale factors directly from your keyboard. Click Zoom > Zoom Scale on the Navigation Bar. The message, “Enter a scale factor (nX or nXP)” appears in the command line. Enter the scale factor 0.25 to scale the drawing to 25% of the full view. Enter the scale factor 0.25X to scale the drawing to 25% of the current view. Enter the scale factor 0.25XP to scale the drawing to 25% of the paper space. Using Zoom-Center Using the Zoom Center tool, you can zoom to an area of the drawing based on a center point and magnification value. Click Zoom > Zoom Center on the Navigation Bar; the message, “Define Center point” appears in the command line. Select a point in the drawing to which you want to zoom in; the message, “Enter magnification or height” appears in the command line.  Enter 10X in the command line to magnify the location of point the selected point by ten times. Using Zoom-Object Using the Zoom Object tool, you can magnify a portion of the drawing by selecting one or more objects. Click Zoom > Zoom Object on the Navigation Bar. Select one or more objects from the drawing and press ENTER; the objects will be magnified. Using Zoom-In Using the Zoom In tool, you can magnify the drawing by a scale factor of 2. Click Zoom > Zoom-In on the Navigation Bar; the drawing is magnified to double. Using Zoom-Out The Zoom-out tool is used to de-magnify the display screen by a scale factor of 0.5. Panning Drawings After zooming into a drawing, you may want to view an area which is outside the current display. You can do this by using the Pan tool. Click Pan on the Navigation Bar. Press and hold the middle mouse button and drag the mouse; a new area of the drawing, which is outside the current view, is displayed. Exercises Chapter 4: Editing Tools In this chapter, you will learn the following tools: The Move tool The Copy tool The Rotate tool The Scale tool The Trim tool The Extend tool The Fillet tool The Chamfer tool The Mirror tool The Explode tool The Stretch tool The Polar Array tool The Offset tool The Path Array tool The Rectangular Array tool Editing Tools In previous chapters, you have learned to create some simple drawings using the basic drawing tools. However, to create complex drawings, you may perform various editing operations. The tools to perform the editing operations are available in the Modify panel on the Home ribbon. You can click the down arrow on this panel to find more editing tools. Using these editing tools, you can modify existing objects or use existing objects to create new or similar objects. The Move tool  The Move tool moves a selected object(s) from one location to a new location without changing its orientation. To move objects, you must activate this tool and select the objects from the graphics window. After selecting objects, you must define the ‘base point’ and the ‘destination point’. Example: Create the drawing as shown below. Click Home > Modify > Move on the ribbon, or enter M in the command line. Click on the circle located at the right-side, and then right-click to accept the selection. Select the center of the circle as the base point. Make sure that the Ortho Mode is activated. Move the pointer toward right and pick a point as shown below. This moves the circle to the new location. The Copy tool The Copy tool is used to copy objects and place them at a required location. This tool is similar to the Move tool, except that object will remain at its original position and a copy of it will be placed at the new location. Example: Draw two circles of 80 mm and 140 mm diameter, respectively. Click Home > Modify > Copy on the ribbon or enter CO in the command line. Select the two circles, and then right-click to accept the selection.  Select the center of the circle as the base point. Make sure that the Ortho Mode is active. Move the pointer toward right. Type 200 and press ENTER. Select Exit from the command line. This creates a copy of the circles at the new location. The Rotate tool The Rotate tool rotates an object or a group of objects about a base point. Activate this tool and select the objects from the graphics window. After selecting objects, you must define the ‘base point’ and the angle of rotation. This rotates the object(s) about the base point. Click Home > Modify > Rotate on the ribbon or enter RO in the command line. Select the circles as shown below, and then right-click to accept. Select the center of the other circle as the base point. Select the Copy option from the command line. Type -90 as the rotation angle and press ENTER. The Scale tool The Scale tool changes the size of objects. It reduces or enlarges the size without changing the shape of an object. Click Home > Modify > Scale on the ribbon or enter SC in the command line. Select the circles as shown below and right-click to accept the selection. Select the center point of the selected circles as the base point. Type 0.8 as the scale factor and press ENTER. Likewise, scale the circles located at the top to 0.7. Click Home > Draw > Circle > Tan, Tan, Radius on the ribbon.  Select the two circles shown below to define the tangent points. Type 150 as the radius of the circle and press ENTER. Likewise, create other circles of radius 100 and 120. The Trim tool When an object intersects with another object, you can remove its unwanted portion by using the Trim tool. To trim an object, you must first activate the Trim tool, and then select the cutting edge (intersecting object) and the portion to be removed. If there are multiple intersection points in a drawing, you can simply select the select all option from the command line; all the objects in the drawing objects will act as ‘cutting edges’. Click Home > Modify > Trim on the ribbon or enter TR in the command line. Now, you must select the cutting edges.  Press ENTER to select all the objects as the cutting edges. Now, you must select the objects to be trimmed. Select the large circles one by one; the circles will be trimmed. Likewise, trim the other circles as shown below. Save and close the drawing. The Extend tool The Extend tool is similar to the Trim tool but its use is opposite of it. This tool is used to extend lines, arcs and other open entities to connect to other objects. To do so, you must select the boundary up to which you want to extend the objects, and then select the objects to be extended. Start a new drawing. Create a sketch as shown below using the Line tool. Click Home > Modify > Extend on the ribbon or enter EX in the command line. Select the vertical line as the boundary edge. Next, right-click. Select the horizontal open line. This will extend the line up to the boundary edge.  The Fillet tool The Fillet tool converts the sharp corners into round corners. You must define the radius and select the objects forming a corner. The following figure shows some examples of rounding the corners. Start a new drawing. Type Limmax in the command line and press ENTER. Set the maximum limit to 100,100 and press ENTER. Click Zoom All on the Navigation Bar. Click Home > Draw > Polyline on the ribbon. Define the start point as 20, 50. Draw the lines as shown below. Right-click and select Enter.  Click Home > Modify > Fillet on the ribbon or enter F in the command line. Select the Radius option from the command line. Type 5 and press ENTER. Select the vertical line and the horizontal line as shown below. Notice that a fillet is created. The Chamfer tool The Chamfer tool replaces the sharp corners with an angled line. This tool is similar to the Fillet tool, except that an angled line is placed at the corners instead of rounds. Click Home > Modify > Fillet > Chamfer on the ribbon or enter CHA in the command line. Follow the prompt sequence given next: Select first line or [Undo/Polyline/Distance/Angle/Trim/mEthod/Multiple]: Select the Distance option from the command line. Define first chamfer distance : Enter 8 as the first chamfer distance and press ENTER. Define second chamfer distance : Press ENTER to accept 8 as the second chamfer distance.  Select first line or [Undo/Polyline/Distance/Angle/Trim/mEthod/Multiple]: Select the vertical line on the right-side. Select second line or shift-select to apply corner or [Distance/Angle/Method]: Select the horizontal line connected to the vertical line. The Mirror tool The Mirror tool creates a mirror image of objects. You can create symmetrical drawings using this tool. Activate this tool and select the objects to mirror, and then define the ‘mirror line’ about which the objects will be mirrored. You can define the mirror line by either creating a line or selecting an existing line. Click Home > Modify > Mirror on the ribbon or enter MI in the command line. Select the drawing by clicking on it, and then press Enter. Select the first point of the mirror line as shown below. Make sure that the Ortho Mode on the status bar is active. Move the pointer toward right and click. Select the No option from the command line to retain the source objects. Click Home > Draw > Arc > Start, End, Direction on the ribbon. Select the start point of the arc as shown. Select the end point of the arc as shown. Make sure that the Ortho Mode is active. Move the pointer toward right and click.  The Explode tool The Explode tool explodes a group of objects into individual objects. For example, when you create a drawing using the Polyline tool, it acts as a single object. You can explode a polyline or rectangle or any group of objects using the Explode tool. Click on the portion of the drawing created using the Polyline tool; you will notice that the complete polyline is selected as a single object. Click Home > Modify > Explode on the ribbon or enter X in the command line. Select the polylines from the drawing. Press ENTER; the polyline is exploded into individual objects. Now, you can select the individual objects of the polyline. The Stretch tool The Stretch tool lengthens or shortens drawings or parts of drawings. Note that you cannot stretch circles using this tool. In addition, you must select the portion of the drawing to be stretched by dragging a window. Click Home > Modify > Stretch on the ribbon or enter STRETCH in the command line. Create a crossing window to select the objects of the drawing. Press ENTER (or) right-click to accept the selection. Select the base point as shown below. Move the pointer downward and click to stretch the drawing.  Save and close the file. The Polar Array tool The Polar Array tool creates an arrangement of objects around a point in circular form. The following example shows you to create a polar array. Create two concentric circles of 140 and 50 diameters. Type C in the command line and press ENTER. Press and hold the Shift key, right-click and select Quadrant from the shortcut menu. Select the quadrant point of the circle as shown below. Type 30 as radius and press ENTER. Click Home > Modify > Trim on the ribbon. Select the large circle as the cutting edge and right-click. Select the circle on the quadrant as the object to be trimmed.  Press Enter. Click Home > Modify > Array > Polar Array on the ribbon or ARRAYPOLAR in the command line. Select the arc created after trimming the circle. Next, right-click to accept the selection. Make sure that Object Snap is activated. Select the center of the large circle as the center of the array; the Array Creation tab appears in the ribbon. In the Items panel of the Array Creation tab, set the Items value to 4. Notice that the Rotate Items button is active in the Properties panel of the Array Creation tab. This rotates the objects of the polar array. If you deactivate this button, the polar array is created without rotating the objects as shown in figure. In addition, the Associative button is active by default. This ensures that you can edit the array after creating it. Make sure that the Associative and the Rotate Items buttons are active. Next, click the Close Array button on the ribbon. Click the Trim button on the Modify panel. Press ENTER to select all objects as cutting edges. Trim the unwanted portions as shown below. The Offset tool The Offset tool is creates parallel copies of lines, polylines, circles, arcs and so on. To create a parallel copy of an object, first you must define the offset distance, and then select the object. Next, you must define the side in which the parallel copy will be placed. Create the drawing shown below using the Polyline tool. Do not add dimensions. Click Home > Modify > Offset on the ribbon or enter O in the command line. Type 20 as the offset distance and press ENTER. Select the polyline loop. Click outside the loop to create the parallel copy. Click Home > Layer > Layer Properties on the ribbon (or) type LA in the command line; the Layer Properties Manager appears. Click the New layer button on the Layer Properties Manager. Enter Centerline in the Name field. Click the Set current icon. This activates the new layer. Click in the Linetype field of the current layer; the Select Linetype dialog appears. On the Select Linetype dialog, click the Load button; the Load or Reload Linetypes dialog appears. Select the CENTER2 Linetype from this dialog. Click OK. This adds the linetype to the Select Linetype dialog. Select the CENTER2 linetype from the Select Linetype dialog and click OK. Close the Layer Properties Manager. Click the Offset button on the Modify panel. Select the Layer option from the command line. Select the Current option from the command line; this ensures that the offset entity will be created with the currently active layer properties. If you select the Source option, the offset entity will be created with the properties of the source object. Type 10 as the offset distance and press ENTER. Select the outer loop of the drawing. Move the pointer inwards and click to create the offset entity. Click on the Layer drop-down on the Layer panel of the ribbon. Select the 0 layer from the drop-down. Create a circle of 12 mm diameter. The Path Array tool The Path Array tool creates an array of objects along a path (line, polyline, circle, helix, spline, and so on). Click Home > Modify > Array > Path Array on the ribbon or enter ARRAYPATH in the command line. Select the circle and right-click. Select the centerline as the path; the preview of the path array appears. Click the Divide method on the Properties panel. Now, you must enter the number of items in the path array. If you select the Measure method, you must enter the distance between the items in the path array. Set the Items count to 12. Notice that the Align Items button is active by default. As a result, the items are aligned with the path. If you deactivate this button, the items will not be aligned with the path.  Click the Close Array button. Save and close the file. The Rectangular Array tool The Rectangular Array tool creates an array of objects along the X and Y directions. Open a new AutoCAD file and draw the sketch shown below. Do not add dimensions Draw a circle of 10mm diameter concentric to the fillet.  Click Home > Modify > Array > Rectangular Array on the ribbon or enter ARRAYRECT in the command line. Select the small circle and right-click; a rectangular array with default values appears. In addition, the Array Creation tab appears. Set the Columns count to 2. Set the Rows count to 2. Set the Between value in the Columns panel to 60. Set the Between value in the Rows panel to 60. Click Close Array on the ribbon. Editing Using Grips When you select objects from the graphics window, small squares appear on them. These squares are called grips. You can use these grips to stretch, move, rotate, scale, and mirror objects, change properties, and perform other editing operations. Grips displayed on selecting different objects are shown below. The following table gives you the details of the editing operations that can be performed when you select and drag grips. Object Grip Editing Operation Scale: Select anyone of the grips on the circumference and move the pointer to scale a circle. Grip on circumference Circle Move: Select the center grip of the circle and move the pointer. Center point grip Stretch: Select the grip on the circumference  and move the pointer. Grip on circumference Arc Move: Select the center grip of the arc and move the pointer. Center point grip Move: Select the Midpoint grip and move the pointer Midpoint Grip Line Stretch/Lengthen: Select an endpoint grip and move the pointer. Endpoint Grip Stretch: Select the corner grips and move the pointer. Corner Grips Add/Remove Vertex: Place the pointer on the  corner grip and select Add Vertex/Remove Vertex. Polylines, Rectangles, Polygons Convert to Arc: Place the pointer on the midpoint grip and select Convert to Arc. Midpoint Grips Convert to Line: Place the pointer on the midpoint grip of a polyline arc and select Covert to Line. Move: Select the center grip and move the pointer. Center Grip Ellipse Stretch: Select a grip on circumference and move the pointer. Grips on circumference Stretch: Select a grip on the spline and move the pointer.  Fit Points Add/Remove Fit Point: Place the pointer on a fit point and select Add Fit Point or Remove Fit Point. Stretch Vertices: Select the control vertices of Spline a CV spline and move the pointer. Add/Remove Vertices: Place the pointer on a control vertex and select Add Vertex or Remove Vertex. Control Vertices Refine Vertices: Place the pointer on a control vertex and select Refine Vertices. Modifying Rectangular Arrays You can use grips to edit rectangular arrays dynamically. Various array editing operations using grips are given next. Moving a Rectangular array Create a rectangular array as shown below.  Select the array; you will notice that grips are displayed on it. Select the grip located at the lower left corner and move the array, as shown below. Adding/Removing Level to a Rectangular array Place the pointer on the lower left grip of the rectangular array; a shortcut menu appears. Select Level Count from the shortcut menu; the message, “Specify number of levels” appears in the command line. Type 3 and press ENTER. Click the Home button near the ViewCube to view the levels. Change the view to Top view by using the In-Canvas controls. Changing the Column and Row Count To change the column and row count, place the pointer on the top right corner grip;  a shortcut menu appears. Select Row and Column Count from the shortcut menu; the message, “Specify number of rows and columns” appears in the command line. Type 5 in the command line and press ENTER; the number of rows and columns are changed to 5. If you only want to change the column count; place the pointer on the lower right corner grip of the array. Select Colum Count from the shortcut menu. Next, enter the number of columns or drag the pointer and click. To change the row count only, click the top left corner grip and drag the pointer. You can also enter the row count in the command line. Changing the Column and Row Spacing To change the total column and row spacing, place the pointer on the top right corner grip and select Total Row and Column Spacing from the shortcut menu. Type the 80 in the command line; the spacing between the columns and rows is adjusted to fit the total length. To change the total column spacing only, place the pointer on the lower right corner grip and select Total Column Spacing from the shortcut menu. Next, enter the total column distance or drag the pointer and click.  If you want to change the distance between the individual columns, click the second column grip and drag the pointer. You can also enter the distance in the command line. Likewise, you can change the total row spacing and distance between the individual rows by using the grips shown below. Changing the Axis Angle of the Rectangular Array To change the Axis angle of the rows, place the pointer on the lower right corner grip and select Axis angle from the shortcut menu. Type the angle and press ENTER. Note that the angle is calculated from the first column of the array. For example, if you enter 60 as the axis angle, the rows will be inclined 60 degrees from the first column.  Likewise, you can the axis angle of the columns by using the top left corner grip. Editing the Source Item of the Rectangular Array Create a rectangular array as shown below. Select the rectangular array; the Array tab appears in the ribbon. Click the Edit Source button on the Option panel; the message, “Select item in array” message appears in the command line. Select the lower left triangle of the rectangular array; the Array Editing State message box appears. Click OK; the array editing state is activated. Draw a circle and trim the unwanted portion as shown below.  Click Save Changes on the Edit Array panel of the ribbon. Modifying Polar Arrays Similar to editing rectangular arrays, you can also edit a polar array by using grips. Various array editing operations using grips are given next. Changing the Radius of a Polar array Create the polar array, as shown in figure. Select the polar array; grips will be displayed on it. Place the pointer on the base grip, as shown in figure. Select Stretch Radius from the shortcut menu.  Move the pointer outward or inward and click. You can also enter a new radius value of the polar array. Changing the Row Count of a Polar array Place the pointer on the base grip of the array and select Row Count from the shortcut menu. Move the pointer outward and click. You can also enter the number of the rows in the command line. You can again change the Row Count by using the last row grip. Changing the Row Spacing To change the total row spacing, place the pointer on the last row grip and select Total Row Spacing. Next, move the pointer and click. You can also enter the total row spacing value in the command line.  To change the distance between the individual rows, click the second row grip and move the pointer outward. You can also enter the distance in the command line. Changing the Angle between the Items To change the angle between the items, click the second radial grip and enter the new angle value. Changing the Fill angle of the array The default fill angle of a polar array is 360 degrees. To change the fill angle, place the pointer on the base grip and select Fill Angle from the shortcut menu. Enter a new value for the fill angle or drag the pointer and click. Changing the Item count of a Polar array  Select the polar array and enter a new item count in the Items box of the Array ribbon. Revision Clouds Revision clouds are used to highlight the areas in a drawing. You can revision clouds using three different tools. Example 1: Start a new drawing using the acadISO template. On the ribbon, click Annotate > Markup > Revision Cloud > Rectangular. Select Arc Length from the command line. Type 3 and press Enter to specify the minimum arc length. Type 5 and press Enter to specify the maximum arc length. Specify the first and second corners of the revision cloud. You can also select the Object option, and select an object from the graphics window. The selected object will be converted into a revision cloud. Select the revision cloud and notice the grips. You can use the midpoint grip to stretch or add new vertices to the revision cloud. You can use the corner point grip to stretch, add, or remove vertices. Example 2 : On the ribbon, click Annotate > Markup > Revision Cloud > Polygonal. Select Style from the command line. Select Calligraphy from the command line. Specify the corners of the revision cloud and press Enter. Example 3 : On the ribbon, click Annotate > Markup > Revision Cloud > Freehand. Specify the start point of the revision cloud. Move the pointer around the area to be highlighted. Move the pointer onto the start point to close the cloud. Exercises