How to Draw With CAD
LEARN TO DRAW WITH CAD
What is CAD? Computer Aided Drafting or Design. It is the way to make drawing easier, faster, more precise, filed, saved, emailed, quickly changed, resized... sold on it yet?
Those programs cost too much. Free is about as cheep as you can get. You can pay a lot for some programs but if you are just starting out you wouldn't know what to do with them if you had them. It is hard enough to draw a straight line much less create an animated model and view a cross section of it. Just any CAD program will not do. Lower cost programs are set up so that they are easy to use. However I have never figured out how to use them. There is one industry standard for basic CAD drawing. AutoCAD by Auto Desk. This program is expensive but to say you know CAD is to know AutoCAD.
If Auto CAD is expensive then what is free? As I said, AutoCAD is the industry standard so if you learn the AutoCAD way then you are on the right track. IntelliCAD is a lower priced program that works like AutoCAD. It works the same while looking slightly different. The commands are the same but the icons look different. IntelliCAD will work with AutoCAD and each will open the other's programs. There is no way to completely explain how to use the entire program but I can show you the basic things that will get you started. The rest you will figure out as you work with it. Once you learn how to do the basic things you can find your way through AutoCAD just by learning to use the different looking icons.
Setting up the program. After you have downloaded your program you will have to set it up so that the tool bars that you will use are in place. You can move these tool bars around and place them where ever you need them. First let’s take the command bar and move it to the bottom of your screen. Grab it on the side and move it so that you can see it become separated from the rest. Now drop it close to the bottom and watch it become part of the screen. Go to View and Tool Bars. Some of them might be already in place. After you have checked the tool bars that you want, if they do not show up, exit the program and reopen it and then set everything in place. Check the following blocks. Standard (Place it at the top), View (place it at the top), Dimensioning (to the right), Modify (lower top), Draw 2D (to the left), Entity Snaps (to the left). You will see how the tool bars jump into place. If you have room you might want to place some of the smaller ones where ever you have room but most likely you won't need them. If you do not have at least a 17 inch monitor you might not have much drawing space. Check your monitor settings and look for 600x800. This might work better.
Here is how it works! The files work the same in CAD as they do in any other program as far as filing and saving. You need to know how to draw a line, offset a line, snap two lines together, add a dimension, trim, add text, add a circle and print out a section of you print. I will explain the moves as if we were using AutoCAD and have the IntelliCAD terms in parentheses (like this). This way you can learn both.
Remember the degrees (360 totals) in that on your screen zero is to the right. 90 is up, 180 is to the left and 270 is down. This only matters on the first line that you draw. There are right clicks and left clicks on your mouse. Some commands are multiple steps. In other words you will start a command with one click and have to click again with the other to start the second part and another to enter it. Escape will always stop a command before you mess up. Undo will fix it back if you do unless it has been saved. This is a little confusing but as you click around you will see what works. Think of the two mouse buttons as enter and escape so to speak.
Drawing a line. Click the line icon and place one end of it on the screen. Now you can move the other end around. Now we want to tell it how far and what direction. Type in @2<0>:. Type in D and enter. Now it says Diameter of circle: type in 1and enter. Now look at your circle. It looks like one inch to me. Now you need to practice with the lines in the center. Try to delete them. There is a delete icon. Find it! After you have deleted them click undo and put them back. Now lets trim them. There is a trim icon. Click it. Now click the circle. It is now dotted. Right click. Now click on parts of the lines and watch what happens. They get cut in places and parts disappear. That is how you cut off lines that you do not want. Think of the line that you make dotted as a knife blade. Then the part that you click on next will cut free. This is one of the hardest things because of the clicks and the order that you have to do them in. You will figure it out. Play with it. Try making a box around the picture while in trim mode so that everything is dotted. Now click around and you can trim a lot.
Copy is used a lot. If you have been drawing on a print for a while you might want to change something with out messing up what you have. Click copy and make a box around what you want to copy and another print is ready to drop where ever you want it. Now you can change what ever you want and still have the original.
Angles You don't need to type in a distance and direction of an angle. That is too hard. Look at our 2 x 2 box. If we want to cut off a corner just offset the lines the distance in from the corners and snap a line from corner to corner. Then trim off the parts that you do not want. If you need to know what angle it is then go to the dimension tool bar, find (angular) and check it. To check a dimension go to the same bar and click the one that works. Snap it to two places that you are measuring and SHAZZAM! You have neat looking dimensions.
Text Type in the command (DTEXT) (enter) (start it some where on the page) (type in how tall) example: .2 (enter) (angle: 0) (enter) (put in your text) (enter) (enter) and there it is. OK it is not in the right place. That is what move is for.
Move this is used to reposition things around on the page. Find move. Click it. Select with a box everything that you want to move. Right click then pick a base point (meaning grab it) and move it. Click to drop it and there it is. It will take some time but if you can do these things you will figure out the rest as you go.
Print Programs are different depending on the version that you have. They all have print under file. A window will open and you will need to find "window". This will allow you to select the part of the print that you want to print out. Make a box. Preview it first to see if it is located on the page like you want. You might want to landscape it or what ever it takes to flip the page.
Tips for Intellicad If you delete a part of your drawing and some of the lines disappear and you have dots left, use the redraw icon.
If the command window bothers you after each command, grab it at the top and slid it off screen. It will be there if you want it, but out of the way.
Tips for Autocad If the command window bothers you after each command, disable it.
Save your file early before you get much work done. When you get to a point that you want to save your work (even though you are not finished drawing) use the save icon. Drawing uses a lot of memory and if you have been drawing for a while and have not saved your work, you could run out of memory and loose everything that is unsaved. This rule applies to about all programs, I use it regularly.
I am sure you have seen my drawings with the color.
LEARN TO DRAW WITH CAD
What is CAD? Computer Aided Drafting or Design. It is the way to make drawing easier, faster, more precise, filed, saved, emailed, quickly changed, resized... sold on it yet?
Those programs cost too much. Free is about as cheep as you can get. You can pay a lot for some programs but if you are just starting out you wouldn't know what to do with them if you had them. It is hard enough to draw a straight line much less create an animated model and view a cross section of it. Just any CAD program will not do. Lower cost programs are set up so that they are easy to use. However I have never figured out how to use them. There is one industry standard for basic CAD drawing. AutoCAD by Auto Desk. This program is expensive but to say you know CAD is to know AutoCAD.
If Auto CAD is expensive then what is free? As I said, AutoCAD is the industry standard so if you learn the AutoCAD way then you are on the right track. IntelliCAD is a lower priced program that works like AutoCAD. It works the same while looking slightly different. The commands are the same but the icons look different. IntelliCAD will work with AutoCAD and each will open the other's programs. There is no way to completely explain how to use the entire program but I can show you the basic things that will get you started. The rest you will figure out as you work with it. Once you learn how to do the basic things you can find your way through AutoCAD just by learning to use the different looking icons.
Setting up the program. After you have downloaded your program you will have to set it up so that the tool bars that you will use are in place. You can move these tool bars around and place them where ever you need them. First let’s take the command bar and move it to the bottom of your screen. Grab it on the side and move it so that you can see it become separated from the rest. Now drop it close to the bottom and watch it become part of the screen. Go to View and Tool Bars. Some of them might be already in place. After you have checked the tool bars that you want, if they do not show up, exit the program and reopen it and then set everything in place. Check the following blocks. Standard (Place it at the top), View (place it at the top), Dimensioning (to the right), Modify (lower top), Draw 2D (to the left), Entity Snaps (to the left). You will see how the tool bars jump into place. If you have room you might want to place some of the smaller ones where ever you have room but most likely you won't need them. If you do not have at least a 17 inch monitor you might not have much drawing space. Check your monitor settings and look for 600x800. This might work better.
Here is how it works! The files work the same in CAD as they do in any other program as far as filing and saving. You need to know how to draw a line, offset a line, snap two lines together, add a dimension, trim, add text, add a circle and print out a section of you print. I will explain the moves as if we were using AutoCAD and have the IntelliCAD terms in parentheses (like this). This way you can learn both.
Remember the degrees (360 totals) in that on your screen zero is to the right. 90 is up, 180 is to the left and 270 is down. This only matters on the first line that you draw. There are right clicks and left clicks on your mouse. Some commands are multiple steps. In other words you will start a command with one click and have to click again with the other to start the second part and another to enter it. Escape will always stop a command before you mess up. Undo will fix it back if you do unless it has been saved. This is a little confusing but as you click around you will see what works. Think of the two mouse buttons as enter and escape so to speak.
Drawing a line. Click the line icon and place one end of it on the screen. Now you can move the other end around. Now we want to tell it how far and what direction. Type in @2<0>:. Type in D and enter. Now it says Diameter of circle: type in 1and enter. Now look at your circle. It looks like one inch to me. Now you need to practice with the lines in the center. Try to delete them. There is a delete icon. Find it! After you have deleted them click undo and put them back. Now lets trim them. There is a trim icon. Click it. Now click the circle. It is now dotted. Right click. Now click on parts of the lines and watch what happens. They get cut in places and parts disappear. That is how you cut off lines that you do not want. Think of the line that you make dotted as a knife blade. Then the part that you click on next will cut free. This is one of the hardest things because of the clicks and the order that you have to do them in. You will figure it out. Play with it. Try making a box around the picture while in trim mode so that everything is dotted. Now click around and you can trim a lot.
Copy is used a lot. If you have been drawing on a print for a while you might want to change something with out messing up what you have. Click copy and make a box around what you want to copy and another print is ready to drop where ever you want it. Now you can change what ever you want and still have the original.
Angles You don't need to type in a distance and direction of an angle. That is too hard. Look at our 2 x 2 box. If we want to cut off a corner just offset the lines the distance in from the corners and snap a line from corner to corner. Then trim off the parts that you do not want. If you need to know what angle it is then go to the dimension tool bar, find (angular) and check it. To check a dimension go to the same bar and click the one that works. Snap it to two places that you are measuring and SHAZZAM! You have neat looking dimensions.
Text Type in the command (DTEXT) (enter) (start it some where on the page) (type in how tall) example: .2 (enter) (angle: 0) (enter) (put in your text) (enter) (enter) and there it is. OK it is not in the right place. That is what move is for.
Move this is used to reposition things around on the page. Find move. Click it. Select with a box everything that you want to move. Right click then pick a base point (meaning grab it) and move it. Click to drop it and there it is. It will take some time but if you can do these things you will figure out the rest as you go.
Print Programs are different depending on the version that you have. They all have print under file. A window will open and you will need to find "window". This will allow you to select the part of the print that you want to print out. Make a box. Preview it first to see if it is located on the page like you want. You might want to landscape it or what ever it takes to flip the page.
Tips for Intellicad If you delete a part of your drawing and some of the lines disappear and you have dots left, use the redraw icon.
If the command window bothers you after each command, grab it at the top and slid it off screen. It will be there if you want it, but out of the way.
Tips for Autocad If the command window bothers you after each command, disable it.
Save your file early before you get much work done. When you get to a point that you want to save your work (even though you are not finished drawing) use the save icon. Drawing uses a lot of memory and if you have been drawing for a while and have not saved your work, you could run out of memory and loose everything that is unsaved. This rule applies to about all programs, I use it regularly.
I am sure you have seen my drawings with the color.
