Introduction to AutoCAD

Introduction
 AutoCAD is a registered trademark of
Autodesk. CAD simply means (Computer
Aided Design), and so in recent years,
technology has enabled us to make
drawings simpler and faster with the aid
of a computer.

BL-Paulsen resources 2
Starting AutoCAD

 Choose Start from the Windows

program manager,
 Choose Programs, Autodesk , AutoCAD
2008.
 Click the AutoCAD 2008 for Windows
icon.

BL-Paulsen resources 3
BL-Paulsen resources 4
The Drawing Screen

BL-Paulsen resources 5
Drawing commands
 Drawing commands can be provided by
typing on the command line or using the
drawing tools.
How to Enter a Command
 By simply typing the first word of the
desired object, e.g L for Line
 Or by clicking on the Draw tool bar

BL-Paulsen resources 6
Line command
 Press F8 to turn on ORTHO
 Click on the Line icon or type
“LINE” or simply ‘L’
 When the “specify first” point shows up
pick any point on the screen

BL-Paulsen resources 7
Rectangle Command
 Choose Draw- Rectangle or
 Click the Rectangle icon.
 Type Rectang at the command prompt

Circle Command
 Choose Draw-Circle or
 Click the Circle icon.
 Type CIRCLE at the command prompt

BL-Paulsen resources 8
Editing drawings
To edit a drawing click modify – any of the
ff;
Move -
 Copy -
 Offset
 Explode
 Extend
 Trim etc

BL-Paulsen resources 9
Creating a New Drawing
 Choose File, New or
 Press CTRL + N or
 Click the New icon or
 Type NEW at the Command prompt
 After choosing any of the options for
creating a new drawing.
 Click The OK button.
 Save the drawing as another name.

BL-Paulsen resources 10
BL-Paulsen resources 11
Note: select acad (for 2D drawings) or
 acad3D (for 3D drawings)

To Open Existing Drawings

 Choose File, OPEN or
 Press CTRL + O or
 Click the OPEN icon or
 Type OPEN at the command prompt.
 Press ENTER
 Double Click the desired directory to find the drawing
to open.
 Click the drawing name to open.
 Click The OK button.

BL-Paulsen resources 12
COMMANDS ON THE STATUS BAR
(OSNAP, ORTHO, GRID etc
OSNAP (Object Snap):
 This specifies a snap point at an exact
location on the objet using the spacing
that you specify. Typical are endpoints, mid
points, perpendicular,
GRID DISPLAY: displays grids with the
spacing that you specify

BL-Paulsen resources 13
ORTHO: enables us draw straight and
perpendicular lines.
 Click on the ORTHO tab to turn it On
or Off
 Or Press F9
 Or Choose TOOLS – DRAFT SETTINGS
POLAR TRACKING: tracks increments
of the angle that you specify (i.e. if you set it
to 30 degrees, it will track 30, 60, 90, 120
degrees etc.
BL-Paulsen resources 14
Entering Dimensions
 Use direct distance entry (move your
cursor in the desired direction and type a
value)
 Or coordinate system- absolute, relative
or polar (specify the distance and
angle).eg @10<50

BL-Paulsen resources 15
Practice Questions

 Draw the following 2D figures below:

BL-Paulsen resources 16