DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL (TELECOMMUNICATION) ENGINEERING

SUKKUR INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Computer Aided Engineering Design (Lab)

Name: __________________________________________ Date: _________________________

Score: _____________________Signature of Instructor_________________________________

Lab Practice # 01
Introduction To AutoCAD

1.1 Objectives:
The objectives of these notes are to give a brief general introduction to AutoCAD 2010. The notes
contain exercises that you should try out as you go along and are intended to be reasonably self-
contained.
To become familiar with AutoCAD 2010 environment.
To understand the coordinate system in AutoCAD
To work with Polar and Cartesian coordinate system
To work with Relative and Absolute Coordinates

1.2 Theory:
AutoCAD is a software program used by people in the design and documentation disciplines. The
software can be used to create 2D drawings and diagrams or can be the basis for powerful 3D
visualizations. Its drawing formats (dwg and dxf) are the industry standards for the exchange of
electronic drawings, between professionals and regulatory bodies.
AutoCAD is a generic design & documentation tool, and as such it is used across a large number of
industries including, architecture, interior design, shop fit-outs, construction, engineering, landscape
design, product design and manufacture, naval and aeronautical design, piping and cabling, just to
name a few. AutoCAD can be utilized to produce accurate plans and sections of a design.

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 AutoCAD drawings

1.3 Starting AutoCAD

To start an AutoCAD:
Double Click on the AutoCAD 2010 icon on the desktop.
Go to Start->AutoDesk->AutoCAD 2010->AutoCAD 2010-English.

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1.4 AutoCAD Main window

The AutoCAD program window is divided into following parts:

Application menu
Quick Access toolbar
InfoCenter
Ribbon
Drawing area
UCS
Command window
Status bar

APPLICATION MENU
A big red A resides in the upper left corner of the AutoCAD window. More than just a
logo, the A hides the application menu and its utility commands. To see the menu,
click the A.

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Using this menu, you can:
Create a new file
Open an existing file
Save the current file
Save the current file under a new name (Save As) and/or in a different folder
Export the current file to a different file format
Print the current file
Publish the current file
Send the current file to eTransmit or email
Use all the functions related to your drawing
Close the current file
Exit AutoCAD

Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar is the small toolbar located at the top left of the screen:

Using this toolbar, you can:

Create a new file
Open an existing file
Save the current file
Undo and redo

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 Print the current file
InfoCenter
At the top-right part of the screen, you will see the InfoCenter:

The InfoCenter gives you the opportunity to type in keywords that will enable AutoCAD to search
both online and offline resources and provide you with a list of related help topics. You may still use
the conventional Help search by clicking the arrow at the right-hand side of the InfoCenter:

Ribbon
The ribbon is prominent as the primary interface. It spans the upper portion of AutoCAD.

Ribbons consist of two parts:

Tabs
Panels
For example, the Home tab consists of eight panels: Draw, Modify, Layers, Annotation, Block,
Properties, Utilities, and Clipboard. In each tab you will see different panels.

Drawing Area:
The drawing area occupies most of the screen. Everything you draw appears in this area. As you
move your mouse around, crosshairs appear to move within the drawing area. The cursor is the
intersection of the crosshairs (vertical and horizontal lines that follow the mouse or puck
movements). The default size of the graphics area for English settings is 12 units (X or horizontal)
by 9 units (Y or vertical). This usable drawing area (12 x 9) is called the drawing Limits and can be

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changed to any size to fit the application. As you move the cursor, you will notice the numbers in the
Coordinate display change.
UCS
In the lower-left corner of the drawing area, you see an L-shaped arrow. This is the User Coordinate
System (UCS) icon, which tells you your orientation in the drawing. This icon becomes helpful as
you start to work with complex 2D drawings and 3D models. The X and Y arrows indicate the X and
Y-axes of your drawing. The little square at the base of the arrows tells you that youre in what is
called the World Coordinate System (WCS).

Command window
The Command window, located just below the drawing area, gives you feedback about AutoCADs
commands as you use them. You can move and resize this window just as you move and resize other
display components. As a new user, pay special attention to messages displayed in the Command
window because this is how AutoCAD communicates with you. Besides giving you messages, the
Command window records your activity within AutoCAD. You can use the scrollbar to the right of
the Command window to review previous messages. The Command line consists of the three text
lines at the bottom of the screen (by default) and is the most important area other than the drawing
itself. Any command that is entered or any prompt that AutoCAD issues, appears here. The
Command line gives the current state of drawing activity.

Status Bar
The Status Bar in AutoCAD contains many functions that will help you draft more precisely.

Displaying the Menu Bar

The application menu has a few drawbacks. For instance, you need to click the A every time you
want to access the menus. And it lacks most AutoCADs commands. The alternative is to turn on the
menu bar, which then appears above the ribbon. It provides faster access to commands in menu
format.

To display the menu bar, enter the following at the Command: prompt:
Command: menubar
Enter new value for MENUBAR <0>: 1

Enter the number 1, and then press ENTER. (In this case, 1 means on.)
Like the ribbon, the menu bar groups commands by function. For instance, the Line command is
found in the Draw category. Unlike the ribbon, these menus always display words alongside icons.
1.5 The Coordinate System
The coordinate system is a method of locating points in the drawing area. It enables you to locate
points by specifying distances from a fixed reference point. You can locate a point by giving its
distance in the horizontal direction, vertical direction, measuring along an angle, etc. The coordinate
system is available when a function requires data input in the form of point locations. You may use it
while drawing, editing or any time you need to locate a point.

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1.6 Cartesian Coordinates
The Cartesian coordinate system has two axes X, Y for 2D drawings and 3 axes X, Y, Z for 3D
drawings. By entering coordinate values you indicate a point distance and its direction along the X,
Y, Z axes relative to the origin. Cartesian coordinates is a rectangular system of measurement that
enables you to locate points with the help of horizontal and vertical coordinates. The horizontal
values, called X- coordinates, are measured along the X-axis. The vertical values, called Y-
coordinates, are measured along the Y-axis. The intersection of the X- and Y-axes is called the origin
point, which represents the (0,0) location of the coordinate system.
The positive X values are measured to the right and the positive Y values are measured above the
origin point. The negative X and Y values are measured to the left and below. To enter a coordinate,
you need to enter both the X and Y values separated by a comma (X, Y).
Example: To locate a point two units to the right and one unit above the origin point, enter X = 2, Y
= 1 or (2,1).

1.7 Polar Coordinates

Polar coordinates allow you to define a point by specifying the distance and the direction from a
given point. This mode of measurement is quite helpful in working with angles. To draw a line at an
angle, you need to specify how long a line you want to draw and specify the angle. To enter a Polar
coordinate, we first select a point and then enter a distance and an angle.

For example: To specify a point 8 units from the origin at an angle of 30 degrees
we would enter 8<30.

1.8 Absolute and Relative Coordinates in AutoCAD

Cartesian or polar coordinate values can be entered in two formats:
a. Absolute
b. Relative

a. Absolute format is a way of measuring distances from a fixed reference location (origin point),
which is the 0,0 location of the coordinate system. Consider this point to be stationary at all
times. You can use this point as a reference to measure any distance in the drawing.

b. Relative format is a way of measuring distances from the last point entered. When a point is
entered, it becomes the reference for entering the next point and so on.
To draw a line beginning at X=2, Y=4 and ending at X=4, Y=6 using absolute coordinate, we would
enter the following at the command prompt:

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 Relative coordinates can be used if the position of a point in relation to the previous point is known.
The @ symbol is used for specifying relative coordinates. The line which was drawn using absolute
coordinates can also be drawn using relative coordinates by typing the following at the command
prompt:

Tip of the week: Add your name

to the status bar
Do you want to see your name or your company's name displayed on the AutoCAD status bar? If so,
you need to know about the modemacro variable. Whatever value you set to this variable, it will
appear on the status bar, just to the left of the dynamic co-ordinate display. To do this, enter
"modemacro" at the command prompt and then enter the text you'd like to display.

Explore: How will you create PDF from AutoCAD files?

Lab Exercises:
1. Differentiate Relative versus Absolute Coordinates with examples.
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2. Use the following relative and absolute coordinate values in the LINE command to draw an object.

Point Coordinates Point Coordinates

1 3.0, 3.0 5 @3.0, 5.0
2 @3, 0 6 @3, 0
3 @-1.5, 3.0 7 @-1.5, -3.0
4 @-1.5, -3.0 8 @-1.5, 3.0

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Activity # 1:

For Figure 1-1, enter the absolute coordinates of the points given in the following table. Then, draw
the figure using the absolute coordinates. Save the drawing under the name Prac1.dwg.

Figure: 1-1
Exercise:

For Figure 1-2, enter the absolute coordinates of the points given in the following table. Then, use
these coordinates to draw the same figure. The distance between the dotted lines is 1 unit.

Figure: 1-2
Activity # 2:

Draw Figure 1-3 using the relative rectangular coordinates of the points given in the table that
follows.

Figure: 1-3
Exercise:

For Figure 1-4, enter the relative rectangular coordinates of the points given in the following table.
Next, use these coordinates to draw the figure. The distance between the dotted lines is 1 unit.

Figure: 1-4
Activity # 4:

For Figure 1-5, enter the relative polar coordinates of each point given in the table, and then draw the
sketch. Use absolute coordinates for the start point (1.5, 1.75). The dimensions are shown in the
drawing. Also, save this drawing as Prac4.dwg.

Figure: 1-5
Exercise:

For the drawing shown in Figure 1-6, enter the relative rectangular and relative polar coordinates of
the points in the following table, and then use these coordinates to draw the figure. The distance
between the dotted lines is 1 unit. Save this drawing as Exer3.dwg.

Figure: 1-6