An Introduction To Autocad

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA
ME 317
INTRODUCTION TO AutoCAD
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DRAWING II
Engr Dr C. O Agbo
Engr C. Wodi
Engr C. Anyaoha
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
What is CAD?
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or workstations) to aid in the
creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. CAD software is used to increase the
productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve communications through
documentation, and to create a database for manufacturing. CAD output is often in the form of
electronic files for print, machining, or other manufacturing operations. The
term CADD (for Computer Aided Design and Drafting) is also used.
Its use in designing electronic systems is known as electronic design automation (EDA).
In mechanical design it is known as mechanical design automation (MDA) or computer-aided
drafting (CAD), which includes the process of creating a technical drawing with the use of computer
software.
CAD software for mechanical design uses either vector-based graphics to depict the objects
of traditional drafting, or may also produce raster graphics showing the overall appearance of
designed objects. However, it involves more than just shapes. As in the
manual drafting of technical and engineering drawings, the output of CAD must convey
information, such as materials, processes, dimensions, and tolerances, according to application-
specific conventions. CAD may be used to design curves and figures in two-dimensional (2D) space;
or curves, surfaces, and solids in three-dimensional (3D) space.
CAD is an important industrial art extensively used in many applications,
including automotive, shipbuilding, and aerospace industries, industrial and architectural
design, prosthetics, and many more. CAD is also widely used to produce computer
animation for special effects in movies, advertising and technical manuals, often called DCC digital
content creation. The modern ubiquity and power of computers means that even perfume bottles and
shampoo dispensers are designed using techniques unheard of by engineers of the 1960s. Because
of its enormous economic importance, CAD has been a major driving force for research
in computational geometry, computer graphics (both hardware and software), and discrete
differential geometry.
What is AutoCAD?
AutoCAD is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting software application.
Developed and marketed by Autodesk, AutoCAD was first released in December 1982 as a desktop
app running on microcomputers with internal graphics controllers. Before AutoCAD was
introduced, most commercial CAD programs ran on mainframe computers or minicomputers, with
each CAD operator (user) working at a separate graphics terminal. Since 2010, AutoCAD was
released as a mobile and web app as well, marketed as AutoCAD 360.
AutoCAD is used in the industry, by architects, project managers, engineers, graphic
designers, city planners and other professionals. It was supported by 750 training centers worldwide
in 1994.
AutoCAD is licensed, for free, to students, educators, and educational institutions, with a 36-
month renewable license available. The student version of AutoCAD is functionally identical to the
full commercial version, with one exception: DWG files created or edited by a student version have
an internal bit-flag set (the "educational flag"). When such a DWG file is printed by any version of
AutoCAD (commercial or student) older than AutoCAD 2014 SP1 or AutoCAD 2019 and newer,
the output includes a plot stamp/banner on all four sides. Objects created in the Student Version
cannot be used for commercial use. Student Version objects "infect" a commercial version DWG
file if they are imported in versions older than AutoCAD 2015 or newer than AutoCAD 2018.
1.2 Launching AutoCAD Software in your computer.
If you’ve already installed AutoCAD in your computer and ready to jump in and take a look,
proceed with the following steps to launch the program:
1. Choose Start ➢ All Programs ➢ Autodesk ➢ AutoCAD 2019 ➢ AutoCAD 2019. You
can also double-click the AutoCAD 2019 icon on your Windows Desktop.
2. The AutoCAD Start tab appears, offering options to open existing drawings or to create a
new drawing. You may also see the Design Feed panel, which allows you to use a cloud
based collaboration feature. Click the Start Drawing thumbnail in the left side of the view
under “Get Started” (see Figure 1.1).
3. The AutoCAD window displays a blank default document named Drawing1.dwg. Users
may see the Sheet Set Manager palette to the left of the AutoCAD window. In brand-new
installations, you will see the Design Feed panel. Close the Design Feed panel for now.
Fig. 1.1 AutoCAD drawing window.

The AutoCAD Window
The AutoCAD program window is divided into several parts namely:
♦♦ Application menu
The Application menu offers tools to help you manage your AutoCAD files. It is basically the
file pull-down menu from earlier versions of AutoCAD. Try it out to see how it works:
♦♦ Quick Access toolbar

♦♦ InfoCenter
♦♦ Ribbon
The ribbon is where you’ll be selecting tools to draw, edit, or perform other functions. The Ribbon
contains a set of panels representing groups of tools and features. The name of each Ribbon panel is
found in its title bar at the bottom of the panel. Tabs that appear above the Ribbon panels further
organize them. Each tool in the Ribbon offers a tool tip and cue card that provides a short description
to help you understand what the tool icon represents.
♦♦ Drawing tabs
♦♦ Drawing area
♦♦ UCS icon (User Coordinate System icon)
♦♦ Viewport Controls
♦♦ View Cube
♦♦ Navigation bar
♦♦ Command window
♦♦ Status bar
The AutoCAD drawing window is show in figure 1.2.
Fig 1.2 AutoCAD drawing window.

NOTE CONTINUES IN THE NEXT CLASS

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DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA

Fig. 1.1 AutoCAD drawing window.

♦♦ Quick Access toolbar

Fig 1.2 AutoCAD drawing window.

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