Computer Aided Design

CE-388
Introduction to CAD

Lec. Afaq Khattak

MS Transportation Engineering – NUST Islamabad
BE Civil Engineering – UET Peshawar

National Institute of Transportation (NIT), School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (SCEE),
NUST 1
 Course Guideline
 Practical and tutorial periods will be used to prepare CAD
Assignment (Project) under supervision. Students would be in
possession of the computers, and they are expected to use these
computers with responsibility.

 Class Assignment should be completed during stipulated periods

in Computer Lab. The students, who miss classes for genuine
reasons, are responsible to makeup the deficiency and complete
the class assignments with subsequent class of CAD, after the
consent of Program Coordinator.

 No makeup examination/ quiz will be given.

Course guideline (Cont..)
 Class assignment will be marked and count towards earning of final grade.
Students are advised to ensure timely submission.

 Never be late in class, create disturbance or leave the class without

permission.

 All the CAD Assignments will be prepared in class. Award of marks on these
assignments will be based upon right concept, presentation, work done
during stipulated periods and timely submission.

 Assignment submission date and time will be announced in the class. Each
24 hours delay after due date and time will lead to 20% deduction in marks.

 Reporting sick, leave or test/ assignment of any other subject etc are no
excuses for not submitting drawing sheet/ assignment in time.
Computer Aided Design (CAD)

 Computer-aided design (CAD), also known as computer-aided

drafting (CAD) or computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) is the use of
computer systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis, or
optimization of a design.

 AutoCAD is a versatile drawing application that is used by many industries

to draft and design a multitude products.

 It is used by architects to create building, by civil engineers to design

streets, highways, and utilities and cartographers to map the world.
CAD Offers the following Advantages

 Accuracy
 Speed
 Easy Editing
 Space effectiveness
 Standard Libraries
 Scaling
 Better Visualization
 Freedom from using drawing instruments
AutoCAD WINDOW

Sheet set Manager

Tool Palettes
 Pull-down Menus

Draw Toolbar
Standard Toolbar
Object
Modify Toolbar Properties
Toolbar

Crosshairs Graphics Window /

Drawing Area
Pick Box
User Coordinate System
Model tab
Layout tab
Status bar
Command Line Menu
Cursor Coordinate Display
Status Bar
Auto CAD WINDOW
The main parts of the Auto CAD window are explained:

Menu Bar

Contains the default Auto CAD pull down menus: File, Edit, View, Insert, Format,
Tools, Draw, Dimension, Modify, Express, Windows, Help
Auto CAD WINDOW
Standard toolbar

Contains standard and frequently used icons such as Open, Save, Undo,
Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Match Properties, Zoom, etc.

Standard Toolbar
Auto CAD WINDOW
Draw toolbar
 Contains common draw commands: Line, Polyline, Polygon, Rectangle,
Arc, Circle, Spline, Ellipse, Hatch, Multiline Text, etc.
Auto CAD WINDOW
Modify Toolbar
Contains common modify commands: Erase, Copy, Mirror, Offset, Array,
Move, Rotate, Scale, Trim, Extend, Break, Chamfer, Fillet, Explode, etc.
Auto CAD WINDOW
Modify Toolbar

Set object properties such as Color, Line type and Line weight.
Auto CAD WINDOW

Drawing Area

The space (called Model Space) on the screen used to compose/ edit
drawing. It shows a floating crosshair cursor and a user coordinate system
(UCS) icon at the lower left corner. By default, the color of the model
space is black.
Auto CAD WINDOW

Layer Toolbar

Used to make new layer, switch between layers and change layer properties.
Auto CAD WINDOW
Cross Hairs Cursor
Helps to input points. The cursor is the ‘crosshair’ during draw
commands. It changes to a square block (called pick box) during modify
commands (i.e., object selection mode). The crosshair movement is
controlled by pointing devices (e.g., mouse).
UCS
Shows the orientation of the X-axis and Y-axis for 2D drawing. The Z-axis is
perpendicular to XY plane.
Layout tabs
The drawing is drawn to 1:1 scale. In Paper Space, the drawing scale can
be changed to fit on the paper of required size. Layout tabs are used for
plotting and printing.
Auto CAD WINDOW
Command Window
 Provides the history of commands. The window can be increased or
decreased in size. Auto CAD Text Window, showing history of commands,
appears when function key F2 is activated.
Command Line
 Provides the interface between the user and the software. It helps
entering commands, options, point inputs, etc. it also displays messages.
Status Bar
 Contains buttons like SNAP, GRID, ORTHO, POLAR, OSNAP, OTRACK, DUCS,
DYN, LWT and MODEL. It also displays the cursor coordinates in the lower
left corner.
Function key Use Button on Status
Bar

F1 Help
F2 Auto Cad Text Window(Command History)

F3 OSNAP ON/OFF OSNAP

F6 Dynamic UCS ON/OFF DUCS
F7 Grid ON/OFF GRID
F8 Ortho ON/OFF ORTHO
F9 Snap ON/OFF SNAP
F10 Polar ON/OFF POLAR
F11 Object Snap Tracking (OTRACK) ON/OFF OTRACK

F12 Dynamic Input ON/OFF DYN

To make line weight visible LWT
To switch between Model and Paper Space MODEL (PAPER)

Coordinates ON/OFF COORDINATE (left

end of status bar)
 Commands

Draw Modify Properties Toolbar

  Copy/move
Line
  Mirror
Rectangle
  Offset Style Toolbar
Circle
 Move
 text  Rotate
 Polyline  Trim
Zoom
 Hatch  Extend
 Block  Break
 Insert 
Layer
Explode
Block  Scale
 Stretch Layer II
 Chamfer
 Fillet
 Join Dimension
 Array
Giving Commands
The commands can be given in one of the following ways:

1. Choose the commands icon on a Toolbar.

2. Choose the command from a Menu of Menu bar.
3. Type the command in Command line.
4. Type the command near the Crosshair (Dynamic input).
5. Choose the command icon from Tool Palettes.
6. Choose the command from Shortcut menu.
Coordinate Point Entry Methods
There are four ways to enter points or coordinates in AutoCAD

 Using Absolute Coordinate

 Using Relative Coordinate
 Using Direct Distance Entry
 Using Coordinate Display
1. Using Absolute Coordinate

Absolute Rectangular Coordinates

 Absolute rectangular coordinates are always measured from the origin:
0,0,0.

 In AutoCAD, we specify an absolute coordinate from keyboard by typing

in X,Y,Z-axis values separated by a comma: X,Y for 2D or X,Y,Z for 3D

 No need to use a plus sign (+) if the displacement from the origin is
positive , However, place a minus sign (-) in front of displacements in the
negative directions: -2,3 or 4,-6,3
Absolute Polar Coordinates
 Absolute polar coordinate also treat a 2D coordinate as a displacement
from the origin, or 0,0, but displacement must be specified as a distance
and an angle
 The distance and angle are separated by left-angle bracket (<) with no
space: distance<angle ( for example, 25<135).

 EXERCISE-1
2. Using Relative Coordinate

 The relative coordinates do not reference the origin point but are
determined relative to the last point.

 To distinguish relative coordinate entry from absolute entry, the relative

coordinates are preceded with the @ symbol ( for example, @,3 for
relative rectangular or @2.6<45 for relative polar entry)

 EXERCISE-2
Drawing with the Circle tool
 Left-click on the Circle tool icon in the Draw toolbar

 Enter numbers against the prompts appearing in the command window

as shown in Figure, followed by right-clicks. The circle appears on screen.

Tan Tan Radius (Ttr) / 2p /3p

 Close the drawing and open the acadiso.dwt screen.
 Left-click on the Circle tool icon and construct two circles with the radii.
 Click the Circle tool again and against the first prompt enter t (the
abbreviation for the prompt tan tan radius), followed by a right-click.
 Specify point on object for first tangent of circle: pick
 Specify point on object for second tangent of circle: pick
 Specify radius of circle (50):
 The circle with certain value of radius tangential to the two circles will
appear

EXERCISE-3
The Erase tool
 If an error has been made when using any of the AutoCAD 2007 tools, the
object or objects which have been incorrectly constructed can be deleted
with the Erase tool.
 The Erase tool icon can be selected from the Modify toolbar or by
entering “e” at the command line.

Example 1:
 Example 2
Drawing with the Polyline tool
 When drawing lines with the Line tool, each line drawn is an object in its
own right.
 A rectangle drawn with the Line tool is four objects.
 A rectangle drawn with the Polyline tool is a single object.
 Lines of different thickness, arcs, arrows and circles can all be drawn using
this tool as will be describing constructions using the Polyline tool.
 Constructions resulting from using the tool are known as polylines or
plines.
Exercise-3