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Computer Aided Design

AutoCAD

The devil or your best friend?

AutoCAD (computer-aided-design) is a high-end program that is used by designers the world over to realize their ideas. AutoCAD not only allows you to design in 2D and 3D but it also has, as output options, the ability to send information from your designs to CnC routers, and 3D printers for modeling. We will explore the basics of AutoCAD as a tool in our design arsenal. We will follow this basic reference guide as we begin to head through the world of AutoCAD.

Here is how it works:

AutoCAD uses points to determine the location of objects, with the origin (0,0) as the starting reference. The X-axis extends to the right (positive) and the Y-axis extends upward (positive). For example, a point at (9,6) is 9 units to the right on the X-axis and 6 units up on the Y-axis, while a point at (-10,-4) is 10 units left on the X-axis and 4 units down on the Y-axis. A line in AutoCAD has two points: a start and an end, displayed using these coordinates. To draw relative lines from an existing endpoint, you use the "@" symbol. Typically, when using a mouse, you don't need to worry about exact coordinates, just the position of your endpoint.