Unit 4: Basic CAD Drawing Techniques

Overview
Most architectural drawings use architectural units. You will rst learn how to set architectural units and precision of units commonly used in architectural CAD drawings. Then you will set up a template drawing. This template drawing will be used in later units to speed up and standardize the drawing process.

Objectives
Set the architectural display format and precision. Create template drawings for C and D size paper. Begin a new drawing by using the template drawing. Create geometry for a architectural drawing using the coordinate system of data entry.

Introduction
Most architectural drawings use the architectural type of scale displaying measurements in feet and inches, such as 16-2. Even though you will set your units to architectural, AutoCAD allows you to use any type of units in your drawing. If it is more convenient to enter information in decimal, for example, you can change your units at any time. Changing units or entering units in a different format will not affect any other objects in the drawing. A template drawing normally contains values for limits, grid, and snap. After setting the correct units, you will create a template drawing containing the values for limits, grid, and snap commonly used in a D size architectural drawing.

Section 1: Setting Display Format and Precision (UNITS and DDUNITS)

To set the units, access the Units Control dialog box. This can be accomplished by:: Choose the Format/Units pull-down menu. Enter ddunits at the Command: prompt.

Although AutoCAD has ve different measurement report formats, architectural units are generally used in architectural drafting, as recommended by the American Institute of Architects. AutoCAD can display a maximum of 1/256. Since decimal is the default type of unit in AutoCAD, you will have to change the units to architectural using the Units Control dialog box.

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After setting the measurement report format to architectural units, the next step is to set the display precision. AutoCAD rounds the value of the display to the nearest fraction of an inch. For example, if you set the precision at 1/2 and your actual measurement was set to 3/8, the display will read 1/2. Regardless of what you set the display precision at, AutoCAD is accurate to 14 decimal places. For architectural drawings, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 precision are normally used, depending on the type of drawing.

Angular Measurement
Angular measurement is also set in the Units Control dialog box. AutoCAD has ve different angular measurement options. Decimal degrees are generally used in architectural drafting, and so decimal degrees is the default type of angular measurement in AutoCAD. Decimal degrees displays angular measurement as real numbers with up to eight decimal places, such as 42.500. One-place decimal degrees are normally used for architectural drawings.

Tutorial 4.1: Setting Units and Angular Measurement

In this tutorial you will set the units and angular measurement for a architectural drawing. 1. From the Standard toolbar, select New. If prompted with the Save Changes dialog box, select No. In the Create New Drawing dialog box, enter the proper path, name the drawing DPROTO, then select OK. 2. Choose Format/Units. Set the units to Architectural, 01-0 1/2 for Precision. Set the angles to Decimal Degrees, Precision 0 (AutoCAD default). Your Units Control dialog box should look like gure 4.1. 3. Choose OK to close the Units Control dialog box. The next tutorial will continue from here. Figure 4.1 The units and angular measurement for an architectural drawing.

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Section 2: Working with Template Drawings

A template drawing may be dened as any drawing le that you want to use as the basis for the new drawing you are creating. Proper use of a template drawing can save a lot of work. When you begin a new drawing you normally set different variables, such as the limits, snap increment, and grid spacing. The advantage of using a template drawing is that it frees you from having to change these settings every time you start a new drawing.

Tutorial 4.2: Creating an Architectural Template for a D Size Drawing

In this tutorial you will create an architectural template drawing. You will set the limits, grid, and snap to values commonly used in a D size drawing. When entering values, AutoCAD automatically assumes that you are entering a value in feet, unless you specify inches after the number. 1. Continue from the previous tutorial. Choose Format/Drawing Limits. 3. At the [ON/OFF]<0-0,0-0>: prompt, press Enter. 4. At the <1-0,0-9>: prompt, type 136,88 and press Enter. To show the entire limits within the view window, choose the ZOOM ALL option: 1. From the Standard toolbar, choose the Zoom All icon. After the limits are established, set the grid to 4 and the snap to 2. 2. Choose Tools/Drafting Setting to access the Drafting Settings dialog box. Enter 4 for the grid X and Y spacing. Enter 2 for the snap X and Y spacing. 3. Check the Snap On and Grid On check boxes. Your dialog box should appear as shown in gure 4.2. 4. The DPROTO template le is now ready to be saved. To save the drawing, click the SAVE icon on the Standard toolbar. In the Save as Type box make sure you change the le extension to DWT and make sure you are in the correct subdirectory.

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Figure 4.2 Setting the grid to 4 and the snap to 2 for an architectural drawing.

Section 3: Coordinate System Basics

Even though you may have set grid and snap modes in your template drawing, any coordinate entered through the keyboard overrides these settings. This is true even if the desired point location does not fall on the grid or cannot be snapped to, or if the To point: location is at an angle to the previous location with Polar Tracking turned on. Remember you can switch the coordinate entry method at any time during a command sequence. The rst coordinate may be absolute, followed by a relative move and an absolute polar coordinate, and then you use the pointing device. You can also change the type of units at any time during the drawing. For example, even though your units are set to architectural, you can enter values in decimal format if it is more convenient. Changing the coordinate entry method will not affect any other objects previously created in your drawing.

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