ARCHITECTURAL CADD 1

ARC 733
An ACCRONYM for Computer Aided Design & Drafting.
FUNDAMENTALS OF AUTOCAD
AutoCAD is a CADD
(Computer Aided Design & Drafting)
software application for Version 2014 for Windows 7

LAYLA AL KAISSY
HUMBER COLLEGE
FALL 2015 Layla Kaissy

Humber College
2013/2014 1

ACKNOLEDGEMENT
Much of the material have
been sourced from :
AutoCAD Bible 2013
Author: Ellen Finkelstein
Learning AutoCAD 2010,
Volume 1 & 2 by Autodesk
AutoCAD for Interior
Designers by Autodesk
AutoCAD Services &
Support ,2011
http://www.dreamstime.co
m/
2

DIMENSIONS
Learning Objectives

After completing this lecture you will be

able to:

Define and save dimension styles

correctly based on architectural
drafting standards and intended plot
scale.

Dimensions Lecture Outline

1. Dimension
2. Dimension Styles
3. Editing Dimensions

Dimensions- General
Dimensions are used on drawings to interpret the size
and specifications.
Dimensions indicate the measurements of the created
models.
Dimensions and texts are usually added after
completing the drawing.

Daniel Libeskind Design of Toronto

Museum AutoCAD drawings

Furniture Stencil
scale 1:50

Dimensions Options
Before dimensioning any object in the drawing, we have to decide what
option is appropriate.
AutoCAD provides many dimensioning options, according to different
kinds of geometry.
Linear

Dimensions horizontal or vertical elements

Aligned

Dimensions angled elements

Angle

Specifies angle

Continue dimension

Creates a string of dimensions

Baseline Provides overall dimensions

Radius

Dimensions radii of arcs, circles and ellipses

Diameter Dimensions diameters of arcs, circles and ellipses

Center mark Provides a mark signifying the center of an arc, circle and
ellipse

Creating Dimensions
Dimensions are a very important element of Annotation.
They show the measurements and illustrate how your drawings meet the specifications.
We will learn how to :
Create different types of dimensions on linear objects.
Create different types of dimensions on curved objects.
Enhance dimensions for clarity of purpose.

Creating Dimensions on Linear Objects

Linear Dimension
Command Access
Command line: DIMLINEAR, DIMLIN
Menu Bar: Dimension > Linear
Ribbon: Annotate tab > Dimensions panel > Linear

Command Options (Sub-Prompt)

Specify first extension line origin or < select object>
Select one end of the line to be dimensioned. Use Osnap for precision. OR
Hit the ENTER, and select the line to be dimensioned
Specify the second extension line origin by Picking the other end of the line to be
dimensioned. Use Osnap for precision.
Specify dimension line location OR (Mtext/ Text/ Angle/Horizontal/Vertical/Rotated )

Dimension Styles
It is very important to understand how to create and modify dimension styles .
How to create and format and dimension styles to easily manage dimensions.
Definition: Dimension style is a group of dimension settings or variables that
control how dimension appear. You can use more that one dimension style in
a drawing.
Command Access

Command line: DIMSTYLE

Menu Bar: Format > Dimension Style
Ribbon: Annotate tab > Dimensions panel > Dimension Style
Dimension Style Manager
The Dimension Style Manager displays all the dimension styles available in the
drawing, in addition you can use all option in the dim. style manager to
Create a new dimension styles
Modify an existing style.
Override a style
Compare styles
Set a style current.

PARTS OF DIMENSIONS
Arrow head

Dimension Text
Extension line

4500

Dimension line

Object line

A gap that separate

extension line from
object- line

Two important characteristics of Dimensions:

Dimensions are blocks: Blocks are group of objects that is
working as one object

Dimensions are associative: Association connects Dimensions

and objects. If you change the object sixe , dimensions changes
automatically
Dimensions Preparation:
Create a layer for your dimensions. Choose a contrast color.
TIPS
You may create a special dimension layer that you may
freeze/thaw or on /off... For example DIMN-ELEC
Set your height in the text style to zero, will allow you to set text
height according to your needs. If you specify a fixed height in
text style, that height will overrides any height that you specify.

Dimension Style Manager

New Dimension Style Dialog Box

2
4
3

New Dimension Style Dialog Box

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Select New from the Dimension Style

Manager
Enter a new style name based on an
existing dimension style that you choose
from list
A new dimension style is typically used for
all dimension
Check Annotative 6 to make all dimensions
appear in consistent size when you have
multiple viewports in the drawing layout.
Select Modify to access the same
Dimension Style Options

Dimension Style Options

New Dimension Style Dialog Box

Lines Tab: Use this tab to adjust properties for the dimension and
extension lines.
Symbols and Arrows: Use this tab to adjust the arrowheads, etc.
Text : Use this tab to adjust the text appearance, text placement, and the
text alignment options
Primary Units Tab: Use this tab to set options for the primary units
displayed on the dimensions, the primary units are always displayed and
they reflect the current drawing units setting.
Alternate Units Tab: Use this tab to show two measurement units, metric
and Imperial.
Tolerances Tab: Use this tab to add tolerances to your dimensions. By
adding tolerances to your dimensions, you are setting a valid range in
which that as-built measurement of the feature must be maintained in
order to ensure functionality.

Dimension Style Guidelines

Dimension styles controls the appearance of dimension features.

Dimension style options are based on general drafting standards.
Only one dimension style can be current at a time.
If you modify a dimension style, all dimensions using that style in
the drawing update automatically.
To set current or rename or delete a dimension style, select the
name in the Dimension Style Manager, and right click to access
these options.
You cannot delete a dimension style if it is current.
The quickest way to make a new dimension style current is to
select it from the list in the Dimensions panel.
A new drawing based on the ACAD dwg. template will contain a
Standard style and an Annotative style.
The Annotative dim. Style will display dimensions that are equal
in size regardless of the viewport scale in the drawing Layout.
For non-annotative dimensions, you must set dimension
scale equal to your plot scale.

Editing Dimensions
There are a variety of ways to edit dimensions depending on what kind of
editing you need to do. You can:
1.
Reposition dimensions using grips
2.
Edit dimension features that override the dimension style
3.
Change dimensions from one style to another
4.
Edit the dimension text
5.
Edit dimensions using grips
6.
Dimedit commands.

Command Access
Dimension Edit - Edit text
Command Line: DDEDIT
Pointing Device: Double click a text object.
1.
You can use a Dimedit ( DDEDIT ) command to edit or override the
dimension text measurement.
2.
You can use a Dimtedit command to edit the position of the dimension
text.
3.
You can also right-click a selected dimension to access the Quick
Properties or the Properties Palette where you can edit any dimension
style features for the selected dimension.

Questions

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