Book Image

Practical Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 and AutoCAD LT 2023 - Second Edition

By : Jaiprakash Pandey, Yasser Shoukry
Book Image

Practical Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 and AutoCAD LT 2023 - Second Edition

By: Jaiprakash Pandey, Yasser Shoukry

Overview of this book

AutoCAD is one of the most versatile software applications for architectural and engineering designs and the most popular computer-aided design (CAD) platform for 2D drafting and 3D modeling. This hands-on 2nd edition guide will take you through everything you need to know to make the most out of this powerful tool, from a simple tour of the user interface to using advanced tools. Starting with basic drawing shapes and functions, you'll get to grips with the fundamentals of CAD designs. You’ll then learn about effective drawing management using layers, dynamic blocks, and groups, and discover how to add annotations and plots like a professional. As you progress, the book will show you how to convert your 2D drawings into 3D models and shapes. You’ll also discover advanced features, such as isometric drawings, drawing utilities for managing and recovering complex files, quantity surveying, and multidisciplinary drawing files using xRefs. Finally, you’ll focus on rendering and visualizing your designs in AutoCAD. By the end of this book, you’ll have developed a solid understanding of CAD principles and be able to work with AutoCAD software confidently to build impressive 2D and 3D creations.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
1
Part 1: Introduction and 2D Drafting
6
Part 2: Customization, Collaboration, and Using Reusable Content
12
Part 3: 3D Modeling

Working with dynamic blocks

Dynamic blocks are blocks with dynamic properties, and you can change the shape of dynamic blocks to suit the location where it’s used. We saw a few dynamic blocks in action in the previous chapters, but here, we’ll insert a ready-made dynamic block to see how it works.

Type TP and press the Enter key. The tool palette will open. Select the Architectural tab from the list of tabs and drag and drop Door: Imperial block into the drawing area. This block is a dynamic block that is available for use inside AutoCAD, and when you select Door: Imperial block, you will get many grips, as shown in Figure 9.28:

Figure 9.28: Door block with multiple grips

You can click the grip on the top left of the door to change the open angle of the door. The arrow-type grips in the middle of the Door block will flip the direction of the Door block in the horizontal and vertical directions. The arrow to the right will change the length...