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

Exploring UCS

Many of the drafting commands in AutoCAD will only work in the horizontal plane or, in other words, in the XY plane of the coordinates system. Even some parts of the 3D solid creation commands also have the same restriction (such as the base of the object when creating a pyramid or a wedge). While creating 3D models, you may need to draw a 2D shape on an elevated XY plane, a vertical plane, or even on the surface of another object. AutoCAD offers a set of tools that allows you to manipulate the coordinate system so you can align the XY plane as desired and hence the restrictions are eliminated.

In AutoCAD, there is an immovable reference coordinate system called the World Coordinate System (WCS). In addition to that, there is a UCS that can be moved or rotated as desired. In this section, the tools related to manipulating the coordinate system will be discussed, starting with the options for the UCS icon’s appearance. After that, we will look at how to manipulate...