Book Image

Getting Started with DraftSight

By : JOAO ANTONIO C DOS SANTOS
Book Image

Getting Started with DraftSight

By: JOAO ANTONIO C DOS SANTOS

Overview of this book

Computer-aided design (CAD) uses computer systems to assist in the creation, modification, and analysis of a design. DraftSight is a 2D computer-aided design (CAD) software application. DraftSight includes all the main tools to draft with precision, and it works with DWG files, the most popular CAD file type. It runs on a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Getting Started with DraftSight addresses all the main phases for executing and printing a mechanical project. These concepts and commands can easily be applied to other areas. Beginning with the very basic concepts, and going through all the necessary drawing steps, you will finish by printing a full scale mechanical drawing. The illustrative examples will help you understand the design process and teach you how to utilize DraftSight features in your mechanical design projects. You will start with an overview of the mechanical design process, which will help you understand the different commands, tools, and tasks involved in DraftSight projects. You will then proceed to executing all the phases of the design process. This includes setting up a drawing, drawing and editing with precision, organizing with layers, and finally obtaining valid information from the drawing. Furthermore, you will also learn to apply fills, patterns, and dimensions, and the process of defining and printing sheets. With "GettingStarted with DraftSight" you will learn how to specify and document parts and print drawings with the help of DraftSight. Towards the end of this book you will be introduced to some advanced concepts like additional layer commands, and methods to reference other drawings or images, which can be very useful when dealing with complex projects.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Getting Started with DraftSight
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Downloading and starting DraftSight


The DWG file format is the most used Computer Aided Design (CAD) format. It is used in all areas of technical drawings. Another drawing file format is DXF, mainly used for communication between CAD programs. There are several programs that work with DWG and DXF files, with similar commands and work processes, with DraftSight being among them.

Dassault Systèmes (www.3ds.com), one of the two major CAD companies in the world, licenses the ARES Commander software from Graebert GmbH (www.graebert.com) and uses it as the CAD engine. The first version was released in February 2011. Currently there are versions for Windows 32-bit, Windows 64-bit (XP, Vista, and 7), Mac OS X, and several Linux operating systems (Fedora, Suze, Mandriva, or Ubuntu).

Actually, there are 15 languages available, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese (traditional and simplified), and Russian. DraftSight is free for any personal or commercial application.

DraftSight can be downloaded from www.draftsight.com, selecting the proper operating system. The executable file is around 100 MB and installs very fast. It does not prompt for the language selection, thus installing the local language, but this can be changed after starting DraftSight.

After installation, DraftSight can be initiated by double-clicking the DraftSight desktop icon or by accessing the Windows Start menu and navigating to All Programs | DassaultSystemes | DraftSight.

Tip

Downloading the example code and graphics

You can download the example code files for all Packt books and colored graphics of this book you have purchased from your account at http://www.packtpub.com. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit http://www.packtpub.com/support and register to have the files e-mailed directly to you.