There is no such thing as the best way to learn AutoCAD. The answer to this question depends heavily on your style of learning.

If you have some expectations in mind while learning AutoCAD and happen to be capable of committing financially, you will be better off finding a teacher and having him help you make a plan. You must be able to gauge the learning material and be somewhat sure that after consuming it, it will help you get to your destination and of course set what the destination is beforehand.

There are plenty of places online where you can find nicely structured courses that will help you learn AutoCAD fast.

How long does it take to learn AutoCAD

Life. It takes a life to learn AutoCAD. The question is too vague to find a precise answer.

The answer to this question depends on many criteria which the two most important are the following

• how far do you want to learn AutoCAD?
• What do you want to learn AutoCAD for?

AutoCAD exists in many versions:

• AutoCAD
• AutoCAD LT
• AutoCAD Mechanical
• AutoCAD Electrical
• AutoCAD MEP
• AutoCAD Revit Structure
• AutoCAD Architecture
• AutoCAD Civil 3D
• AutoCAD MAP 3D
• AutoCAD Revit Architecture

First, you need to decide the direction of your training and that will help you better evaluate how long it will take to learn AutoCAD to the point of interest.

If you are just concerned about learning AutoCAD basics, the process will be less complicated and it will considerably take a short amount of time to learn

Learn AutoCAD fast

To me, learning by doing is the fastest way to learn.

Again if you happen to be in a paid training, all will be done for you to absorb the skills quickly (if you have done your homework by selecting a good training).

If you are learning on your own, one of the fastest ways to learn is to find as many AutoCAD practice exercises you can find, and try replicating them. That will help you find your limits, and push there further at each time you will find difficulties.

The visual style of learning is way effective and is worth mentioning here. Find videos tutorials that will show you the step by step use of AutoCAD commands, then you will be able to use similar tricks to find your ways around many AutoCAD exercises you can find on the web.

Learning AutoCAD online.

You will be able to find a lot of free online training on the web via Google but remember free is not always the best, however, the choice will heavily depend on your budget, on what you want to have an AutoCAD training for, and on the knowledge you want to acquire.

The first thing to know while seeking to learn AutoCAD is that the order of learning is very important and you will need some guidance to help you know where to start and the route to take to learn things in the proper order, if not I doubt you will keep up. You will just get frustrated and quit.

AutoCAD training from AutoDesk

Let’s just assume you want a free online course that will help you learn the basics in AutoCAD, many sites in that regards will throw a bunch of tutorials to your face without any order, just tips and tricks that will contribute to making you even more confused.

Luckily, AutoDesk has created a simple and clear roadmap for you to follow, which will increase your learning time and make you more confident as you progress.

Here is the map. These AutoCAD training Courses can be found on the AutoDesk site.

What the map does is

• Giving you the ability to access each of the training by a simple click on the corresponding part of the map
• Guiding you as you learn
• Giving you a birth view of all you need to learn
• helping you separate tools and commands in blocks or class
• Helping you estimate the time you will need to complete the whole training by seeing how far you need to go

If you are just starting from scratch or need to refresh your skills after a sabbatical period, this is the training you need.

Another way to use this free resource is to not only use the courses provided by AutoDesk but also make use of the AutoCAD built-in help.

Each time you hover the cursor on a tool and hold that position for a while, AutoCAD always explains what the command is for and gives you an example of how it is used.

If you pay close attention to the map above, you will notice a command named Extend in the MODIFYING block.

By simply hovering the cursor on the icon corresponding to this command in AutoCAD, AutoCAD will explain what the command does and will give me an example of the use of this command.

In addition to using AutoDesk free online courses, you can decide to use the software as well.

Free training from tutorial45.com

We at Tutorial45 believe one complementary way to learn fast is to provide challenges that will push you to dig into your skills and notice where gaps exist. Thus, we push you to fill the gap.

The biggest hurdle to learning something like AutoCAD isn’t the software itself but it’s having something to actually practice drawing.

We have provided a list of 21 AutoCAD lessons in which you will be challenged to replicate 2D figures using AutoCAD or any 2D CAD software you might be using.

This AutoCAD training is meant to help you chronologically learn AutoCAD basics while at each subsequent stage increasing difficulties. At any stage, you are later shown what to do to get the exercise done in case you fail to complete the training.

This is a good added value, if you have used any resource to learn AutoCAD, and feel like you need to auto-assess your skill, you will be pleased while going through this AutoCAD 21 days of challenge.

Additional training resources

There are a lot of great free online AutoCAD courses out there, and the one I would like to start with here is mycadsite.com. The site has been there for almost a decade and offers free classes in a detailed manner. If you visit the site, you will notice how ordered the content is given to the learner.

The training has been decomposed there in 4 levels.

• Training LEVEL 1- Getting Started with AutoCAD
•  Training LEVEL 2 – Intermediate AutoCAD
• Training LEVEL 3 – Introduction to 3-D
• Training LEVEL 4 – Advanced Topics

Notice it goes even further and teaches you how to use AutoCAD in 3D.

If you are rather interested in more sophisticated skills, you will be better off following sites like lynn.blogs.com, cad-notes.com, autocadtips1.com. These blogs are handled by AutoDesk AutoCAD certified professional.

If you have any in-depth concerns about AutoCAD and simply want to know what added tools a news version of AutoCAD has compared to its predecessor, you will find related answers on their websites.

Learning AutoCAD from YouTube is also an alternative that should not be disregarded. Video courses are the best CAD learning route anyone can take, and you might just happen to find YouTube, which is the best place to learn AutoCAD online, and it is free.

If you are a beginner, try searching AutoCAD tutorials on YouTube. Again, be specific about what you want to learn while exploring. Remember by the time you start using the search field in YouTube, you must have made your homework beforehand, You must have figured out words to use and the order in which you wish to learn. Using vague keywords like “AutoCAD training” will just give you vague results. (It is true that you can find a channel in which courses are numbered, making it easier for you to follow along, but that is not always the case)

AutoCAD training Online

Here I will mention one resource, which right now is probably the most popular paid way to learn anything on the internet: udemy.com

The site is a subscription-based service that allows you to learn AutoCAD at your own space. Some videos are made available free to help you preview courses, so you can judge the quality of the course style without totally diving in.

One advantage of lynda.com is that, rather than paying for a course, you pay for unlimited access to everything in the catalog. lynda.com delivers high-quality, painstakingly detailed content that will have you focus on the most important: learning AutoCAD.

If you are reading this, it won’t be far-fetched to say that this may be one of the first times you have heard the word AutoCAD.

It also means that you may be interested in design and what computer-aided design software offers. Whatever your reasons, I invite you to treat this article as an introduction to AutoCAD and its vast uses in the professional world of digital design.

What is AutoCAD?

In the 1980s, a team of engineers aimed to streamline the complex drawing methods utilized by draftsmen, architects, and engineers, which had been popular in the 1970s. They focused on refining these challenging CAD processes.

Their solution is to introduce built-in graphics controllers into microcomputers. This allowed designers to easily create diagrams, while the internal graphics controllers reproduced these drawings. This novel method resulted in a significant transformation in the design field over the subsequent years.

In simple words, AutoCAD is a commercial software application used to draft 2D and 3D models with a computer.

Although this description provides an all-encompassing explanation of what AutoCAD is used for, it does not break down its uses into the specialized units the software is known for. Therefore, I shall outline 5 practical ways in which the CAD software can be used.

What does AutoCAD stand for?

AutoCAD stands for Automatic Computer-Aided Design.

As an architectural planning tool

AutoCAD provides its users with an intuitive user interface that comes with built-in design layouts. These layouts include numerous templates specifically designed for architectural planning and building construction.

With adequate knowledge of AutoCAD, anyone can take on projects that involve designing architectural plans for construction purposes or building structures that can be replicated in real time.

Newer versions of AutoCAD also provide architects and builders with the analytical tools needed to analyze a building’s components and troubleshoot the stress and load levels of every support structure of a virtually designed building.

This means that with AutoCAD, you can create an architectural plan, design a building, and carry out specific analyses to determine its capacity and strengths before replicating it on a physical site.

As an Engineering Drafting Tool

The drawing of engineering components, infrastructure designs and analyzing HVAC systems plays a major role in most engineering –Civil, Mechanical, Systems and Electrical engineering— fields. And to do this while minimizing human errors, the use of a computer-aided design application is recommended.

AutoCAD is one of the recommended design software applications because it provides professionals in these niches with unique drafting tools that can be used to bring their engineering ideas to life with the accuracy they require. So in this stead, AutoCAD serves as software for designing mechanical components, analyzing electrical and piping systems and solving design issues that may arise.

As a Graphic Design Tool

Although there are arguably more advanced graphic design tools in the computer-aided design community, AutoCAD’s innate features that enable its users to plan out architectural spaces, map them out and take advantage of the available space makes it a formidable design tool that can be used simultaneously with 3D Max, Maya, and other design/animation tools when the need arises.

AutoCAD supports the use of DWG and DXF files which can be exported from its interface to those of other advanced CAD applications to aid animation projects. This means that as an animator or graphic designer, you can take advantage of AutoCAD to create building structures and architectural plans which can now be exported for further design additions on advanced modeling applications.

In 3D Printing

To create a 3D printed object, an individual must go through these three processes; choose the object, get a virtual 3D representation of the chosen object, and then feed the 3D printer this prototype to carry out the 3D printing process. It is clear to see—from the 3D printing process—that a model design tool or software definitely has a part to play and this is where AutoCAD comes in. With AutoCAD, 3D printing enthusiasts can create be-spoke 3D models on its workspace for use in the 3D printing process.

AutoCAD also ensures that file compatibility is not an issue for you can design your models on its interface and export your designs in the preferred ‘.stl’ format which most 3D printers and slicing software function with.

In the Fashion Industry

It is important to understand that the design pattern of every diamond, shining stone or jewelry you have had the pleasure of either wearing or viewing did not come by chance but from careful design considerations and plans. AutoCAD is design software that comes with the required tools needed to draft and design virtually anything of your choice, and the design of certain fashion items is no exception.

This CAD software and intuitive interface, un-complicates the complications that come with designing intricate shapes consisting of octagons, tetrahedrons and many more shapes you or I may have no knowledge of.

As an Industrial Design Tool

The goal of every manufacturing and industrial organization is to make enough money to cover the cost accrued in producing any product and AutoCAD helps reduce that cost in many ways. With the use of its CAD interface, industrialists can design working prototypes of virtually any object as well as test its functionality during the design process.

AutoCAD provides the tools to both design the initial prototype as well as tweak its ergonomics before the need to sink money into the actually production comes up.

Subsequently, designers can also use the virtual prototype for presentations when advertising or seeking for funds.

I have outlined what I believe are the most important uses of AutoCAD in today’s design society but your input on this topic will definitely be appreciated. So please feel free to share some of the creative ways in which you have used computer-aided design in your field of study in the comment box below.

To be more specific, here are few answers to this question from Reddit.

What do you use AutoCAD for?

To draw & print architectural floor plans.

Ship Design – Currently for producing general arrangements, which are like architect’s drawings of many aspects of a ship and its layout.

Civil 3D for environmental engineering

I have been using LDD for roadway design. My company has been using Microstation and LDD for years. I have recently been messing with CIVIL 3D. Its been great for making alignments and grading. It has so much potential, but I don’t know how to Use it all. You can do Flood, utility analysis, and other simulations

Structural engineer’s drawings for multi story residential properties

Although most of my work is heading to Pro-E, I do all the drawings to repair older/broken steam turbines. It’s interesting work for sure

I’m an environmental engineer, 3rd yr EIT. I still use 2007 ACAD. I draw plans for Waste Water Treatment Plants and Water Treatment Plant designs. It mostly entails cutting and pasting layers from DWGs provided by the equipment suppliers, structural engineer, and surveyors into the same consolidated DWG with a few added notes. The only original parts I draw are hydraulic profiles and plant flow schematics which are just a bunch of arrows and lines, it requires no AutoCAD skills at all. There’s no one at my office to teach me. My more complicated files, where I copy and paste stuff in, are pretty on the surface, but a horrific mess of X-Ref errors, missing shapefile links, un-used layers that I don’t know how to delete, and are generally just ‘exploded’ until everything works. I’m trying to work on getting better at organizing. I’m very embarrassed whenever I have to send my DWG to someone else, because it so precariously held together!

Wiring diagrams, P&IDs, piping diagrams, store planning layouts, fixing topo maps I’m going to redraw in 3DS

Civil 3D for street design, parks, railroads. I work for a municipality

Architectural one off sketches. Engineering designs. Detailed mapping in planning. Loads of others. General drawing to do with maps or construction

Learn AutoCAD Basics in 21 DAYS

• Free AutoCAD Tutorial Courses
• AutoCAD tutorial – Tips and tricks
• Learn AutoCAD – Day 18
• Learn AutoCAD – Day 20

In this session, we are essentially revisiting our last session’s topic of learning how to use AutoCAD’s ELLIPSE command. It might feel like déjà-vu as we will be covering the same content.

Now, the focus will be on something different.

in Learn-AutoCAD-DAY-6, we worked with the ARRAY command for the first time. Today, you will need that command line more than EVER. And it is compulsory to have mastered it before trying the coming exercise.

Learning AutoCAD Basics

NOTE: Elements in the array are equally spaced around the ellipse.

Figure 1

Figure 2

In the following image, the red line represents the array’s path. This resulted in an offset of 5 units from the outer ellipse. You can check how to construct such an array here.

More details about the star

Objects in the array

The object in the array is nothing but the following

You can find the dimension of the circles on the first image above.

Execution

The only thing that might be hard to accomplish here is the array. There is nothing like ARRAYELLIPSE in AutoCAD; you need to create this array to use ARRAYPATH.

To use the ARRAYPATH command with an ellipse, you need to cut the ellipse into two and use the ARRAYPATH on each of the sides. That’s it.

We want to let you fight with it and figure it out yourself, using the information we provided above.

Feel free to drop your opinion and concern in the comment section below.

Learn AutoCAD Basics in 21 DAYS

• Learn AutoCAD – Day 11
• Learn AutoCAD – Day 13
• Free AutoCAD Tutorial Courses
• AutoCAD tutorial

We are slowly but surely approaching the end of this series. It has been a good number of days, and we’ve been getting our fit wet with these AutoCAD challenges. If this is your first time here, I suggest you check the list of all tutorials.

This should be among the easiest of the series at the moment. You will agree with me that if this exercise appeared earlier that would look more difficult than it should, at this point.

With all you have accomplished so far, this should be a piece of cake, just helping you retrain some of the stuff you have been learning here.

In this challenge, it could be required to use the ROTATE command and the OFFSET command a lot. So, feel free to check out those if needed beforehand.

Learn AutoCAD basics

Figure 1

Figure 2

The following figure is exercise without annotation.

Execution

After many people asked for the solution to this challenge, I decided to explain a lot more in the following steps what you need to do to solve the challenge.

Spoiler alert: You might need to try figuring it out yourself before checking the solution. You can pause here and go trying to solve it on your own before checking how I did it.

Step 1

Draw the following circles

The red line is straight. On the upper side, it intersects with the green circle R144, allowing us to place the two circles R15 (Use the information about the angle to place them; the black line is horizontal). On the lower side, the same red line intersects with the blue circles R225 (resulting from 150+75) and R150. Each of the intersecting points should allow you to find the centers of the two blue circles R20.

The red circles, R56 and R18, have the same center, which you can find using information from the exercise.

Step 2

Delete other circles and create the two new ones in the picture below. (R129 and R159)

Step 3

Delete R144. Trim the two biggest circles and the two green circles to have the following.

Step 4

OFFSET is the piece we just created with an offset distance of 15. Join the two blue circles with straight lines and trim them to have the following.

Step 5

Use the tan tan Radius technique to create these circles.

Step 6

Create a line from the end of the blue arc and tangent to R60, as shown below.

Step 7

Trim all unnecessary parts and There you have it!

And here you go. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

Learn AutoCAD Basics in 21 DAYS

• Learn AutoCAD – Day 17
• Learn AutoCAD – Day 19
• Free AutoCAD Tutorial Courses
• AutoCAD tutorial

In this challenge, we will perfect how to handle positioning and location in AutoCAD.

This session will require the Object SNAP mode. The exercise is easy, but you must be cautious while working on the project.

It will be helpful to be able to use the OFFSET command and create a circle using the features Tan, Tan, and Radius.

Learning AutoCAD Basics

The following is the exercise we will be using in this session.

Figure 1

Additional important information is indicated in the following picture.

Figure 2

Execution

The following is the key image that will help complete this project.

You need first to get the above image and then trim it. It would be best if you got the following:

You need to give the red part an OFFSET of 10 units now, and you will end up with the following.

I imagine it is all clear now. You undoubtedly know what to do next to complete this. Do not forget the two FILLET of R5 located below the two circles.

Learn AutoCAD Basics in 21 DAYS

• Learn AutoCAD – Day 16
• Learn AutoCAD – Day 14
• Free AutoCAD Tutorial Courses
• AutoCAD tutorial

It is a long way to solving these AutoCAD challenges. If this is your first time here, I will invite you to check the list of all AutoCAD tutorial series here.

Learning AutoCAD Basics

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

The two red lines are both axes of symmetry of the object.

Figure 4

Details about the object inside the ellipse.

Figure 5

Execution

The ELLIPSE command in AutoCAD

We will need to use the ELLIPSE command in this session.

To use the ELLIPSE command

1. Click on the ELLIPSE icon
2. Specify the center of the ellipse
3. Move the cursor in the direction of the first axis, type its value, and press Enter.
4. Type the value of the second axis and press Enter

The Polar tracking

For this experiment, we will use POLAR TRACKING. Activating the following mode of POLAR TRACKING will help ease our task.

Creating the Ellipse

The ellipse is bent with an angle of 45 degrees.

1. Activate the ELLIPSE command.
2. Specify the center of the Ellipse.
3. Track 45 degrees
4. Type 70.5 and press ENTER
5. Type 52 and press ENTER

You should have the following.

After creating the ellipse, all you need to do is find the centerline of the ellipse, OFFSET the ellipse and the line with an OFFSET value of 15.5. The resulting image should look similar to the following.

Use the TRIM command to obtain the wanted object.

Creating the remaining piece

To create the cross, you need to:

Step 1

Create the following: you can find the length of the red line using the information given earlier.

Step 2

Create a mirrored copy of the current object. The line of symmetry should have an inclination angle of 45 degrees starting from the left end of the drawing.

Step 3

Create a vertical line that will serve as the new line of symmetry. The new line must have an end familiar with the center of the newly created circle.

You don’t have to select the highlighted circle using the MIRROR command.

After obtaining the figure we have just received, you can use the same trick to get the other part of the image. And that will be it. Combining both structures should not be an issue.

Learn AutoCAD Basics in 21 DAYS

• Learn AutoCAD – Day 10
• Learn AutoCAD – Day 12
• Free AutoCAD Tutorial Courses
• AutoCAD tutorial

Moving and copying are frequently needed when working on a CAD project.

It is time to learn how to Move and Copy objects in AutoCAD. These two simple commands are very important.

The following commands work just as they would in other Drawing software.

Move an object in AutoCAD

The MOVE command will help change the location of an object in the drawing area.

To use the MOVE command

1. Select the object to move (or objects to move)
2. Click on the icon shown in the image above.
3. Select the base point with a click (don’t  hold)
4. Move and drop

Notice that when Moving an object, you can activate the ORTHO mode and use the command area to enter the exact distance you want to move the object. The ORTHO mode will ensure you are moving in a straight line.

Example

Let’s Move the 6 circles below to the right

Step 1

Activate the ORTHO mode to constrain the cursor movement orthogonally

Step 2

Select circles

Step 3

Click on the MOVE icon

Step 4

Select the base point

Step 5

Move your cursor to the right, leave the mouse in that position, Enter 55, and Hit Enter.

 Final figure

Copy an object in AutoCAD

The COPY command works similarly to the Move command, leaving a copy of the original object in its position.

It works as it would in other Windows applications, and feel free to use the Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V to copy and paste objects in AutoCAD.

To copy Objects in AutoCAD, you need to select them first, and you can also use the technique we used above to place the copy at a certain distance and angle from the original item.

Quizzes

• AutoCAD quiz 00
• AutoCAD quiz 01
• AutoCAD quiz 02
• AutoCAD quiz 03
• AutoCAD quiz 04

Practice Exercises

• Learn AutoCAD in 21 DAYS | Great series to help you learn AutoCAD 2D
• AutoCAD exercise 00
• AutoCAD exercises
• AutoCAD exercise 01

There is more than one way to select objects in AutoCAD. They all produce the same results, but there are a few things to learn about selecting in AutoCAD.

AutoDesk continues to enhance the selection function in AutoCAD, as seen in the latest release. If they incorporate features that will benefit users, it would be wise to learn how to utilize them effectively and appropriately.

Why do you need to select?

You may need to select an object while using a command, or you may need to select it to delete. (To Delete an object or objects in AutoCAD, you need 1. to select the object or objects, 2. Press the DELETE key on your keyboard).

How do I know an object is selected?

When an object is selected, its color changes. In the 2015 version of AutoCAD, here is what an object looks like when it is selected.

Here are a few ways to select objects in AutoCAD

• Click on the object to select it
• Creating a zone of selection from left to right
• Creating a zone of selection from right to left
• Creating a rectangle of selection from left to right
• Creating a rectangle of selection from right to left

It looks complicated, huh!? But worry not, it is not. In the beginning, you can use any method that seems the easiest to you, seeing that each one does the job.

Click on the object to select it.

It is the most intuitive of all, but it is time-consuming if you have a bunch of objects to select at once. To select an object, you need to click on it. If you have many objects, selecting one at a time may be tedious.

Zone of selection from right to left

Here, the goal is to be able to select many objects at once. Actions needed are:

• Click and hold
• Move your cursor rightward to get the object you are trying to select to be inside the zone of selection.
• Release the click when you are done with creating the zone of selection

The requirement here is that all the objects you are trying to select must be included in the selection zone.

In the image below, you can see the so-called zone of selection represented in blue. The object selected in the following case will be the two circles inside the blue area. The bigger circle won’t be selected; it overlaps with the zone of selection but is not inside the zone of selection. Only objects included in the blue area are selected.

Zone of selection from right to left

This method is similar to the previous one, with the major difference that here, all objects that overlap with the zone of selection are selected, with no need for them to be inside. Here is how it works:

• Click and hold
• Move your cursor leftward to get the objects you are trying to select to overlap with the selection zone.
• Release the click when you are done with creating the zone of selection

In the given example, the three circles that intersect with the selection area and the large circle will be selected at the end of the selection process.

Window selection Box

This works exactly like the first method (notice the blue color) but you don’t hold after the first click, you need a click to specify the first point and a second click to specify the second point. All objects included in the window of selection will be selected.

From left to right.

Crossing selection box

This works like the second method above. One-click to specify the first point and a second click to specify the second point. All objects that overlap with the rectangle of selection will be selected.

From right to left.

Now that you know how to select in AutoCAD, let’s try the following.

Practice Exercises

• Learn AutoCAD in 21 DAYS | Great series to help you learn AutoCAD 2D
• AutoCAD exercise 00
• AutoCAD exercises
• AutoCAD exercise 01
• Excel to AutoCAD tutorial

The following exercise forces us to use the TRIM and the CIRCLE command in AutoCAD.

You might benefit from learning how to use these commands beforehand.

• TRIM command in AutoCAD
• CIRCLE command in AutoCAD

Exercise

In the previous session, we learned how to use the LINE command. Those techniques will help you a great deal here.

Learning AutoCAD Basics

Here is the rough image you should strive to reproduce.

Two circles and two Rectangles.

What is the easiest way to get to this?

1. Create the big rectangle using the LINE command
2. Use the Center on the top side of the triangle to create the two circles.

For step 2, you need to turn the Midpoint ON if you want to be able to find the center of that segment while creating the circle.

Here is how to do it (right-click on 1 and tick 2)

Now, you should be at the following point

Trim the big circle and Erase the top side of the rectangle

Now, all we need to do is create a small Rectangle. Given the dimensions above, if we consider that the left corner of the figure is at the point of coordinates (0,0), we need to start the small rectangle at the point of coordinates (10,15)

What we will do.

1. Move the UCS to the left-down corner of the figure.
2. Start the line at the point (10,15)

How to move the UCS to the left-down corner of the figure

1. Type UCS
2. Select the point
3. Move the cursor in the x-direction and click
4. Move the cursor in the y-direction and click

This is what you are supposed to get

Notice the UCS

Now, you can quickly start the line at the point (10,15) and create the small rectangle.

Exercise

If you are confused about this, leave a comment below, and I will have no problem explaining it further.

Learn AutoCAD Basics in 21 DAYS

• Learn AutoCAD – Day 4
• Learn AutoCAD – Day 2
• Free AutoCAD Tutorial Courses
• AutoCAD tutorial

Unlike the previous DAY, we will start learning cool things today. Not to say that DAY 1 was useless. That helped to warm up.

We have lately learned the fundamentals of AutoCAD, and you should by now know the environment. I do not doubt that you are familiar with common words used here to describe stuff such as Command window or command prompt, Status Bar, Navigation bar…

Learn AutoCAD Basics

The exercise below will help us learn how to draw lines in AutoCAD, draw a line with angles or inclined lines, and snap or decide to start a line on a specific location.

With this exercise, we will forget all we learned in the previous exercise, meaning we will not use coordinate systems here. Just the LINE command and a few tricks.

It is true that using the Cartesian coordinate system, we could draw lines with these dimensions, but the method we will use here is the one you will continue using for most of your work with AutoCAD.

Execution

To create the image above

step 1

Draw the line of 80 units

1. Click on LINE
2. Specify the first point (Click somewhere on the drawing window)
3. Make sure the ORTHO mode is ON, Move your mouse rightward, type 80 and Press Enter
4. Press Esc

If this is confusing, you need to visit the following article:

• Draw a straight line in AutoCAD

Step 2

Start the second line from the first point of the 80-unit line, and draw the second line with an inclination angle of 58 degrees.

If you do not know how to create a line with an angle like the one shown on the image above, you need to read the following article:

• How to Draw A Line With An Angle in AutoCAD

Step 3

Draw the third line. It is a straight horizontal line.

Step 4

All you have to do now is to create a line from the 2 open points shown on the figure in step 3.

Exercise

Here is a good exercise to help you practice what we have just learned. I suggest you learn how to use the ROTATE command in AutoCAD before trying to do the following exercise. After solving this, you can check the step-by-step tutorial here.

If you are confused about this, leave a comment below and I will have no problem explaining it further.

Learn AutoCAD Basics in 21 DAYS

• Learn AutoCAD – Day 1
• Learn AutoCAD – Day 3
• Free AutoCAD Tutorial Courses
• AutoCAD tutorial