EEE 113 ---- Engineering Graphics

Lab #1 -Basic Construction and Editing

Part 1: Basic 2-D Construction

In this exercise basic construction and edit commands will be learned including: creating lines,
circles, arcs, and basic dimensioning to create the drawing shown below:

1. Start with a new AutoCAD drawing by selecting the Qnew command icon in the
Standard toolbar. The Select Template dialog box will appear.

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2. In the Select Template manager, left-mouse-click on the triangular button to the right of the
Open button, and select Open with no Template – Imperial. This sets the default units to
inches.
 3. Select the Line command icon in the Draw toolbar.

4. In the command prompt area near the bottom of the

screen, AutoCAD prompts you to identify the starting
point of the line.
Command: _line Specify the first point: 0,0 [ENTER]
(Type the coordinates 0,0 and press the [ENTER] key).

5. To create the bottom horizontal line, enter the absolute

coordinates of the second point.
Specify next point or [Undo]: 6.5,0 [ENTER]

6. To create the right vertical line, enter the absolute coordinates of the next point.
Specify next point or [Undo]: 6.5,3.5 [ENTER]

7. To create the upper, right feature, use the relative coordinates by typing the symbol @
preceding the coordinates relative to the previous point.
Specify next point or [Undo]: @-1.5,1 [ENTER]

8. For the next point, type the following relative coordinates.

Specify next point or [Undo]: @-4,0 [ENTER]

9. To create the upper, left feature, use the relative polar coordinates using the @ symbol
for relative coordinates preceding the distance, and the < symbol preceding the angle.
Specify next point or [Undo]: @1<270 [ENTER]
Specify next point or [Undo]: @1<180 [ENTER]

10. Finish the outline of the drawing by typing the coordinates of the starting point.
Specify next point or [Undo]: 0,0 [ENTER]

11. To zoom in on the drawing, select

the Zoom Window command icon
from the Standard Toolbar.

12. To create a window around the drawing,

left-mouse-click on one corner of the
window when prompted
Specify corner of window, enter a scale
factor (nX or nXP), or
[All/Center/Dynamic/Extents/Previous/Scale
/Window/Object] <real time>: _w
Specify first corner:

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13. Left-mouse-click the opposite corner of the window when prompted.

14. To create the circle of diameter 2.0 select the Circle command icon in the Draw
toolbar.

15. Enter the absolute coordinates of the center of the circle.

Specify center for circle or [3P/2p/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: 3,1.5 [ENTER]

16. Enter the radius of the circle in the command prompt area.
Specify radius of circle: 1 [ENTER]

17. Inside the drawing area, right-mouse-click to

display the popup option menu.

18. Select Repeat Center with the left-mouse-button in

the popup menu to repeat the previous command.

19. Enter 3, 1.5 as the coordinates of the center of the

circle, and 1.0 as its diameter.

Next dimensions of features in the drawing will be added using AutoCAD’s many
dimension commands.

20. Before adding dimensions, the default accuracy of dimensions has to be changed.
Other dimension settings such as text, arrows, and dimension line properties can also
be changed. In the pull-down menus, select:

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21. The Dimension Style Manager dialog box appears on the screen.

22. Click on Modify to bring up the Modify Dimension Style dialog box.

23. Click on the Primary Units tab.

24. Select Precision 0.0 to set the

default accuracy of the
dimensions to be displayed to
one decimal place. All
dimensions added from this
point on will be displayed
with this accuracy.

25. Click on the OK button to

accept the settings and close
the dialog box.

26. Click on the CLOSE button

to close the Dimension Style
Manager dialog box.

27. Be sure the Dimension toolbar is displayed. If the Dimension toolbar is not displayed,
move the cursor to the Standard toolbar area and right-click an empty area in between
two icons to display a list of toolbar menu groups. Select Dimension with the left-
mouse button to display the Dimension toolbar. You can also display the Dimension
toolbar activating the Customize dialog box by selecting [View] => [Toolbars] in the
pull-down menus.

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28. From the Dimension toolbar select Linear Dimension.

29. Pick the lower left corner of the drawing when prompted to specify the first extension
line origin.

30. Pick the lower right corner of the drawing when prompted to specify the second line
origin.

31. Pick a point that is about 1.0 inch below the bottom horizontal line to place the
dimension text.

32. Repeat the Linear Dimension command to add the remaining linear dimensions.

33. To add the diameter dimensions, from the Dimension toolbar select Diameter
Dimension. Dimension the three circles as shown in the figure on the first page of this
handout.

34. In the pull-down menus, select:

File => [Save As]

35. Save the drawing as a:lab1-1. The file will be saved as an AutoCAD drawing with a
default file extension of “.dwg”.

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Part 2: Drafting Aids

In this exercise, drafting aids such as grid, snap, and object snaps will be used to create the
drawing shown below.

1. In the pull-down menus, select

File => [New]

2. Left-click on Open when the Select Template dialog box appears.

3. In the dialog box, select Open with no Template – Imperial to set the default units to inches.

4. Left click the GRID button in the Status Bar to turn ON the GRID option. This creates
a pattern of dots on the screen. The default spacing between grid points is 0.5 inches.

5. Left-click the SNAP button in the Status Bar to turn ON the GRID option. The SNAP
option controls the cursor movements to specified intervals. The default spacing
between snap points is 0.5 inches.

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6. Create the two 5-inch squares using the RECTANGLE command button in the Draw
toolbar. Use the cursor to locate the opposite corners of each rectangle while watching
the coordinates display at the bottom of the screen. Make the second rectangle about
1.5 inches to the right of the first one.

7. Right-click the OSNAP button in the Status Bar. Left-click on Settings to display the
Drafting Settings dialog box.

8. Object Snap is a powerful construction tool that allows accurate location of the cursor
to points on objects such as endpoints, midpoints, centers, and intersections. Check the
following Object Snap modes: Endpoint, Midpoint, Center, Intersection and
Extension.

9. Turn on the Object Snap.

The Drafting Settings dialog box can also be used to change the settings of the snap
and grid parameters. Select the Snap and Grid tabs in the dialog box to check the
current settings of the snap and grid parameters.

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10. Left-click on OK to close the dialog box.

11. For the left object in the drawing,

a. Construct the rotated square using the LINE command. To locate the vertices
of this square, position the cursor near the midpoint of each line. The Snap to
Midpoint option of the Object Snap will locate the exact midpoint of the lines.

b. Draw the lines from the corners of the big squares to the corners of the small
square. The Snap to Endpoint and the Snap Midpoint options will locate exact
positions of points.

c. Draw the small square using the points found in Step (b).

d. In the Draw tool bar, select the Circle command.

e. In command prompt area, select Circle by 3 Points by typing 3p.

Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: 3p [ENTER]

f. Click on the midpoints of the sides of the small square as the points on the
circle. (You might need to turn the SNAP option of by left-clicking on the
SNAP button in the Status Bar.

12. For the right object, locating the parallel lines is tricky. Use concepts of geometric
construction as described below to locate their positions.

a. Draw a circle of radius 1.0 centered at the lower-left corner of the square.

b. Draw a line from the upper-right corner of the square, tangent to the circle
drawn in Step (a) above.

c. You may repeat the above procedure for the other line, or simply construct a
parallel line.

13. Add dimensions to the drawings.

14. Save the drawing.