Learn about utilizing CAD software in creating a datum point, while focusing on understanding and using quadrant object snaps effectively. This article provides step-by-step instructions on drawing, layer creation, object snaps, and saving your work.
Key Insights
- This tutorial focuses on drawing a datum point using CAD software, starting with creating a new file and a new layer named A-SIMS, S-Y-M-S, colored 120.
- The tutorial highlights the importance of utilizing quadrant object snaps in creating a symbol split into four pi sections. It recommends understanding the workflow and only having necessary object snaps on during a project to avoid confusion.
- The article also emphasizes the need for saving your work regularly, as well as ensuring drawings are saved before closing to avoid losing any progress. It recommends performing a 'zoom extents' before saving for a full view of the drawing in its preview window.
Note: These materials offer prospective students a preview of how our classes are structured. Students enrolled in this course will receive access to the full set of materials, including video lectures, project-based assignments, and instructor feedback.
In this video, we will finish this lesson with the datum point. Let's go File, New.
I'll use my template and hit Open. Let's go File, Save. And this is the datum-point.
And I'll save my drawing. Let's make our layer. New layer.
This is A-SIMS, S-Y-M-S. Our color will be 120. Enter to lock it in.
And let's make this our active layer. I will close my layer properties. Let's start right away by drawing our circle, which is a one-quarter inch diameter circle.
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So I will go up to Circle. Specify the center point, 0,0. Enter. Choose D for diameter.
D, Enter. And my diameter is 1 over 4. Enter. Let's zoom extents.
Roll out once. And Control-S to save. We can see that this symbol is split into four pi sections, with a horizontal line and a vertical line.
Then, the top-right and bottom-left section are filled with a solid hatch. In order to draw these lines, again, we could draw them many ways. We could use rays, or construction lines, or the line tool.
What I want to focus on in this video is how we find the snaps for these lines. We know that we need a horizontal line from quadrant to quadrant, and a vertical line from quadrant to quadrant. In this case, we're going to use four quadrant object snaps.
And because of that, I'd like to introduce running object snaps in this video. To make it clear that we're only focusing on one thing at a time, I will come down to my status bar and turn off polar tracking. And I will come over and turn on object snap.
Now, depending on how much you've played around with object snap, you will see different options that are checked on. In this case, I'm going to uncheck all options, except for quadrant. Once I see quadrant on, and a blue icon for my object snaps, I can start my line tool.
The running object snaps will always appear, and you will not need to hit shift right click to locate those object snaps. I would highly recommend that you understand the workflow you are using early on in your process, and only have those running object snaps on. In a complex project, it can be very confusing when you have all of these object snaps on at once.
You will see later in the course, which object snaps I suggest when working on a small project like our floor plan. But for now, let's focus only on quadrant. Now we can go to the line tool.
And without clicking anything, you'll notice that when we hover over the circle, the quadrant icon appears for our running object snap. I will click, find this quadrant, click. Then I'll move to the bottom, click, and move to the top, click.
Then I'll say enter to say that I'm done. Now you'll notice we added an extra line. This line is not necessarily construction geometry, because we didn't really need it to finish our drawing.
But I found it easier to complete this tool without ending it and restarting it, and drawing an extra line. Now I can go down to the line, select it, and hit the delete key. In the end, these lines aren't connected, because the line tool draws individual segments one after another.
If we had used the polyline tool, these would have been connected segments, and it would not have been able to delete one of the segments. The whole polyline would have been deleted. In this case, you can choose whichever workflow seems fastest.
Two line segments on different line commands, or one command with some extra geometry drawn in the middle. I'm going to undo twice, and practice that one more time. Line tool, running object snaps are on, showing my quadrants.
So here's quadrant one, two, three, and four. Enter to say that I am done. And now I'll pick this line, and delete.
Control S to save. All that is left is our hatch. So I can go to the hatch tool, pick the solid hatch, and pick points coloring inside the lines, in this region, and in this region.
Hit the check mark, or enter on your keyboard to say that you're done. Zoom extents. Control S to save.
When we're working in AutoCAD, you'll notice that we might end up having a lot of drawing tabs open at once. And these all represent different drawings we were working on in this lesson. You do not have to keep these open.
We can return and open them at a later date, but just make sure you know which ones are saved. If you see an asterisk after the name of a drawing, that drawing is unsaved. It's important to double check all of your unsaved drawings to make sure you don't lose any information if you close AutoCAD without saving.
However, these drawings for me are all saved because there is no asterisk, and I know that I can hit the X to close them out. I won't close them all, but I will show one more thing. We have been doing a zoom extents before we save the file each time.
This is because when I go file open and I look at my drawings, they will show a preview of my most recent window. By doing a zoom extents, it allows me to see in full view what that drawing is. In the next video, we will begin to work on our electrical symbols.
See you there.
