Autocad 2013 dimensioning tutorial

I know that Autocad is not Inventor which I am somewhat familiar with , but does it have some similar tools for doing individual part drawings to keep things manageable?

Thanks for the reply. I'm a little confused though. All my work on this project has been in Autocad, not Inventor. So, below are you referring to operations in Inventor, Autocad, or both? I DO have Inventor as well so I could make use of it, but as of now my entire model is simply one big Autocad solid model.

Does that influence your answer? In addition to multiple layouts, you can also XREF the model-space contents ie. Maybe you have a separate model of each piece, which would make assembling XREFs easy - just bring in what you need. Also read up on model views - something new in AutoCAD, and kinda-sorta like drawing generation from Inventor. Notice: updates available for Apache Log4j vulnerabilities. See the security advisory on the Autodesk Trust Center for more information.

AutoCAD Forum. Turn on suggestions. The child styles, Linear, Radial, Angular, Diameter, Ordinate and Leader can be used to modify the parent style when that particular type of dimension is used. For example, you may like to use a tick rather than an arrow head for your dimensions but this isn't really appropriate for a leader, so the Leader child style can be changed so that leaders will always be drawn with an arrow head whilst all other dimensions of the same style family are drawn using ticks.

Click the Save button. The new style is automatically set as the current style. You may rename the new style if you wish, simply by typing a new name in the Name edit box and clicking on the Rename button. The new style which you have created is identical to the STANDARD style, so you must now modify your new style so that it can be used to create dimensions which conform to your own requirements.

Style changes are made in three categories, Geometry, Format and Annotation. As you can see from the Dimension Styles dialogue box, each category is represented by a button which leads to a dialogue box which is used to modify the settings in that particular category.

The style of arrow heads is set using the Geometry dialogue box, illustrated above. To change the arrow head style for a new dimension style, make sure the style is current and that the "Parent" radio button is selected this assumes you are not modifying a child style , click on the "Geometry…" button and select a new arrow head type from the "1st" drop-down list.

Once selected the new arrow type is illustrated in the dialogue box. If you require different arrow heads at each end of your dimensions you can set the other type using the "2nd" drop-down list.

Click on "OK" to return to the Dimension Styles dialogue box. When you are working with drawings which will be plotted at different scales, you will need some way of changing the scale of the dimension lines relative to your drawing so that they always appear the same size, irrespective of plotting scale.

You can achieve this by using the Scale variable. This option is also available from the Geometry dialogue box. The default value is set to 1. The larger the value the larger the dimension will appear.

For example, a value of 2. To change the scale of dimensions, simply type the required scale in the "Overall Scale" edit box. Try changing the scale factor and check the results. The scaling applies to individual styles, so you could create different styles with different dimension scales to be used for different plotting scales. Note that changing the scale of dimensions does not affect the dimension value, this is always calculated in drawing units.

To change the text location click on the "Format…" button in the Dimension Styles dialogue box. The Format dialogue box is shown below. By default the horizontal justification is set to "Centred" and the vertical justification to "Above".

This means that the dimension text will appear centred above a horizontal dimension line and centred left of a vertical dimension line. To have the text centred within the dimension line, click on the down arrow of the "Vertical Justification" pull-down list to reveal the options and click on "Centered". The illustration changes to reflect your choice. You can see the result of this action by looking at the illustration below.

Experiment with the Horizontal Justification and Vertical Justification options to see what results they give. You can also use Text the option in this dialogue box to change the text orientation in aligned dimensions. By default all dimension text is aligned with the dimension. This option allows you to force text to appear horizontal, irrespective of the orientation of the dimension.

You have independent control over dimension text which appears inside and outside of the dimension lines.

The illustration on the left shows a dimension with vertical justification set to "Above" far left and to "Centred" near left. Text style and units are both set using the Annotation dialogue box, illustrated below. To set a text style to a dimension you must first have created the style using the Text Style command Format Text Style… from the pull-down menu.

To assign the text style to a dimension style, click on the "Annotation…" button in the Dimension Styles dialogue box, click on the drop-down list in the "Text" area of the Annotation dialogue and select the required text style from the list.

Click on "OK" to return to the Dimension Styles dialogue. AutoCAD gives you the option to automatically include a unit prefix or suffix with the dimension text. For example, you could set the dimension style in such a way that it created dimensions with "m" to indicate metres after each dimension text. Most usually, dimensions are drawn without units displayed but with a note on the drawing indicating the units used, such as "All dimensions in metres". However, you may have a drawing where different units are being used for different elements of the drawing.

In such a case it is a good idea to include units to avoid confusion. Remember that the main idea behind dimensioning is to give the maximum amount of information in the clearest and most concise way. For example, if you wanted to display metres, you would type "m" in the "Suffix" edit box.

The Dimension Update command is used to apply the current dimension style to existing dimensions. You can use this command to change the style of a dimension. Unlike text styles, dimension styles do not automatically update when the style is changed. If you found this tutorial useful, you might like to consider making a donation. All content on this site is provided free of charge and we hope to keep it that way.

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Dimension Aligned. Dimension Diameter. Dimension Radius. Dimension Center Mark. Dimension Angular. Dimension Ordinate. Select the rectangle to convert it into a wipeout. Click the Select Objects icon, create a selection window covering all the entities of the sliding door, and then press Enter. Click the Pick point icon and select the lower end point of the left vertical line. Select the Delete option from the Objects section. Uncheck the Open in block editor option and click OK.

Press the Shift key and right click. Select From from the shortcut menu. Zoom to lower right corner of the first floor plan and select the inner corner point. Move the pointer along the vertical line, type and press Enter. The block is inserted at the specified distance from the inner corner point.

The offset distance from the inner corner is given in the figure below. Offset the polyline by 50 mm and 75 mm inside. Select Layer from the command line, and then select Current. Zoom to the kitchen area of the ground floor plan.

Offset the wall edges, as shown. Now you need to create the sink. The offset distances are given in the figure. Select Radius from the command line. Type 50 and press Enter. Select Multiple from the command line. Select the left vertical line and the horizontal line. A fillet is created at the corner. Likewise, create fillets at the other corners.

Create a selection window covering all the entities of the sink, and press Enter. Select Yes to convert the lines and arcs into a polyline. Select Join from the command line. Press Enter to accept 0 as the distance between the entities. Press Esc to deactivate the Edit Polyline tool. Type 25 and press Enter to define the offset distance. Select the polyline and click in the area enclosed by it.

Select the midpoint of the upper horizontal line. Move the pointer outward, type 75 and press Enter. Draw a vertical line of mm from the center point of the circle. Select the end point of the vertical line. Move the pointer outward, type 25, and press Enter. Select the left quadrant point of the small circle. Move the pointer upward and select the left quadrant point of the large circle. Likewise, create another line by selecting the right quadrant points of the two circles.

Type M and press Enter. Create a selection window across circles and inclined lines, and press Enter. Select the center point of the large circle to define the base point. Move the pointer vertically upward, type 55, and press Enter.

Trim the horizontal lines between the inclined lines. Place the pointer on the midpoint of the bottom horizontal line. Move the pointer upward. Place the pointer on the midpoint of the right vertical line.

Move the pointer toward left. Click when the trace lines from the two midpoints intersect. Type 30 as radius, and press Enter to create the circle. Select the center point of the previously created circle.

Type 20 and press Enter. Select the lower left corner of the kitchen. Specify as length and width. Select the midpoint of the left vertical line of the rectangle. Move the pointer up and select the midpoint of the window.

Move the rectangle 10 mm toward right. Mirror the two circles about the midpoint of the rectangle. Use the Move tool to create gaps between the rectangles and wall. The gap should be mm.

Click on the gear icon on the title bar of the DesignCenter palette and select Allow Docking. Click the Auto hide icon on the title bar of the DesignCenter Palette, if it palette is not hidden. On the DesignCenter palette, click the Home icon. The Sample folder is selected in the Folder List. Click and drag the Toilet-top block from the DesignCenter palette into the graphics window. Likewise, click and drag the Sink — Oval top block into the graphics window. Select the midpoint of the horizontal edge of the block.

Zoom to the toilet area of the ground floor plan and select the point, as shown. Select the center point of the block to define the base point. Type 90 and press Enter. Copy the Sink Oval top block and place it in the toilet, as shown. Select the circle as the source object. Create a selection window across all the entities of the bathtub. Press Enter to match the properties of the circle with the bathtub. Select the lower left corner point of the bathtub. Switch to the Tutorial 1 drawing by clicking the Tutorial 1 tab above the graphics window.

Move the bathtub and place it in the bottom left bathroom in the first floor plan. Select the Sink Oval top block, click on the grip, move the block, place it at the corner, as shown.

Likewise, move the Toilet-top block, as shown. It is a collection of some furniture blocks downloaded from www. Create a selection window across the objects, as shown.

Press Enter to match the properties of the circle with the selected objects. Zoom to the sofa set area. Specify the center point, Move the pointer downward and click to specify the major axis. Use the Trim tool to remove the unwanted portions of the rectangle, as shown. Click in the area enclosed by the wall edges, as shown. Likewise, click in the other areas of the walls.

Note that you need to click in the area only when a preview appears. Click Close Hatch Creation button on the ribbon. Click in the lounge area of the ground floor plan to specify the first corner of the multiline text box. Move the pointer downward-right, and then specify the second corner.

Type Lounge in the text box. Click and drag the ruler to reduce the width of the text box. Double click on the Blocks icon. Click and drag the North Arrow block from the DesignCenter palette into the graphics window. Create a copy of the ground floor plan in the empty space, as shown. Zoom to the copy of the ground floor plan. Draw a horizontal datum line above the floor plan.

Select a point on the datum line. Select Width from the command line. Type 0 and press Enter to define the starting width. Type and press Enter to define the end width. Move the pointer vertically upward, type , and press Enter.

Move the pointer horizontally and click. Press Esc to deactivate the Polyline command. Copy the floor level annotation and place above the new line. Double click on the copied text and change it to mm Ground Floor. This defines the floor thickness. Activate the Line tool and select the top left corner of the ground floor plan. Move the pointer upward and click to create a vertical line.

Likewise, create other vertical lines, as shown. Next, you need to create an overhang for roof. Likewise, offset the right vertical line to right side. The offset distance is mm. Create a rectangular selection window across the left portions of the horizontal lines, as shown.

Likewise, trim the right side portions of the horizontal lines. The sequence to trim the horizontal lines is given next. Press Delete on your keyboard. Copy the first floor plan and place it on the vertical line, as shown. Delete the vertical line. Zoom to the copy of the first floor plan. Select the corner point of the balcony, move the pointer downward, and click.

Press Esc to deactivate the tool. Create the elements of the balcony using the Rectangle tool, as shown. Click in the empty space, and select Dimensions from the command line. Type 25 and press Enter. Type 65 and press Enter. Select the rectangle, type M, and press Enter. Select the midpoint of the lower horizontal line of the rectangle. Move the pointer and select the midpoint of the balcony post, as shown. Likewise, use the Copy tool to copy and place the small rectangle on the other post.

Offset the horizontal line by 50 mm. Press Enter to select all entities as boundary edges. Click on the left end of the horizontal line, as shown; it is extended up to the next entity. Likewise, extend the horizontal lines on both sides, as shown. Specify the start and end points of the arc, as shown. Move the pointer horizontally toward right and click.

Select the rectangle to display grips on it. Click on the midpoint grip of the lower horizontal line of rectangle, move the pointer upward, type 75, and press Enter. Likewise, move the vertical lines of the rectangle inward by 10 mm. Now, you need to create the sleeve for the glass. Select the top right corner of the left post, as shown. Type 40 and press Enter. Type 75 and press Enter. Move the pointer downward and click. Select the top left corner of the rectangle to define the base point.

Move the pointer downward, type , and press Enter. Select the top right and bottom right corners of the new rectangle. Type TR and press Enter twice.

Trim the unwanted portions, as shown. Select the midpoint of the glass rectangle, move the pointer downward, and click. Select No from the command line. On the Array Creation tab of the ribbon, set the Columns and Rows values to 1 and 2, respectively. Type - in the Between box on the Rows panel. Click Close Array on the ribbon. Click the down arrow next to the Polar Tracking icon and select Activate the Line command and create an inclined line, as shown.

Offset the inclined line on both sides. Select midpoint of the offset line, type 0. The line is scaled to half of its size. Likewise, scale the other offset line. Expand the Architectural — Metric. Drag the Aluminum Window Elevation Metric block and place it in the graphics window. Change the window width and height by using the arrow grips.

Select the lower left corner point of anyone of the selected window blocks. Move the pointer upwards, type and press Enter. Offset the rectangles by 50 mm inside. Select the reference lines and press Delete. Create a x rectangle on the elevation view, as shown. Move the rectangle vertically up to mm. Explode the inner rectangle. Again, offset the offset lines up to 50 mm inside.

Select the lower left corner of the window to define the base point. Move the pointer toward right and select a point on the reference line, as shown. Type REC and press Enter. Select the intersection point between the reference line and ground floor line, as shown. Select the two intersection points on the elevation view, as shown.

The distance between the selected points defines the length of the rectangle. Select the two rectangles and click the Explode tool on the Modify panel of the Home ribbon tab. Select the lower horizontal line of the inner rectangle and press Delete. Type EX and press Enter twice. Click on the lower end portions of the inner vertical lines. The selected lines are extended up to the intersecting horizontal line. Create a vertical line by selecting the midpoints of the horizontal lines of the door, as shown.

Select the upper end point of the new vertical line. Select the midpoint of the left vertical line of the door. Likewise, create other lines by selecting the points, as shown.

The inclined lines indicate the hinge direction. Creating the Opposite Elevation You can create the elevation opposite to the front elevation by just mirroring it and modifying the internal objects. Select any point on the elevation view, move the pointer downward, and place the elevation view below the ground floor plan. Select the midpoint of a vertical line on the ground floor elevation, as shown. Move the pointer horizontally toward right and click to mirror the elevation view.

Select Z from the command line. The UCS is rotated about the Z-axis by degrees. Select Current ucs from the command line to orient the drawing with UCS. Select Center from the command line. Type 0 and press Enter to specify the zoom center. Type and press Enter to specify the magnification height.

Press and hold the middle mouse button and drag the pointer to bring the elevation view to the center. Scroll the mouse wheel to magnify the elevation view.

Create reference lines from the rare windows of the ground floor plan. Select the window block, and then select its base point. Move the pointer along the reference line, type and press Enter.

Delete the reference lines. The Coordinates panel appears on the View tab of the ribbon. Right click on the Unnamed ucs and select Rename. Type North Elev and click OK. The Views panel appears on the ribbon. Type North Elev in the View name box. Press Enter to accept. Now, you need to switch back to the default view orientation.

The default orientation of the drawing is displayed. You can use the polar tracking to create the inclined line. Select Hor from the command line.

Select the top corner pointe of the South Elevation, as shown. A horizontal construction line is created passing through the selected point. Select Ver from the command line. Select the intersection point between the horizontal construction line and the inclined line, as shown. Likewise, select the intersection points between the inclined and other horizontal construction lines.

The UCS is rotated by 90 degrees about the Z-axis. Zoom to the area below the ground floor plan, as shown. These lines will help you to draw the roof overhang. Select the intersection point between the construction lines, as shown.

Select Dimension from the command line. Type and press Enter to define the length. Type and press Enter to define the width.

Move the pointer toward right and click. Select Angle from the command line. Select the two intersection points to define the chamfer length on the first line, as shown. Type 15 and press Enter to define the chamfer angle. Select the lower horizontal and left vertical line of the rectangle. Select the intersection points between the construction lines, as shown. Select the newly created inclined line. Move the pointer downwards and click. Trim the intersecting portion between the offset line and the rectangle, as shown.

Select the top end point of the inclined line, move the pointer vertically downward, and click. Create a selection across all the elements of the balcony. Type CO and press Enter.

Select the point on the balcony, as shown. Move the pointer diagonally toward the Front elevation, and select the endpoint of the first floor, as shown. Create a selection window across the copied balcony. Type RO and press Enter. Select the base point, as shown. Move the pointer vertically upward and click. Move the pointer horizontally toward right and select a point on the line, as shown. Press Esc to deselect the rectangle. Type in the Between box on the Columns panel.

Click Close Array. Select the corner point of the rectangle as shown. Likewise, place the glass and sleeve copies, as shown. Next, create arcs on both the ends of the railing. Likewise, copy the bathroom window, rotate it, and place it at the location, as shown. Delete the construction lines, as shown. Select the base point on the first floor plan, as shown.

Move the pointer and select the destination point on the ground floor plan, as shown. The dimensions of the sliding doors are given next. Type Front-Elev and click OK. Type Front Elev in the View name box.

Zoom to the elevation views. The UCS is rotated by degrees about the Z-axis. Create the construction lines projecting from the garage, and rear entrance. Also, create a construction line from the center of the garage. These lines will help you to draw the roof overhang for garage. Select Offset from the command line. Select the ground level line, move the pointer up, and click to create a construction line.

Use the Offset tool to create other construction lines, as shown. Zoom to the South elevation and click in the roof area. On the Hatch Creation tab of the ribbon, expand the Options panel and click the Separate Hatches tool. The hatches are separated. Press Esc to deselect the hatch pattern.

Pick a point in the areas, as shown. Click Close Hatch Creation. The second arrowhead is automatically changed to Architectural tick. Click Close. The grid lines are turned on. You will notice that a dimension is attached to the pointer. Create a circle of diameter. Type-in in the Text height box and click OK. Select the center point of the circle. The attribute text will be place at it center. Type-in Grid bubble in the Name box and click the Select objects button. Draw a crossing window to select the circle and attribute.

Select the lower quadrant point of the circle to define the base point of the block. Uncheck the Open in block editor option. Select Delete from the Objects section and click OK. Make sure that you select the right quadrant point of the circle as the base point. Enter numbers in the grid bubbles. You will notice that a white paper is displayed with viewport created, automatically. The components of a layout are shown in figure below.

Set the Plot Style table to acad. Set the Plot scale to Creating the Title Block on the Layout You can draw objects on layouts to create title block, borders and viewports. However, it is not recommended to draw the actual drawing on layouts. You can also create dimensions on layouts. Select the viewport on the layout and press Delete. Insert text inside the title block, as shown. Use the Insert tool and insert the block on the layout. Creating Viewports in the Paper space The viewports that exist in the paper space are called floating viewports.

This is because you can position them anywhere in the layout, and modify their shape size with respect to the layout. Create two named views of ground and first floor plans. Also, create another named view of the South Elevation. In addition, the viewport frame will become thicker when you are in model space.

After locking the viewport, you cannot change the scale or position of the drawing. To hide viewport frames while plotting a drawing, follow the steps given below.

Close the Layer Properties Manager. Click the Change to Current Layer button on the Layers panel. To check this, click the Preview button on the Plot panel of the Output ribbon tab; the plot preview will be displayed as shown below. Select move to end from the Move or Copy dialog. Check the Create a copy option and click OK. Double click in the viewport, and then click the Lock icon on the status bar; the viewport is unlocked. Click the Viewport Scale button and select from the menu.

Changing the Layer Properties in Viewports The layer properties in viewports are not related to the layer properties in model space. You can change the layer properties in viewports without any effect in the model space.

In the Layer Properties Manager, click the icon in the VP Freeze column of the Reference Lines layer; the reference lines will disappear in the viewport, as shown below. Double click on the acad. Select the Color 1 from the Plot Styles list. In the Properties section, set the Lineweight to 0.

Likewise, change the lineweights of the other colors, as shown. Color Lineweight Color 1 0. Set Color to Black in the Properties section. Notice that the linetype scale of the dashed lines is changed. Type 0 and press Enter. On the Plot dialog, select Layout from the Plot area section.

Set the Scale and Drawing orientation to and Landscape, respectively. Click OK to print the drawing. Likewise, print other layouts. On the Insert dialog, click the Browse button. Go to the location of the 2D-Drawings. Type Z and press Enter. Type A and press Enter. The entire drawing is visible in the graphics window. The block reference is exploded and the individual entities of the drawing are selectable.

After inserting the 2D drawings into the graphics window, you need to remove the entities of the drawing that are not used to create the 3D model. For example, the texts and annotations are not used to create the 3D model.