Hello and welcome. Whether you're stepping into the realm of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) for the first time or looking to enhance your skills, AutoCAD remains one of the most commonly used tools for drafting 2D information. This course is designed for beginners who are looking for ways to help build confidence by understanding the fundamentals of the software. The course is set up to enable you to go through the materials at your own pace. We hope you can make the most out of the materials we prepared.
Throughout this course, you will learn the fundamental principles of AutoCAD, from navigating the interface to creating complex 2D shapes. You will also learn how to create a drawing from scratch and refine details to make it up to standard for printing and communicating the information with other people. Besides understanding the applications of the software, you will go through the typical workflow of drafting to ensure files are organised neatly to be distributed and disseminated. By the end of the course, you should be confident to produce an annotated PDF and an AutoCAD file from a sketch independently.
The course is in 2 lessons. Here are the learning outcomes for lessons 1 and 2, respectively.
- Lesson 1
- What is AutoCAD?
- Why and when do we use AutoCAD?
- Understanding the interface?
- Understanding the workflow of drafting
- Basic commands and workflow to trace and draft an object
- Lesson 2
- Overview of setting up your drawing
- Annotations
- Setting up the PDF for exporting your drawing
- Styling & Hatches
- Exporting your drawing
- AutoCAD is proprietary software developed by Autodesk. If you wish to purchase a license, you can find more information here. The software is available for a 14-day free trial. You could download a trial veresion of the software before committing to buy the license.
- If you are a student or staff member of a higher education institution, you can download a free academic version. Instructions on how to do so can be found here.
- If you are a student or staff member of the University of Edinburgh, you can also download it directly from the Software Centre. Further instructions are available via this link.
AutoCAD does not require a highly-spec computer to run smoother in general. However, if the file has multiple references, the performance is likely to be slowed down. Autodesk does provide recommendations for specification. Hope this is useful
We hope you find the materials useful to set your foot into drafting 2D information conveniently. So, let's hop into the software. Happy CAD-ing!