CMU School of Drama


Friday, September 09, 2016

Basics of AutoCAD Dimensions

Hitchhiker’s Guide: When we talk about the basics of AutoCAD dimensions, we’re really talking about the basic components of AutoCAD dimensions. First of all, there are many dimensioning styles that specify different arrowhead types, lineweights, text placement, tolerances, and so on. With the Dimension Style Manager, you specify the dimension settings that you want to use.

3 comments:

Zara Bucci said...

I was initially so bad at AutoCAD and was lost when it came to the names of commands and tools and the different functions that each possessed. As cheesy as it sounds, the only way that I got better was to practice in a low stress environment. I am happy to say that I am now a pro at the program and used it almost exclusively in my summer position this past summer with Lightswitch on international themed attractions. Computer Automated drawing is so important and crucial for someone going into the scenic/ lighting/ architecture, and even in some cases costumes fields. It was little videos and articles like this one- along with practice, that helped me learn and feel comfortable with the program. After using it for an entire summer I am comfortable to list it on my resume as a skill that I can for sure use. Now, Revit is another story..

Daniel Silverman said...

I don’t think there’s anything new or particularly exciting in this article or the accompanying video. I think that there are more interesting tips when it comes to dimensioning. What I think this article does well is talk about adjusting dimensions once they have been placed in a drawing. While there may not be a lot of adjustments available once a dimension has been placed, the ones that exist are incredibly helpful. The video also does a good, but not great job, in explaining how one command, the DIM command, can be used in a variety of ways while dimensioning a drawing. The article talked about the different types of dimensions covered by the DIM command, but the video didn’t covered how to implement each of these types. While I consider myself to be a pretty decent AutoCAD user and don’t need some of these basic tips, I still appreciate them and never know when I’m going to find something that I will find incredibly useful.

Emily Lawrence said...

For someone who is just beginning to comprehend dimensions in AutoCAD, I am very grateful for this article and the basics that it provided. On the practice mastery exam that I recently took, dimensions were my biggest point eater for some reason. I knew how to create them and get them on the page, but I completely forgot how to edit them and put them in the location I wanted them to be. I am glad that this video showed the different ways in which one could use the dimension tool, rather than showing it in the one way that the creator of the article or video likes to use. I also take away from this video that there is a way to pre-determine the size of your numbers can be when creating dimensions. When I get the chance I am going to try to find the setting that allows you to have the dimension look you want before creating the project. This video was very useful for people who have very little experience, but I can image it is too repetitive for those who have worked with it for years.