Getting Started with DraftSight

Joao Santos

• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781782160243
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: CAD-CAM
• Index: Computer Science

In Detail

Computer-aided design (CAD) uses computer systems to assist in the creation, modification, and analysis of a design. DraftSight is a 2D computer-aided design (CAD) software application. DraftSight includes all the main tools to draft with precision, and it works with DWG files, the most popular CAD file type. It runs on a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Getting Started with DraftSight addresses all the main phases for executing and printing a mechanical project. These concepts and commands can easily be applied to other areas. Beginning with the very basic concepts, and going through all the necessary drawing steps, you will finish by printing a full scale mechanical drawing. The illustrative examples will help you understand the design process and teach you how to utilize DraftSight features in your mechanical design projects.

You will start with an overview of the mechanical design process, which will help you understand the different commands, tools, and tasks involved in DraftSight projects. You will then proceed to executing all the phases of the design process. This includes setting up a drawing, drawing and editing with precision, organizing with layers, and finally obtaining valid information from the drawing. Furthermore, you will also learn to apply fills, patterns, and dimensions, and the process of defining and printing sheets.

With "GettingStarted with DraftSight" you will learn how to specify and document parts and print drawings with the help of DraftSight. Towards the end of this book you will be introduced to some advanced concepts like additional layer commands, and methods to reference other drawings or images, which can be very useful when dealing with complex projects.

Approach

Packed with illustrations and step-by-step guidelines, this book will serve as a guide for DraftSight and get you up and running with it!

Who this book is for

Getting Started with DraftSight is for anyyone who wants to create accurate 2D drawings in the DWG file format. It is also a great resource for architectural, engineering, or design professionals and students. The reader needs to have basic knowledge of CAD.

Getting Started with DraftSight

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Table of Contents

Getting Started with DraftSight

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

www.PacktPub.com

Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more

Why Subscribe?

Free Access for Packt account holders

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code and graphics

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Introduction to DraftSight

Downloading and starting DraftSight

Understanding the user interface

Configuring DraftSight

Starting and setting up a drawing

Starting a drawing

Setting up a drawing

Opening, saving, and closing drawings

Summary

2. Drawing with Precision

Defining coordinates

Absolute coordinates

Relative Cartesian coordinates

Relative polar coordinates

Drawing lines and deleting

Drawing lines

Selecting and deleting

Graphical auxiliary tools

Ortho and Polar

Entity snaps

Entity snap tracking

Snap and Grid

Visualization tools

Exercise 2.1

Summary

3. Starting to Create Projects

Drawing circles and arcs

Drawing rectangles and polygons

Selecting entities

Moving, copying, and reflecting

Rotating and scaling

Offsetting and stretching

Trimming and extending

Filleting and chamfering

Exercise 3.1

Summary

4. Structuring Projects and Following Standards

Creating and managing layers

The layer list

The LAYER command

Filtering layers

Applying colors, linestyles, and lineweights

Applying colors

Applying linestyles

Applying lineweights

Exercise 4.1

Summary

5. Inquiring Projects and Modifying Properties

Measuring distances and angles

Measuring areas

Obtaining coordinates

Verifying and modifying properties

Exercise 5.1

Summary

6. Creating Complex Projects

Creating text styles and applying text

Creating polylines

Creating multiple equally spaced copies

Creating other entities

Creating tables and table styles

Joining, lengthening, and breaking the entities

Exercise 6.1

Summary

7. Creating and Applying Components

Creating components (blocks)

Inserting components

Exporting components

Editing components

Applying attributes

Cleaning the drawing

Exercise 7.1

Summary

8. Applying Fills and Patterns

Applying patterns

The Predefined and Custom types

User-defined type

Pattern origin

Boundary definition

Other options

Applying gradients

Editing fills and patterns

Exercise 8.1

Summary

9. Documenting Projects

Creating linear dimensions

Creating angular dimensions

Dimensioning arcs and circles

Ordinate dimensions and leaders

Editing dimensions

Creating and managing dimension styles

Exercise 9.1

Summary

10. Printing Efficiently

Creating and managing sheets for printing

Configuring sheets

Creating and managing print styles

Creating viewports

Adjusting viewport visualization, scale, and layers

Previewing and printing

Exercise 10.1

Summary

11. Advanced Tools

Referencing external drawings and images

Managing and linking external drawings and images

Clipping external drawings and images

Advanced layer commands

Exercise 11.1

Summary

Index

Getting Started with DraftSight

Copyright © 2013 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

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Table of contents

• Getting Started with DraftSight