AutoCAD is an extremely versatile tool when it comes to CAD detailing. Having been around for many years it has some of the strongest capabilities when it comes to creating your detail work like text, dimension, tables etc.
To access the dimension tools you can either find the Dimension panel on the Home tab or the Annotation tab.
Here we will find the new and older ways of dimensioning. The old way that you are probably used to is the following
- Linear – creates a length dimension either horizontally or vertically
- Aligned – create a length dimension aligned to a sloped line or points
- Angular – specifies the angle between to non parallel lines
- Arc Length – the length of an arc
- Diameter – specifies the diameter of an arc or circle
- Radius – specifies the radius of an arc or circle
- Jogged – allows you to create an override for the centre point of a really big arc (think satellite dish)
- Ordinate – specifies co-ordinates of lines and points from a specified 0,0 origin point
The new way of creating dimensions allows you to dimension as you would in a parametric software package like Inventor.
The quick dimension tool allows you to create dimensions depending on what geometry you select and in what order.
- Linear/Aligned – select the line and depending where you move your cursor it will give a vertical, horizontal or aligned dimension
- Angular – select 2 non parallel lines
- Diameter – select a circle
- Radius – select an arc
With the new dimension tool you do not spend as much time moving your cursor from ribbon to drawing area to complete your detailing.
