Learn about the correct use and settings of drafting tools in AutoCAD, specifically when creating a floor plan. This piece provides step-by-step instructions and tips to ensure precision in your drafting process.
Key Insights
- The instruction explores drafting tools in AutoCAD and emphasizes the importance of correct tool settings, such as turning off dynamic input and only having endpoint and midpoint as running object snaps.
- The article provides detailed steps on creating walls in a floor plan, including setting the offset distance and using the explode command to separate rectangles into lines.
- The guide also discusses drawing and positioning the middle wall, using offset to create symmetrical lines, and how to use the trim function to clean up your floor plan.
Note: These materials offer prospective students a preview of how our classes are structured. Students enrolled in this course will receive access to the full set of materials, including video lectures, project-based assignments, and instructor feedback.
In this video, we will continue with the walls for our floor plan. Before we get started, let's make sure that we have the appropriate drawing tools or drafting tools shown in our model.
You will notice that I have some snaps and drafting tools on from our previous workflows. I will go down to my drafting tool section and turn off polar tracking, and I will turn off object snap tracking, and turn off any other drafting tools you might have enabled. Most importantly, I am working with dynamic input turned off. If you do not see the dynamic input option, please click your hamburger menu, ensure that the dynamic input button is visible, and confirm that it is turned off.
Additionally, please ensure that you only have 'Endpoint' and 'Midpoint' enabled as your running object snaps. Remember, it might be confusing to have additional running object snaps enabled while working on such a simple model. You can always enable more object snaps when you're more comfortable, but you can also access the available object snaps by using Shift + Right-Click and selecting from the pop-up menu.
For now, let's get started with our walls. Remember to check your handout, and we can see that the exterior walls are three and a half inches thick. This means most of our walls, unless stated otherwise, will be three and a half inches thick.
So I will use the Offset command, and remember, we need to input an offset distance. This distance is 3.5. Enter, and I will click my rectangle, offset it to the inside, and press ENTER to confirm I'm done. The next step is the same as in our previous project: we will explode our rectangles.
If I were to offset these lines further, it would create a rectangle, and there are no additional inside rectangles needed for this project. So I will use the Explode command. It will prompt me to select objects. I will select these one and two and press ENTER. Now, my lines have been exploded.
Next, let's create the middle wall. In this case, drawing the line for the middle wall from midpoint to midpoint remains the most efficient method. I'll use the Line command. I'll zoom in, find the midpoint triangle snap, click, then go to the other side, snap to the interior face of the wall, find the midpoint, and click again. Once my line is drawn, I'll move my mouse away and press ENTER to confirm I'm done.
Remember, in the last course, we used our calculator tool to determine that half of three and a half inches is 1.75 inches. Now we can offset our line up by 1.75 inches and down by 1.75 inches. Let's use the Offset command, enter 1.75, and press ENTER. I'll click on the line, offset it upwards, and click. I'll click on the bottom line, offset it downwards, and click, then press ENTER to confirm I'm done.
I'll zoom in, select the middle line, press Delete, and like we did in the last course, I will select the inner edge to ensure that the midpoint grip is positioned between the two lines. If your midpoint grip is on one of your lines, it means you either offset it up twice or down twice. I recommend undoing and trying the workflow again.
While zoomed in, I will trim these lines, so I will use the Trim command. I'll select this small edge here, zoom out, pan over, zoom back in, and select this edge here. Press ENTER to confirm I'm done with trimming, then Zoom Extents, and press Control-S to save.
