department of landscape digital design and communication .../file/workshop_1.pdf · department of...

Digital Design and Communication Teaching (DiDACT)Department of LandscapeA

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INTRODUCTION:

In this workshop we will look at the basics of Autocad 2011, including: HowtoopenanewAutocadfile SettingupyourAutocadworkspace Drawing simple lines to scale Howtosaveyourwork

Proposed seating(600 x 1800 x 450mm)

Proposed turf

Proposed hedge - Buxus sempervirens(planting position centres marked)

Paving

FVLi

Li

FVMpMpOb

Ov

ObTv

MoFVMoMp

ObRo

Ro

5m

6m

10m

2m 20m

Proposed planting -Miscanthus sinensis

Site BoundaryProposed treeplanting -Betula utilisvar. jacquemontii

Proposed planting -Eupatorium purpureumsubspp. maculatum'Atropurpureum'

Proposed planting -Salvia nemorosa'Amethyst'

Proposed planting -Filipendula rubra'Venusta'

Proposed planting -Origanum'Rosenkuppel'

Proposed herb planting -See Notes, TABLE 1Drawing number L101

Drawing Name:

Smith Residence

Drawing Number:L101

Drawing Scale:1:100@A3

TABLE 1: Herb species:

3x Foeniculum Vulgare2x Lavandula x intermedia2x Melissa officinalis3x Mentha piperta3x Ocimum basilcum2x Origanum vulgare1x Rosmarinus officinalis1x Thymus vulgaris

Proposed Plan

Plants to be planted in position shown

FVLiMoMpObOvRoTv

NotesKey:

OUTCOMES OF WORKSHOPS:

These Workshops are designed tobeasimpleintroductiontoAutocad 2011, with the eventual outputbeingaverysimplegarden design similar to the one opposite (Image 1).

Theideaistogetyoufamiliarwith the basic tools and workings of what is a useful but complex programme.

The design opposite is a simple garden design drawn in Autocad,andbyfollowingtheseWorkshopsyouwillbeabletocreate something similar, with each one building towards the finisheddesign.ItisthereforeadvisedthatyoufollowtheseWorkshops in sequence to get the most from them.

Image 1


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HOW TO OPEN A NEW AUTOCAD DRAWING: DoubleclickontheAutocadicononyourcomputer Closethe“WelcomeScreen”ifoneappears,andyoushould be faced with a screen similar to Image 2 on the right. This is thestandard2011workspacesetup.However,itdoesnotaccuratelyreflectthesetupofpreviousversionsofAutocadwhicharestillusedinlandscapeofficesandwhichyoumaywellencounterintheworkplace.Forthisreason,weneedtochangethelayoutbygoingto: 2DDraftingandAnnotation>AutocadClassic(asinImage3)

This will setup the screen in the classic Autocad workspace from whichyoucanstartworking(seenextpage).

Image 2

Image 3


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You should now be faced with a screen similar to Image 4 - the “Classic”Autocadworkspace.Thenextstepistoedititsothatyouhavetheusefulandregularlyusedtoolseasilyavailabletoyou. Firstlyclosethe“ToolsPalettes”and“SmoothMesh”boxes(seeImage4)byclickingonthewhitecrossattheendoftheboxes.

NextclickonthePropertiesicon(Image5)oralternativelyhold

“Ctrl” and “1”

ThiswillbringupthePropertiesBox(Image6),whichisaveryusefulmeansofeditingdifferentpartsofyourdrawingandforfindingoutinformationaboutpartsofyourworksuchastheareaofashapeandthelayerthattheshapeorobjectisin.

Youmaywanttodragthisboxtothelefthandsideofyourpagebyitsgreytitlebarsothatitdoesn’thoveroverthedrawingspace(see Image 7 on the next page).

Image 4 - Autocad classic screen including Smooth Mesh and Tools Palettes Boxes

Image 5 - Properties icon

NB/ Ifyou’renotsurewhataniconortooldoes,youcanhoverthecursoroveritforafewsecondsanditwillgiveyouinformationonitsfunctionandquickkeysforusingit.

Image 6 - Properties Box


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Image7belowillustratesthebasicworkspacelayoutyoushouldnowhave.Theblackareaofthescreenislikeyourpaper,youdrawontothisusingdifferenttoolswithinAutocad.Itisreferredtoasthe“Model”spaceandisintheoryinfinitelybig.

NotetheCommandBoxatthebottomofthescreen-thisiswherealltheactionsyoudoinAutocadarerecorded-youcanseeitsays“command:_properties”initasthatwasthelastactionwedidintheprogramme(openingthepropertiesboxandmovingit).Itwillalsopromptyouwithwhatyouwanttodonext(seeWorkshop2formore details in drawing shapes)

AlsonotethecompassinthetoprighthandoftheModelspace.Thiswillpointto“North”inyourdrawingandisparticularyusefulwhenyoubringinOrdnanceSurverydata to work on.

Image 7 - Workspace

NB/ Everyonehasdifferentwaysofsettingup their workspace. This setup should provide youwitheasyaccesstotoolsandfunctionsinAutocad that are most useful, however, once youfeelmoreconfidentinAutocad,youshouldset up the workspace inawaythatyoufeelisbestforyourpurposes.


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SET THE CORRECT UNITS IN YOUR DRAWING:

Thisisveryimportanttodoasitwillaffectthedimensionsandscaleofallyourdrawings.Yousimplygoto:

Format>Units

andtheboxinImage8willappear.Thedefaultsettingsshouldbecorrectbutyouneedtomakesurethattheunitsaresettomillimetersbyclickingonthe“InsertionScale”pulldownmenuandchoosing millimeters. Also choose “Decimal” and “Decimal Degrees” forthe“Length”and“AngleTypes”respectivelyandsettheprecisionto 0.000.

Thismeansthatnoweverythingyoudrawwillbeinmillimeters.Thereasons this unit is chosen over other, perhaps easier units such as metres are: Itmeansyoucandrawatarangeofscalesfromlargemasterplanningtosmallconstructiondetailsinthesamedrawing Scaling drawings to print is easier (see Workshop 4) Millimetersareoftenusedwhenmeasuringdimensionsondrawingssoit’susefultogetintothehabitofworkingtothem. Itisoftenthestandardtodrawinmillimetersinlandscapepractices.

However,thisdoestakesomegettingusedto-forexampleifyouwantedtodrawa1mlineyouwouldhavetotype1000intothecommandline.A5mlinewouldbe5000,20mwouldbe20000,a0.1m line would be 100 and so on.

Thebestthingtodoispractice,sothenextstepistohaveagodrawing lines and shapes...

Image 8 - Drawing Units

NB/ ForvariousprojectsyoudoatuniandinworkyoumayberequiredtobringinOrdnanceSurveyDatafromDigimap(seeonlineresourcesforinstructionsondownloadingdatafromDigimap).Thedatayoudownloadwillbeinmeters,whichmeansthatitwillneedscalinguptosuitthedrawingsetupyouhavehere.Thisiseasytodo;justselecteverythinginthedownloadedOrdnanceSurveydrawing(makingsureallyourLayersareon-seeWorkshop2forLayers)goingtoEdit>Selectallorbyclickingthecursorinthetoprighthandareaofthedrawingandthendraggingitoverallthedrawingandclickingagaininthetopleftofthedrawing.Thentype:

“S” rtn, “0,0,0” rtn “1000” rtn

Thisisbasicallyscalingthewholedrawingby1000sothatitisnowinmillimeters.The0,0,0isthepointfromwhichyouscalethedrawing,andmaybethoughtofasthebottomleftofthedrawingwhere the “X and Y axis” is.


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DRAW POLYLINES:

ApolylineispossiblythemostfrquentlyusedtoolinAutocad-itissimplyalineorseriesoflinesthatyoucandrawtoformtheplans,sections,detailsetcthatyouneed.Itcanbedrawntoscale,haveanynumberofpointsandformcurvedorstraightlines.Commonexamplesfortheuseofpolylinesisdrawingpathsinplans,andwholeconstructiondetails.

Youcanclickonitsicon(Image9)tostartusingitorsimplytype:

“PL” and press rtn

intothecommandline(youdonothavetoactivelyclickontothecommandlinetostarttyping-anythingyoutypewillautomaticallyappear in it and the text box next to the cursor).

Thecommandlinewillthenaskyouto“specifyastartpoint”-i.e.whereyouwanttostartthelinefrom.Aswehavenospecificpointstostartfromatthemoment,youcanclickanywhereinthemodelspaceanditwillstarttheline,andaskyouto“specifiythenextpoint”.Youcankeepondoingthisuntilyouhavedrawntheshapeyouwant,andthenpressthe“escape”buttononyourkeyboardtostopdrawingtheline.

Becausewehavesettheunitstomillimeters,wecanstartdrawingaccuratedistances-startapolylineagainbutthistime,whenitasksyouto“specifiythenextpoint”,typeinadistancelike4000(i.e.4m)andpressreturn.Thelinedrawnwillbeexcatly4minthedirectionthecursorwashovering,soifyouwerehoveringitdirectlyaboveyourstart point, it will draw 4m north. You can control the angle it draws atbyspecifyingtheangleinthecommandline.Youdothisbytypingthedistancefollowedbytheangle;soifyouwanteda4mlineat45degrees(i.enorth-east)youwouldtype:

“PL”andpressrtn,thenspecifythefirstpointonthescreen,thentype“@4000<45”andpressreturn

Trydoingthisnow,withdifferentdistancesandangles,togetthehangof it.

Image 9 - Polyline icon

Image 10 - Drawing Polylines NB/ Ifyou’rehavingtroubleseeingthewholedrawingyoucan “zoomextents”whichiswhereyouzoomouttosee everythinginyourModelspace.Justtype: “Z” and press rtn, then “E” and press rtn


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NB/ If at any time you make a mistake or want to undo what you’ve done, simply hold: “Ctrl” and “Z” together like you would in any other programme. This can undo as many actions as you want it to and can be very useful!

You’llnoticealotofcontrollingforcesondrawingthelines-itwilltrytogodirectlyhorizontalandvertical,andmaytrytojoinor“snap”topartsofotherlinesdrawn.Thesearetoolsdesignedtohelpyoudrawaccuratelyandquicklybutcanbeabitannoyingatfirst.Theycanbeturnedonandoffandtheirsettingsalteredverysimply.

BelowtheCommandBarareaseriesofsymbolsthatrelatetodifferentcontrollingfactorsonyourdrawing(seeImage11).Fornow,itisbesttoturnmostoftheseoff(byclickingthemsothattheyaregreyincolour).

PolarTrackingmaybeonethatyouwanttoleaveonasitisveryusefulfordrawingstraighthorizontalandverticallinesquickly.

ObjectSnapcanalsobeveryuseful.Itmeansthatwhenyou’redrawingormovinganobject,itwillautomaticallysnaptokeypointsinyourdrawing,liketheendormiddleoflines.Itssettings(i.e.whatyousnapto)canbeeditedbyrightclickingovertheSnapsymbolandclickingon“Settings”.AboxwillthenappearliketheoneinImage11.itisprobablybesttoun-checkalltheboxesapartfrom“Endpoint”,“Midpoint”,“Centre”,“Intersection”,and“Perpendicular”.Butyoucanalwayschangethisifyoufindyouneeddifferentsettings.

Image 12 - Object Snap

Image 11

TASK: UsingthePolylinetool,trydrawing: Asquarewithsides4.5mx4.5m Arectanglewithsides2mx13.75m Arightangledtrianglewitha45cmbase Anequilateraltrianglewithsides7500mmlong


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DRAWING ARCS:

Thepolylinetoolissogoodbecauseit’ssoversatile.Itcannotonlydrawlinestospecificlengthsandanglesbutalsoarcs.Thisissimplydonebystartingyourpolylineandspecifyingthefirstpointandthen,whenitsays“specifynextpointor(Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width):”(seeImage13)type:

“A” and press return - A is the “Arc” command.

Thenextandsubsequentpartsofyourlinewillbearcshapes.Theymayseemtogetoutofcontrolandarcindirectionsthatyoudon’twantthemto.Don’tworry,youcancontrolthedirectiontheyarcinbytyping:

“A” and pressing return, then “D” and return,

thecommandbarwillthenaskyouto“specifythedirection”whichyoudoonthescreenbyclickinganypointinthedirectionyouwantthearcto go.

Alternativelyonceyou’vedrawnyouarc/arcsandstoppeddrawing(bypressing“Escape”onthekeyboard)youcanclickontothelineyou’vedrawn. You will see blue squares appear at end points of each segment ofthewholeobjectandatthemiddlepointsofthearcs.Ifyouclickononeofthesebluesquaresyoucanchangetheangleofthearcormovethelinepointtodifferentspots.

Whenyou’vefinishedwiththearctool(forexampleifyouweredrawingacurveinstraightpathorroad)justtype:

“L” and press return -

thiswillreturnthepolylinetooltodrawingstraightlines.

Image 13 - Drawing Arcs

SUMMARY: Drawingapolyline: Type:PLandpressrtn Thenclickthestartpointonthescreenandthenspecifysubsequentpoints

Drawingaploylineatcertainlengths: Type:PLandpressrtn Clickyourstartpointthentypethedistanceyouwantandhoverthecursorinthe directionyouwantthelinetogo.

Drawingapolylineatacertainlengthandangle: TypePLandpressrtn Clickthestartpointofthelinethentype:“@distance<angle”

Drawingapolylinewitharcorarcs: TypePLandpressrtn Clickyourstartpointthentype“A”andpressrtnandthenspecifythenextpointor type“D”andclickinthegeneraldirectionyouwantthearctogoandthenclick whereyouwantthesecondpartofthearctoland. TypeLwhenyouwanttodrawstarightlinesagain

Press“escape”buttontostopdrawing.


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SAVING YOUR WORK:

Havingcreatedyourdrawingandworkedinit,itisveryimportanttosaveitandthencontinuallysaveitasyouwork.Itisalsorecomendedthatyousavethefiletoavarietyofsourcestoensureyouhavebackups.

Saving is simple. Go to:

File>SaveAs

andthenchoosealocationtosavethework.Itissuggestedforthepurposeoftheseworkshopsthatyoucreatea“Autocad”Folderinyouruniversityaccountharddriveandsaveallworkinthat,soyouknowwhereitis.

SavethegardendrawinghereandopenthiswhenyouarestartingWorkshop2.

TASK:

Startdrawingtheoutlineofthegardendesign;thiswillinvolveusingthepolylinetooltothedimesionsspecifiedinImage14below.Savethisdrawingas“Garden”(seebelow for saving).

10m

12m

2m

6m 20m

Image 14 - Basic design dimensions

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