Autocad 2D dimensioning

by Design Workshop Sydney

Jul8

When the drawing is complete we would add dimensioning. This is an easy process which we demonstrate in full in our Autocad 2D training courses.autocad-2d-dimensioning
First of all, make sure you add your dimensions on a different coloured layer: a dark colour which will print clearly like blue is best. The general rule is to add your dimensions in Model Space for a single view port window in your paper sheet layout, but an exception to this is if you have several view port windows in your paper sheet layout and you want all your dimensions to be of equal size. In this case you would go to a paper layout and add your dimensions in Paper Space with a Dimension Scale factor of the default 1.
Following the usual practice of adding dimensions in Model Space the arrows and numbers may appear too small relative to the objects drawn. If so type dimscale into the Command line, and change the default scale factor of 1 to a higher number, for example 50 or 100 for a building floor plan. Alternatively, go to the Annotations tab and choose the Dimension Style small arrow button. Then click on the Text tab and change the Text Height from 2.5 to 5, etc.
Now we are ready to add our dimensions. Go to the Dimension drop-down list and choose Linear – this works for both horizontal and vertical lengths. Press Enter to repeat the command. Dimension > Angular works for angles. Dimension > Aligned measures lengths of lines which sit at an angle. Dimension > Ordinate is measured from a specified base point, like a fence post.
For engineering drawings Tolerances and Limits are also available. Dimension > Continue and Baseline are also worth looking at, but you need to create the first Linear dimension, then apply the rest with Continue or Baseline.
You may notice at this point that the decimal number uses a comma as a separator, in the European style. To change the decimal separator to a period, go to Annotations > Dimension Style (the small arrow), select Modify and on the Primary Units tab change the Decimal Separator from Comma to Period > OK > Close. In the Dimension Style dialog box you also have many choices for the arrow size, text and tolerances, etc. You may also save styles here for future use.
More information on all features of the program can be found at the AutoDesk website. And see many examples of our clients’ work on our Facebook page.
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