3DCADResources

Making a paper clip scene - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-30T03:29:00.000-07:00

This 3ds Max tutorial on making a paper clip scene using reactor was created by Richard on 23 Jun 2008 and published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Making a paper clip scene - Tutorial for beginners

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Creating Incandescent Light Bulb using SolidWorks

2008-06-22T04:34:00.000-07:00

This SolidWorks tutorial on creating incandescent light bulb was created by Dhanush Kumar on 21 Jun 2008 and published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Creating Incandescent Light Bulb using SolidWorks

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How to turn on or off display of text?

2008-06-22T04:29:00.000-07:00

This AutoCAD short tutorial explains about how to turn on or off display of text, was created by Ricky on 19 Jun 2008.

To turn on or off display of text go to "Tools" and click on "Options" from the list as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

When "Options" dialog box appears click on "Display" tab as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

In "Display Performance" pan check "Show text boundary frame only" as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

For the changes to come into effect you have to go to "View" menu and click on "Regen" as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

I have posted two images before and after making changes on text display. Figure 5 is the one before turning off the display of text and figure 6 if the one after turning off the display.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Creating classic orange button using Adobe Photoshop

2008-06-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on creating classic orange button was by Sabina on 7 Jun 2008 and published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Creating classic orange button using Adobe Photoshop

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Creating text animation with disco effect using Adobe Photoshop

2008-06-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on creating text animation with disco effect was by Samantha on 7 Jun 2008 and published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Creating text animation with disco effect using Adobe Photoshop

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Creating Medieval themed button using Adobe Photoshop

2008-06-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on creating medieval themed button was by Richard on 7 Jun 2008 and published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Creating Medieval themed button using Adobe Photoshop

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Creating Pink Punk Text using Adobe Photoshop

2008-06-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on creating pink punk text was by Richard on 7 Jun 2008 and published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Creating Pink Punk Text using Adobe Photoshop

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Where is material option while rendering 3D solid part in AutoCAD 2006?

2008-06-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

This AutoCAD tip on rendering 3D solid part was submitted by Ricky on 04 June 2008. If in AutoCAD 2006 the 3D solid part appears monochrome black or grey shaded with no differentiation between materials, to make it display a rendered image which could be freely rotated in the model viewport, go to "Tools" menu and click on "Options", when "Options" dialog box appears click on "System" tab and under "3D Graphics System Configuration" click on "Properties" button as shown in figure 1. When a new "3D Graphics System Configuration" dialog box appears, there you have check "Render options" and "Enable Materials" check box as shown in figure 2.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Human Character Modeling - Face

2008-06-03T04:28:00.000-07:00

This 3ds max tutorial on creating human face is submitted by zelal and Prince Rajput on 30 May 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Human Character Modeling - Face

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Human Character Modeling - Ear

2008-06-03T04:24:00.000-07:00

This 3ds max tutorial on creating a human ear was submitted by zelal and Prince Rajput on 30 May 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Human Character Modeling - Ear

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Human Character Modeling - Hand

2008-06-03T04:21:00.000-07:00

This 3ds max tutorial on creating human hand was submitted by zelal and Prince Rajput on 30 May2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Human Character Modeling - Hand

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How to make the shaded polys in maya transparent?

2008-06-03T04:18:00.000-07:00

This Autodesk Maya tip was submitted by Callahan on 02 Jun 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to make the shaded polys in maya transparent?

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How to reposition a object's pivot point?

2008-06-03T04:17:00.000-07:00

This 3ds max tip was submitted by Callahan on 02 Jun 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to reposition a object's pivot point?

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How to get rid of all textures in a scene?

2008-06-03T04:15:00.001-07:00

This 3ds max tip was submitted by Callahan on 10 Dec 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to get rid of all textures in a scene?

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How to make renderable splines with variable radius?

2008-06-03T04:14:00.000-07:00

This 3ds max tip was submitted by Callahan on 10 Dec 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to make renderable splines with variable radius?

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Wireframe problem

2008-06-03T04:13:00.002-07:00

This 3ds max tip was submitted by Callahan on 03 Dec 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Wireframe problem

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Alpha Channel?

2008-06-03T04:13:00.001-07:00

This 3ds max tip was submitted by Callahan on 03 Dec 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Alpha Channel?

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Contour shaders

2008-06-03T04:12:00.000-07:00

This 3ds max tip was submitted by Callahan on 03 Dec 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Contour shaders

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How to lock rotation?

2008-06-03T04:01:00.000-07:00

This 3ds max tip was submitted by Callahan on 03 Dec 2008 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to lock rotation?

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How to add brushes?

2008-06-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tip was submitted by Web Master on 8 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to add brushes?

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How to change the size of the work canvas?

2008-06-03T03:58:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tip was submitted by Web Master on 06 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to change the size of the work canvas?

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How to Rotate or flip entire image?

2008-06-03T03:57:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tip was submitted by Web Master on 06 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to Rotate or flip entire image?

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How to resize a batch of image files?

2008-06-03T03:53:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tip was submitted by Web Master on 06 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to resize a batch of image files?

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How to use Adobe Photoshop to add water drops on a picture

2008-06-03T03:51:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial creating water drops effect was submitted by Sabina on 10 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

How to use Adobe Photoshop to add water drops on a picture

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Retouching eyes in Photoshop

2008-06-03T03:49:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on photo retouching is created and submitted by Sabina on 10 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Retouching eyes in Photoshop

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Creating realistic cloud effect in Photoshop

2008-06-03T03:46:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on creating realistic cloud effect was submitted by Sabina on 10 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Creating realistic cloud effect in Photoshop

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Beautify a face in Adobe Photoshop

2008-06-03T03:44:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on photo editing is created and submitted by Sabina on 10 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Beautify a face in Adobe Photoshop

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Adding a rainbow to a picture using Adobe Photoshop

2008-06-03T03:43:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on creating rainbow effect is submitted by Sabina on 10 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Adding a rainbow to a picture using Adobe Photoshop

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Creating an old poster in Photoshop

2008-06-03T03:41:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on creating old poster texture is submitted by Sabina on 06 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Creating an old poster in Photoshop

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Hand coloring a black and white photograph

2008-06-03T03:39:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on photo editing is created and submitted by Samantha on 06 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Hand coloring a black and white photograph

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Inset buttons in smooth metallic navigation bar

2008-06-03T03:36:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on creating inset buttons in smooth metallic navigation bar was submitted by Samantha on 06 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Inset buttons in smooth metallic navigation bar

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Using levels in Photoshop

2008-06-03T03:34:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on photo editing is created and submitted by Sabina on 06 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Using levels in Photoshop

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Making Montages and collages with Photoshop

2008-06-03T03:31:00.000-07:00

This Adobe Photoshop tutorial on creating montages and collages was submitted by Samantha on 06 Dec 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Making Montages and collages with Photoshop

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Modeling a bent pipe - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:33:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on modeling a bent pipe was created and submitted by Narasimha Murthy on 16 Jul 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Modeling a bent pipe - Tutorial for beginners

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Boss - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:31:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a boss on a solid part was created and submitted by Srinath on 31 Mar 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Boss - Tutorial for beginners

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Boss with tapered angle - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:28:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a boss with tapered angle on a solid part was created and submitted by Srinath on 31 Mar 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Boss with tapered angle - Tutorial for beginners

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Hole - Countersink - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:26:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a countersink hole on a solid part was created and submitted by Srinath on 31 Mar 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Hole - Countersink - Tutorial for beginners

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Hole - Counterbore - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:23:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a counterbore hole on a solid part was created and submitted by Srinath on 31 Mar 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Hole - Counterbore - Tutorial for beginners

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Circular instance array - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:17:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a circular instance array on a solid part was created and submitted by Nagaraj on 14 Mar 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Circular instance array - Tutorial for beginners

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Cylindrical Pocket - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:15:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a cylindrical pocket on a solid part was created and submitted by Nagaraj on 14 Feb 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Cylindrical Pocket - Tutorial for beginners

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Pad with tapered angle - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:10:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a pad with tapered angle on a solid part was created and submitted by Narasimha Murthy on 28 Feb 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Pad with tapered angle - Tutorial for beginners

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Revolve - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a solid part using revolve tool, was created and submitted by Narasimha Murthy on 14 Feb 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Revolve - Tutorial for beginners

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Cylindrical Pocket with tapered angle - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:03:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a cylindrical pocket with tapered angle on a solid part was created and submitted by Narasimha Murthy on 14 Feb 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Cylindrical Pocket with tapered angle - Tutorial for beginners

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Rectangular instance array - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T02:01:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a rectagular instance array on a solid part was created and submitted by Nagaraj on 14 Feb 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Rectangular instance array - Tutorial for beginners

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Chamfer – Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T01:58:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a chamfer on a solid part was created and submitted by Ravindra on 18 Jan 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Chamfer – Tutorial for beginners

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Edge Blend – Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T01:56:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a edge blend on a solid part was created and submitted by Ravindra on 18 Jan 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Edge Blend – Tutorial for beginners

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Extrude - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T01:53:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a extruded solid part was created and submitted by Ravindra on 18 Jan 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Extrude - Tutorial for beginners

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Simple Hole - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-03T01:47:00.000-07:00

This Unigraphics NX4 tutorial on creating a simple hole on a solid part was created and submitted by Ravindra on 18 Jan 2007 and was published on one of our website. Follow the below link for more details:

Simple Hole - Tutorial for beginners

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Sheet Metal - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

This step by step illustrated tutorial provides instruction on creating a basic sheet metal part. Follow the below steps for details.

1) Open Inventor as shown in step one to nine in the following link - Core Rod Extension - and draw a rectangle as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) Add constraint to the drawing with general dimension and then edit the dimension as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) Now click on {Use the Styles tool on the Sheet Metal Features toolbar to manage the styles for a sheet metal part. The styles include material type and thickness, bend allowances, bend parameters, and corner relief parameters. Most of these parameters apply to the entire part. You can override some, such as the bend relief, corner relief and unfold methods, on individual features} button in "Sheet Metal Features" panel. When "Sheet Metal Styles" dialog box appears it will be with default values as shown in Figure 3. Let us change the value of thickness to 2.5 mm and change the material to "Brass, Soft Yellow" as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

4) Click on { A face is typically the base feature of a sheet metal part. To start, you sketch a profile that represents the shape of the face, and then you extrude it to create a face. When creating a sheet metal face, you can create a bend between a new face and an existing face. The faces are automatically trimmed or extended as necessary to create the bend. If the faces are parallel, but not coplanar, you can add a double bend. Depending on the distance between the faces, the bends are either trimmed so they are tangent or a new face is created between the two bends. You can also override default sheet metal styles from the Face dialog box as you create your sheet metal face. These settings include how a flat pattern unfolds, and the bend relief settings between faces.} button in "Sheet Metal Features" panel. When "Face" dialog box appears click on "Offset" button as shown in Figure 5. When finished click ok.

Figure 5.

5) Now let us create flange. Click on { Use the Flange tool on the Sheet Metal Features toolbar to add a sheet metal face and a bend to an existing sheet metal face. You can specify the depth and the angle of the flange, and whether it is created inside or outside the existing face. You can also specify the width or offset of the new flange. } button in "Sheet Metal Features" panel. When "Flange" dialog box appears click on "Shape" tab and enter 50 mm for "Distance" and 90.0 deg for "Angle" for "Bend Radius" as shown in Figure 6. When finished click ok.

Figure 6.

6) Now draw a rectangle on the sheet metal with the dimensions as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

7) Click on { A cut removes material from a sheet metal face. You sketch a profile on a sheet metal face and then cut through one or more faces. You can use iFeatures to create a library of punch shapes. Cut features can be used with the Design Element, Mirror, and Pattern tools. You can specify a distance for a cut or it can terminate on a face or work plane. In an assembly, the terminating face or work plane can be on another part. You can also create a cut across a sheet metal bend. Autodesk Inventor temporarily unfolds the sheet metal part so you can sketch the shape to cut on the unfolded face. The cut is correctly formed on the refolded part. } button in "Sheet Metal Features" panel. When "Cut" dialog box appears select the sketch and then select "Distance" and "Thickness" options from the drop down list in "Extents" panel and select the direction of cut as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8.

8) Now let us create work plane -50 mm offset to "XY" plane. Click on button in "Sheet Metal Features" panel. Clicking the "Work Plane" button select "XY" plane and new work plane would be created on "XY" plane drag the work plane to desired location and enter a distance of -50 mm in the Offset edit box. Click the check mark in the edit box to accept the preview and create the offset work plane as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9.

9) Select new work plane and go to sketcher work bench. Draw a rectangle with dimensions as shown in Figure 10 after finished click on button to exit sketcher work bench.

Figure 10.

10) Now click on button and select the sketch as the profile as shown in Figure 11 when finished click ok.

Figure 11.

11) Now let us create another work plane with an offset of -25 mm to the work plane created in step 8 as shown in Figure 12. {Follow the instruction given in step 8 to create an work plane}

Figure 12.

12) Now pick the work plane and go to sketcher work bench by clicking on button. Create a small rectangle a create "Colinear Constraint" by selecting the lines which causes selected lines to lie on the same line. Now select "Face" tool and select the sketch as profile as shown in Figure 13, when finished click ok.

Figure 13.

13) Now let us add flange to the sheet metal as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14.

14) Click on button { You can create bends between sheet metal faces that are intersecting, at an angle, or parallel, but not coplanar. The model edges of the two sheet metal faces must be parallel to create a bend. } in "Sheet Metal Features" panel. When "Bend" dialog box appears enter 5 mm in "Radius" tab and select two edges as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15.

15) Now let us add one bend with 10 mm radius by picking the edges as shown in Figure 16.

Figure 16.

16) Click on { Use the Corner Chamfer tool on the Sheet Metal Features toolbar to add chamfers to one or more corners of a sheet metal part. You can create chamfers defined by a single distance, a distance and angle, or two distances. All chamfers created in a single operation are one feature } button in "Sheet Metal Features" panel. When "Corner Chamfer" dialog box appears enter 10 mm for distance and select two edges as shown in Figure 17. When finished click ok.

Figure 17.

17) Click on { Use the Corner Round tool on the Sheet Metal Features toolbar to add fillets or rounds to one or more corners of a sheet metal part. All fillets and rounds created in a single operation are one feature } button in "Sheet Metal Features" panel. When "Corner Round" dialog box appears enter 25 mm as the radius and select the corners to rounded as shown in Figure 18. When finished click ok.

Figure 18.

18) Now let us create holes. To create a hole we have to create center points on the face of the flange as shown in Figure 19. Now click on button in "Sheet Metal Features" panel. When "Hole" dialog box appears select the center points that we created as the "Placement" and enter 15 mm for hole diameter as shown in Figure 20.

Figure 19.

Figure 20.

19) In the same way as explained above let us create center point in as shown in Figure 21 and then create hole with 25 mm diameter as shown in Figure 22.

Figure 21.

Figure 22.

20) Finally let is create the holes after creating the center points as shown in Figure 23. With center points as the reference let us create holes with 3 mm diameter as shown in Figure 24.

Figure 23.

Figure 24.

21) That is it we have finished creating the sheet metal part as shown in Figure 25. Let us save the part.

Figure 25.

{This Autodesk Inventor 2008 tutorial on creating a simple sheet metal was created and submitted by Edward M. Barnes on 10 Oct 2007}

Modeling Plastic Water Bottle - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

This illustrated step by step tutorial provides instructions on creating a plastic water bottle. Follow the below steps for details.

1) Open Inventor as shown in step one to nine in the following link - Core Rod Extension - and draw a sketch as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) Now let us revolve the sketch. Click on in "Part Features" panel. When "Revolve" dialog box appears select "Join" option and "Full" from "Extents" panel and then select the axis as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) Now let us create shell on the part. Click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Shell" dialog box appears click on "Shell" tab and then select "Inside" and then specify thickness as 1.30 mm. You have to select the face that has to removed as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) Now let us add material to the part. Select "Blue Clear" from color style editor as shown in
Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) Now let us add "Metal-Steel (Knurled)" face color by right click on the face whose color we want to change and selecting "Properties" from the drop down list and then selecting the required color as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

6) Now let us add thread neck of the bottle. Click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Thread" enter the parameters of the thread as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

7) We have finished modeling the plastic water bottle, the resultant water bottle would be as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

{This Autodesk Inventor 2008 tutorial on modeling a plastic water bottle was created and submitted by Edward M. Barnes on 10 Oct 2007}

Modeling Knurled Hex step screw - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

In this step by step illustrated tutorial we are going to create an "Knurled Hex step screw". Follow the below steps for details.

1) Open Inventor as shown in step one to nine in the following link - Core Rod Extension - and draw a circle as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) Let us add constraint to the sketch with general dimension and then edit the dimension as per our requirement as shown in Figure 2, Once finished click on button to exit sketcher work bench.

Figure 2.

3) Let us go to "Isometric" view by going to "View" menu as shown in Figure 3. You can also go to "Isometric" view by just click "F6" key.

4) Click on (Extrude) button in "Part Features" panel. When "Extrude" dialog box appears enter 38 mm as the distance and select the direction as shown in Figure 4. When finished click ok.

Figure 4.

5) Now draw a circle with 19.02 mm diameter on top of the extrude as shown in Figure 5. When finished click ok.

Figure 5.

6) Click on (Extrude) button in "Part Features" panel. When "Extrude" dialog box appears enter 35 mm as the distance and select the direction as shown in Figure 6. When finished click ok.

Figure 6.

7) Now draw another circle with 17.744 mm diameter on top of the extrude as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

8) Click on (Extrude) button in "Part Features" panel. When "Extrude" dialog box appears enter 24.5 mm as the distance and select the direction as shown in Figure 8. When finished click ok.

Figure 8.

9) Now let us draw a polygon at the bottom of the part with the dimension as shown in Figure 9. When finished click ok.

Figure 9.

10) Click on (Extrude) button in "Part Features" panel. When "Extrude" dialog box appears enter 16 mm as the distance and click on "Cut" button and then select the direction as shown in Figure 10. When finished click ok.

Figure 10.

11) Now let us add thread to the part by selecting the top extrusion. Click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Thread" dialog box appears select the parameters as shown in Figure 11. When finished click ok.

Figure 11.

12) Now let us add chamfer at the top of the part. Click on in "Part Features" panel. When "Chamfer" dialog box appears enter 2.5 mm as the distance after selecting "Distance" button for type of chamfer as shown in Figure 12. When finished click ok.

Figure 12.

13) Now let us add fillet between the bottom extrude and the middle one. Click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Fillet" dialog box appears click on "Constant" tab and then select the edge and then enter the a radius of 3mm as shown in Figure 13. When finished click ok.

Figure 13.

14) Now let us add chamfer at the top of the part. Click on in "Part Features" panel. When "Chamfer" dialog box appears enter 3.0 mm as the distance after selecting "Distance" button for type of chamfer as shown in Figure 14. When finished click ok.

Figure 14.

15) Now let us add knurl color to the face of the top extrude of the part. Right click on the top extrude and select "Properties" from the menu as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15.

16) When "Face Properties" dialog box appears select "Metal-Steel (Knurled)" from the drop down list as shown in Figure 16. When finished click ok.

Figure 16.

17) Now let us add color to face of the remaining part of the solid. Right click on other part of the solid and select "Properties" as shown in "Step 14". When "Face Properties" dialog box appears select "Metal-Steel (Oxidized)" from the drop down list as shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17.

18) We have finished creating "Knurled Hex Soc head step screw", the resultant part would be as shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18.

{This Autodesk Inventor 2008 tutorial on modeling knurled hex step screw was created and submitted by Edward M. Barnes on 10 Oct 2007}

Creating Key Holder Parts - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T23:45:00.000-07:00

This tutorial on part creation provides a step by step illustration on creating base part used in a Key holder assembly. Follow the below steps for details.

1) Open Inventor as shown in step one to nine in the following link - Core Rod Extension - and draw a circle as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) Now let us add constraint to the sketch with general dimension and then edit the dimension as per our requirement. Let us change the diameter to 0.375 as shown in Figure 2 and then click on button to exit sketcher work bench.

Figure 2.

3) Now let us go to "Isometric" view by clicking on "View" menu as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) Now click on button. When "Extrude" dialog box appears enter 0.75 inches as the distance and click on "figure102.jpg" so that extrusion will take place on both direction as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) Now let us add "Work Plane". Click on button in "Part Features" panel and then click on "YZ plane" in model tree. Once the new work plane is created you have select the face to define the work plane as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

6) Now let us create a point to drill a hole as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

7) Now click on button in "Part Features" panel and when "Hole" dialog box appears set the diameter as 0.156 inch and select the center point that we created as "Placement" and select "Through All" from "Termination" as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

8) Now let us add top to the key holder. First you have to make a new work plane at an offset distance of 0.375 inch to "XY Plane" and re-offset to 0.25 inches as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8.

9) Now let us add new sketch to the new working plane and constraint it with general dimension and then edit the dimension as per our requirement as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9.

10) Now let us make top of the key holder by using YZ plane. Let us add arc and line and then constrain them with general dimension and then edit the dimension as per our requirement as shown in Figure 10. Click on button to exit sketcher workbench.

Figure 10.

11) Let us go to "Isometric" view and then click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Extrude" dialog box appears select "To" from extents panel and click on "Work plane 3" from model tree as shown in Figure 11 and click ok.

Figure 11.

12) Now let us clean up top of key holder by extrude cutting with out using general dimension as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12.

13) Now let us mirror the extrude cut by picking "YZ" plane as reference as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13.

14) Now let us add drill hole with threads (0.250-20-UNC) at bottom of the key holder as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14.

15) Now add chamfer to the hole as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15.

16) Now let us add "Work Plane" with "XY" plane as reference and with offset distance of -0.375 inch and then re-offset it to 0.25 inch as shown in Figure 16.

Figure 16.

17) Now let us create a sketch on the new working plane that we created and constrain them with the dimensions as shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17.

18) Now let us split the key holder by using "XY" and other two work planes so that we can add knurl material to the key holder as shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18.

19) To improve visibility let us change face color of the split that we just created. Right click on the face of the split and select "Properties" from the menu as shown in Figure 19. When "Face Properties" dialog box appears select "Metal-Steel (Knurled)" from the "Face Color Style" drop down list as shown in Figure 20.

Figure 19.

Figure 20.

20) Now let us add physical material. Right click on the part in model tree and select "iProperties" as shown in Figure 21. When "iProperties" dialog box appears click on "Physical" tab and then select "Nickel-Copper Alloy 400" from "Material" drop down list as shown in Figure 22.

Figure 21.

Figure 22.

21) After you finished applying material the resultant part would be as shown in Figure 23. Save the part as "key holder body part a.ipt".

Figure 23.

22) Now let us save "key holder body part a.ipt" as "key holder body part b.ipt". By making few changes to "key holder body part b.ipt" we will get the Key holder body which would be used as the second part in assembly. Now add a circle at the bottom of the part with 0.188 inch diameter as shown in Figure 24.

Figure 24.

23) Now click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Extrude" dialog box appears enter 0.0625 inch as the distance and click on the direction of extrude as shown in Figure 25. When finished click ok.

Figure 25.

24) Now let us create on more circle with 0.25 inch diameter as shown in Figure 26.

Figure 26.

25) Now click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Extrude" dialog box appears enter 0.25 inch as the distance and click on the direction of extrude as shown in Figure 27. When finished click ok.

Figure 27.

26) Now create one more circle with 0.188 inch diameter as shown in Figure 28.

Figure 28.

27) Now click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Extrude" dialog box appears enter 0.375 inch as the distance and click on the direction of extrude as shown in Figure 29. When finished click ok.

Figure 29.

28) Now add thread (0.250-20-UNC-2A) to the second extrude with diameter 0.25 inch that we created now. When "Thread" dialog box appears enter the parameters for the thread as shown in Figure 30.

Figure 30.

29) Add chamfer at bottom of the part. Click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Chamfer" dialog box appears enter 0.0625 inch as the distance as shown in Figure 31 and click ok.

Figure 31.

30) That is it we have finished doing both the parts required for our assembly. The resultant part would be as shown in Figure 32 . Visit the following link to learn how to assemble the two holders - Key Holder Assembly.

Figure 32.

{This is the first part in the two part tutorial series on creating a key holder using Autodesk Inventor 2008 application which was submitted by Edward M. Barnes on 21 Sep 2007}

Creating Key Holder Assembly - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T23:43:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial we are going to learn how to create an assembly using the two parts that we created in the following link - Creating Key Holder Part - Tutorial for beginner. Follow the steps as shown below:

1) Open Inventor 2008 by double clicking the Icon on your desktop. When "Open" dialog box appears click on "Standard.iam" in default tab and click ok as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) Now we are in new assembly file, let us place the components created in Creating Key Holder Part - Tutorial for beginner. Click on (Place Component) button in "Assembly Panel", you are prompted to locate the part which has to be placed in the assembly work area. Locate the "key holder body part a.ipt" file through the "Open" dialog box which pops up and click on open, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) Once again click on (Place Component) button in "Assembly Panel" . Let us locate the other part that we created in Creating Key Holder Part - Tutorial for beginner and open it as explained in the above step. In Figure 3 you can see that both the parts are placed in the assembly work area.

Figure 3.

4) Click on (Place Constraint) button in "Assembly Panel". When "Place Constraint" dialog box appears select "Insert" as type in "Assembly" tab as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) Now let make the selections as shown in Figure 5 and click ok.

Figure 5.

6) We have finished assembling the two parts as per our requirement and the resultant assembly would be as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

{This is the concluding part in the two part tutorial series on creating a key holder using Autodesk Inventor 2008 application which was submitted by Edward M. Barnes on 1 Sep 2007}

Modeling Hinge Pin - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

This tutorial on part creation provides a step by step illustration on creating a pin used in a hinge assembly. Follow the below steps for details.

1) Open Inventor as shown in step one to nine in the following link - Core Rod Extension - and draw a sketch as as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) Now add constraint to the sketch with general dimension then edit the dimension as per your requirement as shown in Figure 2. After finished click on button to exit sketcher work bench.

Figure 2.

3) Then go to isometric view and then click on button to which opens up "Revolve" property dialog box as shown in Figure 3. Click on "Axis" button and set the revolve "Extents" to "Full" as shown in below image.

Figure 3.

4) The resultant part would be as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) Now click on button in "Part Feature" panel. When "Chamfer"43 dialog box appears select bottom edge of the part and set "Distance" to 0.08 inch as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

6) Now click on button in "Part Feature" panel. When "Fillet" dialog box appears click on "Constant" tab and select top edge of the part and then set the parameters as shown in Figure 6. When finish click ok.

Figure 6.

7) Resultant part would be as shown in Figure 7. Save the part as "Hinge-Pin". See this tutorial learn create hinge base part in the following link - Modeling Hinge Base Part - Tutorial for beginners.

Figure 7.

{This is the first part in the three part tutorial series on creating a hinge using Autodesk Inventor 2008 application which was submitted by Edward M. Barnes on 20 Sep 2007}

Modelin Hinge base part - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

This tutorial on part creation provides a step by step instruction on the development of the base part used in a hinge assembly. Follow the below steps for details.

1) Open Inventor as shown in step one to nine in the following link - Core Rod Extension - and draw a rectangle and construction line and add coincident constraint to the construction line as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) Now add general dimension and then edit those dimensions as shown in Figure 2., and then click on button to exit sketcher work bench.

Figure 2.

3) Now go to isometric view and then click on button. When "Extrude" dialog box opens enter the parameters as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) Now using xy plane draw two circles and lines as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) Add project geometry to the rectangle then you need to trim outside circle and constraint the outside circle to the rectangle as shown in Figure 5 and then edit the dimensions of both the circles as per your requirement as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

6) Go to isometric view and select "Extrude" tool and extrude both way with 1.00 inch depth as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

7) Now let us add a hole on the part. Click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Hole" dialog box appears enter the parameters as shown in Figure 8 and select the top face of the part.

Figure 8.

8) You can see in Figure 9 that a hole is created but we have to use "Reference" tool to position the hole exactly at the required place.

Figure 9.

9) Now click on "Reference 1" and "Reference 2" icon in "Hole" dialog box and then select two edges of the part as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10.

10) Now let us edit the distance from the edges to the center of hole to 0.75 inches as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11.

11) Now click on button in "Pattern Feature" panel. When the "Mirror" dialog box appears select "Mirror Individual Feature" button and then select hole feature from the part as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12.

12) The resultant part with two holes would be as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13.

13) Now let us create on more hole and place the hole on top of the two holes as shown in Figure 14 and save the part as hinge 1.

Figure 14.

14) Now save the same part as hinge 2, by this way we can make other hinge very easily as we need to make only few changes to the existing one. Now let us right click on "Sketch 2" in the model tree and select "Redefine" from the menu as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15.

15) Now click on side face of the part and you can see that the feature has positioned itself to the side face of the part as shown in Figure 16.

Figure 16.

16) Now let us right click on "Extrude2" in model tree and select "Edit Feature" from the menu as shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17.
17) When "Extrude" dialog box appears, click on button and then change the distance to 0.95 inches as shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18.

18) Now click on button from "Pattern Feature" panel. When "Mirror" dialog box appears select the "Extrude2" that we edited and then select "XY Plane" and click ok and the resultant part would be as shown in Figure 19. That is it we have finished creating the base part of an hinge in this tutorial. Let us learn how to create Hinge Pin in the following tutorials - "Modeling Hinge Pin - Tutorial for beginners".

Figure 19.

{This is the part two in the three part tutorial series on creating a hinge using Autodesk Inventor 2008 application which was submitted by Edward M. Barnes on 20 Sep 2007}

Hinge Assembly - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T23:37:00.000-07:00

This tutorial on part creation provides a step by step instruction on creating an assembly using the hinge base parts and hinge pin that we created in the following tutorials - Creating Hinge Base Part and Creating Hinge Pin. Follow the below steps for details.

1) On the Standard toolbar, click the (New) button, select an assembly template, and click OK to create a new file as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) When the assembly file opens click on (Place Component) button in "Assembly Panel". When windows dialog box pops up to locate the component which has to be opened. In this case let us open all the three parts which we created in the following tutorials - Creating Hinge Base Part and Creating Hinge Pin. You can see that all the three parts will be opened in assembly file as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) Now move the parts and place the hinges as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) Now click on (Constraint) button in "Assemble Panel" and when "Place Constraint" dialog box appears click on "Assembly" tab and select "Insert" as type and the selection for mating should be as shown in Figure 4. When finished click ok.

Figure 4.

5) The resultant part would be as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

6) Once again click on (Constraint) button in "Assemble Panel" and when "Place Constraint" dialog box appears select "Assemble" tab and select "Insert" as type and make the selection for mating as shown in Figure 6. When finish click ok.

Figure 6.

7) The resultant Hinge assembly would be as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

{This is the concluding part in the three part tutorial series on creating a hinge using Autodesk Inventor 2008 application which was submitted by Edward M. Barnes on 20 Sep 2007}

Modelin Hair Pin Cotter Pin - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

In this step by step illustrated short tutorial we are going to learn to create a Hair Pin Cotter Pin. Follow the below steps for details.

1) Open Inventor as shown in step one to nine in the following link - Core Rod Extension - and create a sketch as shown in Figure 1. After create the sketch click on button to exit sketcher work bench.

Figure 1.

2) Go to "Isometric View" as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) Now let us create a new work plane by clicking button in "Part Feature" panel. Select XY plane as reference as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) Now let us create a circle on the new work plane as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) Now let us create. Click on button in "Part Features" panel. When "Sweep" dialog box appears select the small circle as profile and the first sketch as the path of sweep as shown in
Figure 5.

Figure 5.

6) Finally we have finished creating "Hair Pin Cotter Pin" as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

{This Autodesk Inventor 2008 tutorial on modeling a hair pin cotter pin was created and submitted by Edward M. Barnes on 19 Sep 2007}

How to open REFEDIT instead of BEDIT when you double click on a block?

2008-06-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

This short AutoCAD tip on REFEDIT was submitted by Ricky on 22 Oct 2007. If you set BLOCKEDITLOCK to 0 then it Disallows opening of the Block Editor and editing of dynamic block definitions, where as if you set it to 1 double-clicking a dynamic block in a drawing opens the "Reference Edit dialog box". If the block contains attributes, double-clicking the block reference opens the "Enhanced Attribute Editor".

How to change the display size of point objects?

2008-06-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

This short AutoCAD tip was submitted by Ricky on 10 Oct 2007. To change the display size of point objects you have to change the PDSIZE system variable value, for example if you change the value to greater than ZERO if specifies specifies an absolute size and if the value is greater lesser than ZERO if specifies a percentage of the viewport size and relative to the screen size.

How to add a new button to a toolbar?

2008-06-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

This short tutorial provides step by step instruction on adding a new button to a toolbar was submitted by Ricky on 21 Sep 2007 .

1) Go to "Tools" menu and click on "Customize" and then click on "Inerface" from the submenu as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) When "Customize User Interface" dialog box appears click on "New" button under "Command List" pan as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) Now you have to change the name of the command in the "Properties" pan as shown in Figure 3. Let us create Layer Unisolate command button for this tutorial, since I have named the command as "Layer Unisolate". Now let us enter the macro as "^C^C_layuniso" as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) Now let us assign an image for the command in this I have assigned RCDATA_16_MOLC as the image as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) In the tree view (upper left side), expand "Partial CUI Files">> "EXPRESS" >> "Toolbars" >> "ET: Layers". Drag/drop "Layer Unisolate" from the Command List to the desired position on the toolbar as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

How to make multiple fillet default?

2008-06-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

This short AutoCAD tip on creating mutiple fillet was submitted by Ricky on 20 Sep 2007. To make multiple fillet as default you have to manually customize the button as shown below:

1) Go to "Tools" menu and click on "Customize" in the menu list and then click on "Interface" from the submenu as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) When the "Customize User Interface" dialog box appears click on "Customize" tab as shown
in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) In "Command List" pane scroll down and click on "Fillet" command as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) In the Button Images pane, the image associated with the command (if any) is displayed as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) In the "Properties" pane click in the "Macro" section and now let us edit the macro from "^C^C_fillet" to "*^C^C_fillet" as shown in Figure 5 and click "OK". To Change the macro you have to click on "..." button next to "Macro" section and when "Long String Editor" dialog box appears add a "*" in front of "^C^C_fillet" as shown in Figure 6. {Note: By placing the "*" in front of the macro it loops the command. Edit the macro by changing the command information.}

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Error: "Cannot find shell program"

2008-06-02T23:16:00.000-07:00

While you are using MTEXTED if you get the following error message - "Cannot find shell program" do not panic, This error occurs when MTEXTED point to an editor that can't be found. Make sure that you have MTEXTED set to "Internal" then inplace editor will be displayed and if you you set MTEXTED to null by entering a period (.). If you specify a path and the name of the executable file for another text editor or word processor, that path and file name instead. This short AutoCAD tip was submitted by Ricky on 19 Sep 2007.

Midpoint between 2 points snap

2008-06-02T23:15:00.000-07:00

If you want to change the "midpoint between 2 points" snap to "w" instead of "t". Follow the steps as shown below: {This short AutoCAD tip was submitted by Ricky on 18 Sep 2007}

1) Go to "Tools" menu and click on "Customize" in the menu list and then click on "Interface" from the submenu as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) When the "Customize User Interface" dialog box appears click on "Customize" tab as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) In "Customizations in All CUI Files" pane expand "Shortcut Menus" as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) Now scroll down and expand "Object Snap Cursor Menu" as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) Now select "Mid Between 2 Points" from the list as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

6) You can notice that in the "Properties" pan under "General" the name is displayed as "Mid Be&tween 2 Points" as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

7) Change the name from "Mid Be&tween 2 Points" to "Mid Bet&ween 2 Points" and click OK as shown in Figure 7. Now you will have your "w" back instead of "t".

Figure 7.

History of recent input is not working?

2008-06-02T23:13:00.001-07:00

For example When you draw a circle and if you want to draw another circle then you would press the up arrow and then press Enter or right click on mouse and another circle would automatically drawn, but now you are unable to do it as when you press the up arrow you are getting coordinate relative to 0,0,0 and not a figure relative to the point you are working with. Don't panic I have found the solution and would be useful to those who face similar problem. All you have to is to change the INPUTHISTORYMODE System Variable value to "1" and now you would be able to get back your recent input working back. INPUTHISTORYMODE controls the content and location of the display of a history of user input and it is stored as a bitcode using the sum of the following values:

0 No history of recent input is displayed

1 History of recent input is displayed at the command line or in a dynamic prompt tooltip with access through Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys

2 History of recent input for the current command is displayed in the shortcut menu

4 History of recent input for all commands in the current session is displayed in the shortcut menu

8 Markers for recent input of point locations are displayed in the drawing

{This short AutoCAD tip on history of recent input was submitted by Ricky on 12 Sep 2007.}

Error: "Cannot find help file: acad.chm"

2008-06-02T23:12:00.000-07:00

Are you getting an error message saying "Cannot find help file: acad.chm" as shown in Figure 1. Then follow the steps as shown below to get through it....

Figure 1.

1) Go to "Tools" menu and click on "Options" in the menu list as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

2) When the "Options" dialog box appears click on "Files" tab as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

3) Expand "Help and Miscellaneous Files Names" in "Search paths, file names, and file locations:" pan as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

4) Now expand "Help File" and click on the arrow as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

5) Now click on button, when "Select a File" windows dialog box appears select "acad162.chm" from the list as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

6) Now you can see that a path for help file has been mentioned as shown in Figure 7. click ok and now you would be able to access help menu.

Figure 7.

{This short AutoCAD tip on acad.chm was submitted by Ricky on 10 Sep 2007}

Where can i find Hatch Island Detection Style?

2008-06-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

In AutoCAD 2005 you can access "Hatch Island Detection Style" under "Hatch and Advanced" tab, were as in AutoCAD 2006 you have to click on the small button as shown in Figure 1. Once you click the button "Islands" pan would be visible as shown in Figure 2

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

{This short AutoCAD tip on hatch island detection style was submitted by Ricky on 05 Aug 2007}

How to define hatch boundary?

2008-06-02T23:10:00.000-07:00

When hatching a boundary with the "hex" pattern, you may want it to be a closed hatch so that no half "hex-rounds" will appear at the edge of the boundary. In that case, use the Hatch Origin options in the Hatch and Gradient dialog box.

{This short AutoCAD tip on defining hatch boundary was submitted by Ricky on 04 Sep 2007}

About DTEXT

2008-06-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

In AutoCAd 2006, when using DTEXT if you click in a new location, you're out of the command and back at the command prompt and there appears a box around the bar cursor and How to remove it. All you have to do is to change the DTEXTED System Variable value to "1" which Displays the "Edit Text" dialog box instead of "In-Place Text Editor".

{This short AutoCAD tip on DTEXT was submitted by Ricky on 03 Sep 2007}

While inserting a block with attributes I am no longer prompted as to what the values should be

2008-06-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

While inserting a block with attributes if you are no longer prompted as to what the values should be and you are shown the default values that were given when the blocks where created. Then check whether the attributes are set to "Constant" mode, that could be the reason. Then you have to make sure that ATTDIA System Variable value is set to "1" which Controls the INSERT
command to use a dialog box for attribute value entry. And you have to check whether ATTREQ System variable value is set to "1", which Turns on prompts or a dialog box for attribute values, as specified by ATTDIA.

{This short AutoCAD tips on block attributes was submitted by Ricky on 02 September 2007}

How to turn off/on object mouse over effect in AutoCAD?

2008-06-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

You may some times find it irritating with this object highlight when you mouse over objects, to turn it off go to "Tools" and click on "Options" from the list as shown in Figure 1..

Figure 1.

When "Options" dialog box appears click on "Selection" tab as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

In "Selection Preview" pan uncheck both "When a command is active" and "When no command is active" check boxs as shown in Figure 3.. Now you can see that there will not be any mouse over effect after the changes we made.

Figure 3.

{This short AutoCAD tip on object mouse over effect was submitted by Ricky on 01 Sep 2007}

How to create a specific Keyboard Shortcut?

2008-06-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

Let us learn how to create a keyboard shortcut key in this short tutorial. Follow the steps as shown below:

1) Go to "Tools" menu and click on "Customize" and then select "Interface" from the sub menu as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) When "Customize User Interface" click on "Customize" tab and then click on (+) sign next to "Keyboard Shortcuts" to expand it as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) Now click on sign (+) next to "Shortcut Keys" to expand it as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) Now drag and drop a command from "Commands List" box to add to a location in the Shortcut Keys node of the Customizations In pane as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) Now you can see that in "Properties" pane the properties for the new shortcut key that we created is displayed. Now under "Access" click on "Keys" box and click (...) box to open "Shortcut Keys" dailog box as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

6) When "Shortcut Keys" dailog box appears place the cursor in "Press new shortcut key" box and hold a modifier key (CTRL or SHIFT) and press a letter, number, or function key as shown in Figure 6. Under the Press New Shortcut Key box, Currently Assigned To displays any current assignments for the shortcut key. If you do not want to replace the current assignment, use a different shortcut key. Otherwise, click Assign. Note More than one command can share the same shortcut, but only the last command assigned will be active. Click OK to assign the shortcut key and close the Shortcut Keys dialog box. In the Customize User Interface dialog box, click OK. Valid modifier keys include the following:

Function (Fn) keys containing no modifiers

CTRL+letter, CTRL+number, CTRL+function key

CTRL+ALT+letter, CTRL+ALT+number, CTRL+ALT+function key

SHIFT+CTRL+letter, SHIFT+CTRL+number, SHIFT+CTRL+function key

SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+letter, SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+number, SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+function key

Figure 6.

{This short AutoCAD tutorial on creating keyboard shortcut was submitted by Ricky on 29 Aug 2007}

How to change color of selection box?

2008-06-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

Let us see how the selection box color can be changed in this short tip. Go to "Tools" menu and click "Options" as shown in Figure 1. . When "Options" dailog box appears click on "Selection" tab as shown in Figure 2. now click on "Visual Effect Settings" button as shown in Figure 3. and when "Visual Effect Settings" dailog box appears you can change the colors as per your requirement. Other way around is to type "WINDOWAREACOLOR" or "CROSSINGAREACOLOR" {both of system variable controls the color of the transparent selection area during window selection. The valid range is 1 to 255. SELECTIONAREA must be on} in command line and change the value of the color as per your requirement.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

{This short AutoCAD tip on selection box was submitted by Ricky on 28 Aug 2007}

What is the difference hatch preview and view selection?

2008-06-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Let us know the differences between 'Hatch preview' and 'View selection'. 'View Selection' clears the dialogue so you can see the areas you've selected for hatching before the pattern is applied where as Preview shows the pattern in place.

{This short AutoCAD tip on hatch preview was submitted by Ricky on 5 Aug 2007}

What is TOOLTIPMERGE Variable?

2008-06-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

Tooltipmerge merges things like your OSNAP setting with your current command. So turn on Dynamic input with tooltipmerge set to 0. Then draw a line. Then turn on some OSNAPS. Now start the line command and hover over the end point of your line. You will see Endpoint appear. Now switch over to Tooltipmerge and set it to 1. Now do the same thing again and hover over the endpoint while in the line command and you will see "Endpoint Specify first point" So it kind of
merges some of the tooltips.

{This short AutoCAD tip on TOOLTPMERGE variable was submitted by Ricky on 26 August 2007}

How to restore the command line?

2008-06-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

You can hide or display the command line by clicking the Tools menu Command Line as shown in Figure 1 or by pressing CTRL+9. When you hide the command line, you can still enter commands. However, some commands and system variables return values at the command line, so you may want to display the command line in such instances.

{This short AutoCAD tip on restoring command line was submitted by Ricky on 25 Aug 2007}

Wedge - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

This segment of tutorial exercise provides step by step instruction on creating a wedge in AutoCAD and was submitted by Jagadeesh on 31 Mar 2007 .

1) Open new AutoCAD session {Learn how a new session can be started by seeing this link} and clicking "Wedge" tool from toolbar as shown in Figure 1 or go to draw menu at the top of the application window to select "Wedge" as shown in Figure 2 or type "Wedge" in command line as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

2) After selecting "Wedge" tool you would be prompted to specify first corner of wedge, I have entered 0,0 and 0 as shown in figure 4, now press enter in key board.

Figure 4.

3) After specifying first corner of the wedge you would be prompted to specify corner of the wedge, I have entered 25 and 25 as shown in Figure 5. After entering the values for corner of the wedge press enter in the key board.

Figure 5.

4) After specifying the corner of the wedge you would be prompted to specify height of the wedge, I have entered 40 as shown in Figure 6. After entering height of the wedge press enter in the key board.

Figure 6.

5) The resultant solid wedge would be as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

6) Now select "Flat Shaded" from view menu as shown in Figure 8 and the resultant part would be Figure 9.

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Torus - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

This segment of tutorial exercise provides step by step instruction on creating a torus in AutoCAD and was submitted by Jagadeesh on 31 Mar 2007.

1) Open new AutoCAD session {Learn how a new session can be started by seeing this link} and click "Torus" tool from toolbar as shown in Figure 1 or go to draw menu at the top of the application window to select "Torus" as shown in Figure 2 or type "Torus" in command line as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

2) After selecting "Torus" tool you would be prompted to specify center of Torus, I have entered 0,0 and 0 as shown in figure 4, now press enter in key board.

Figure 4.

3) After specifying center of the torus you would be prompted to specify radius of the torus, I have entered 50 as shown in Figure 5. After entering radius of the torus press enter in the key board.

Figure 5.

4) After specifying the radius of torus you would be prompted to specify radius of tube, I have entered 10 as shown in Figure 6. After entering radius of the tube press enter in the key board.

Figure 6.

5) The resultant solid torus would be as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

6) Now select "Flat Shaded" from view menu as shown in Figure 8 and the resultant part would be Figure 9.

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Sphere - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

This segment of tutorial exercise provides step by step instruction on creating a solid sphere in AutoCAD and was submitted by Preetham on 28 March 2007.

1) Open new AutoCAD session {Learn how a new session can be started by seeing this link} and clicking "Sphere" tool from toolbar as shown in Figure 1 or go to draw menu at the top of the application window to select "Sphere" as shown in Figure 2 or type "Sphere" in command line as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

2) After selecting "Sphere" tool you would be prompted to specify center of sphere, I have entered 0,0 and 0 as shown in figure 4, now press enter in key board.

Figure 4.

3) After specifying center point of the sphere you would be prompted to specify radius of the sphere, I have entered 20 as shown in Figure 5. After entering the radius of the sphere press enter in the key board.

Figure 5.

4) The resultant solid sphere would be as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

6) Now select "Flat Shaded" from view menu as shown in Figure 7 and the resultant part would be Figure 8.

Figure 7.

Figure 8.

Revolve - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

This tutorial exercise provides step by step instructions to create a solid body using revolve option, by revolving a closed object around an axis of revolution, was submitted by Preetham on 28 March 2007.

1) Create a closed object as shown in Figure 1. {See Polyline - Tutorial for beginners to learn how the closed object was made.}

Figure 1.

2) Now select "Revolve" tool from toolbar or from menu bar or type "revolve" in command line as shown in figure 2, figure 3 and figure 4 respectively.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

3) When revolve tool is selected you will be prompted to select objects as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

4) Now just click the closed object to select it, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

5) After selecting the closed object right click the mouse where you would be asked to "Specify start point for axis of revolution or define axis by" as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

6) Now enter 13 and 1 values for the start point for axis of revolution as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8.

7) After entering start point for axis of revolution you would prompted to enter endpoint of axis, 1 and 270 as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9.

8) Then you would be asked to specify angle of revolution, enter 360 as shown in Figure 10 and press enter in key board or right click in your mouse.

Figure 10.

9) The resultant solid would be as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11.

10) Now select "Flat Shaded" from view menu as shown in Figure 12 and the resultant part would be as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 12.

Figure 13.

Polyline - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

This tutorial exercise provides step by step instructons for creating a closed object using polyline tool and was submitted by Preetham on 28 March 2007.

1) Select Polyline from the tool bar or from menu or just type pline in command line as shown in Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

2) After selecting polyline you would be asked to specify first point as shown in figure 4.

Figure 4.

3) I have entered 0,0 in the command line as shown in Figure 5. Which means that value of X and Y would be 0 for starting point of polyline.

Figure 5.

4) After selecting the starting point I have entered the distance on y axis as 25, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

5) Now enter second distance as 2, as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

6) Now I have entered 23 as third distance, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8.

7) Now I have entered 23 as fourth distance, as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9.

8) Then I have entered 2 as fifth distance, as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10.

9) Now just move the cursor towards the starting point and it will snap the point as shown in Figure 11 just left click in the mouse at the point where it was snapped or right click in the mouse and select "Close" from the drop down list as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 11.

Figure 12.

10) The resultant closed object would be as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13.

Fillet - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:37:00.000-07:00

This segment of tutorial exercise provides step by step instruction on creating a fillet on an existing solid body and was submitted by Preetham on 28 March 2007.

1) Create a box as shown in Figure 1. {See Extrude - Tutorial for beginner to learn how the box is made}

Figure 1.

2) Select "Fillet" tool from the tool bar or from modify menu or type "Fillet" in the command line as shown in figure 2, figure 3 and figure 4 respectively.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

3) When you select fillet tool you are prompted to select an object to be filleted as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

4) Now select an edge as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

5) After selecting an object and the edge you will be asked to enter the radius of the fillet, let us enter 1 as the radius as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

6) After entering the radius you will be prompted to select another edge as shown in Figure 8. If you want you can select multiple edges or just press enter in the keyboard or right click the mouse and select "Enter" from the drop down list as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

7) The resultant solid with filleted edge would be as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10.

Extrude - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

This segment of tutorial exercise provides step by step instruction on creating a solid body using extrude tool and was submitted by Preetham on 28 Mar 2007.

1) Let us start a new AutoCAD drawing session as shown in the link. Now let us change the view to SW Isometric view by going to View >> 3D Views >> SW Isometric menu as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

2) Or type "VIEW" on the command line as shown in figure 2.

Figure 2.

3) Now "View dialog" box appears as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4) Now click "Orthographic & Isometric Views" tab and select "Southwest Isometric" from the list that appears and click "Set Current" and click ok as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

5) Now you can see that the view has changed. Now create a rectangle as shown in Figure 5. {To create a rectangle see "Drawing a rectangle - Tutorial for beginners"}

Figure 5.

6) Now click "Extrude" tool from the toolbar or from "Drawing >> Solids >> Extrude" menu as shown in Figure 6 and 7 respectively.

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

7) Now select the rectangle when prompted to select an object as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8.

8) Now right click on the mouse and enter 5 when asked to specify the height of extrusion as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9.

9) Then you are asked to enter angle of taper for extrusion as shown in Figure 10. Leave as it is and press enter in the key board or just right click in your mouse.

Figure 10.

10) Now the extruded solid is ready as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11.

11) Now select "Flat Shaded" from View menu as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12.

12) The resultant rendered solid would be as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13.

Cylinder - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

This segment of tutorial exercise provides step by step instruction on creating a solid cylinder in AutoCAD and was submitted by Preetham on 28 March 2007.

1) Open new AutoCAD session {Learn how a new session can be started by seeing this link} and click "Cylinder" tool from toolbar as shown in Figure 1 or go to draw menu at the top of the application window to select "Cylinder" as shown in Figure 2 or type "Cylinder" in command line as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

2) After selecting "Cylinder" tool you would be prompted to specify center point for base of cylinder, I have entered 0,0 and 0 as shown in figure 4, now press enter in key board.

Figure 4.

3) After entering center point for base of the cylinder you would be prompted to specify radius for base of cylinder, I have entered 20 as shown in Figure 5. After entering the radius for base of the cylinder press enter in the key board.

Figure 5.

4) After specifying the radius for base of cylinder you would be prompted to specify height of the cylinder, I have entered 40 as shown in Figure 6. After entering height of the cylinder press enter in the key board.

Figure 6.

5) The resultant solid cylinder would be as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

6) Now select "Flat Shaded" from view menu as shown in Figure 8 and the resultant part would be Figure 9.

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Cone - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

This segment of tutorial exercise provides step by step instruction on creating a solid cone in AutoCAD and was submitted by Preetham on 28 March 2007.

1) Open new AutoCAD session {Learn how a new session can be started by seeing this link} and click "cone" tool from toolbar as shown in Figure 1 or go to draw menu at the top of the application window to select "cone" as shown in Figure 2 or type "cone" in command line as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

2) After selecting "Cone" tool you would be prompted to specify center point for base of cone, I have entered 0,0 and 0 as shown in figure 4, now press enter in key board.

Figure 4.

3) After entering center point for base of the cone you would be prompted to specify radius for base of cone, I have entered 20 as shown in Figure 5. After entering the values for radius press enter in the keyboard.

Figure 5.

4) After entering radius for base of the cone you would be prompted to specify height the of cone, I have entered 40 as shown in Figure 6. After specifying the height of the cone press enter in the key board.

Figure 6.

5) The resultant solid cone would be as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

6) Now select "Flat Shaded" from view menu as shown in Figure 8 and the resultant part would be as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Chamfer - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:26:00.000-07:00

This segment of tutorial exercise provides step by step instruction on creating a chamfer on an existing solid body and was submitted by Preetham on 28 March 2007.

1) Create a box as shown in Figure 1. {See Extrude - Tutorial for beginner to learn how the box is made}

Figure 1.

2) Select "Chamfer" tool from the tool bar or from menu bar or just type "CHAMFER" in the command line as shown in figure 2, 3 and 4 respectively.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

3) When you select chamfer tool you are prompted to select first line to be chamfered as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

4) Now select an edge as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

5) After selecting the object you are prompted to enter surface selection option for which I have selected ok as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

6) After entering surface selection option you are prompted to specify base surface chamfer distance as shown in Figure 8. I have entered 1 as the distance as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8.

7) After entering base surface chamfer distance you are prompted to specify other surface chamfer distance as shown in Figure 9, just right click now as you don't need to specify other chamfer distance.

Figure 9.

8) Now you are prompted to select an edge as shown in Figure 10. I have selected an edge as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 10.

Figure 11.

9) Now just press enter in the keyboard or right click in the mouse and select enter from the drop down list as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12.

10) The resultant chamfered solid would be as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13.

Box - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

This tutorial exercise explains you with step by step instructions on how to create a solid box in AutoCAD and was submitted by Jagadeesh on Wednesday, 28 March 2007:

1) Open new AutoCAD session {Learn how a new session can be started by seeing this link} and click "Box" tool from toolbar as shown in Figure 1 or go to draw menu at the top of the application window to select "Box" as shown in Figure 2 or type "Box" in command line as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

2) After selecting "Box" tool you would be prompted to specify first corner of the box, I have entered 0,0 and 0 as shown in figure 4, now press enter in key board.

Figure 4.

3) After entering first corner of the box you would be prompted to specify other corner of the box, I have entered 25 and 25 as shown in Figure 5. After entering the values for corner press enter in the keyboard.

Figure 5.

4) After specifying second corner you would be prompted to specify the height of the box, I have entered 20 as shown in Figure 6. After specifying the height of the box press enter in the key board.

Figure 6.

5) The resultant box would be as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

6) Now select "Flat Shaded" from view menu as shown in Figure 8 and the resultant part would be as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Drawing a polygon - Tutorial for beginners

2008-06-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

In this segment of tutorial exercise you will have an oppurtunity to learn how to draw a polygon and was submitted by Putta Swamy on 02 Feb 2007.

1) Select polygon icon as shown in Figure 1 or from Draw drop down menu as shown in Figure 2 or you can type "polygon" in the command prompt as shown in Figure 3. {Follow the link to learn how to open a AutoCAD session}

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

2) Now you are asked to specify number of sides to the polygon that you wish to have as shown in Figure 4 and press enter in the keyboard. I have entered five sides as shown in the figure.

Figure 4.

3) Now you are asked to specify center of the polygon, just click any where in the model space as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

4) Now you are asked to specify option, I have selected "Inscribed in circle" option as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6.

5) Now you are asked to specify radius of the circle inside which the polygon will be created as shown in Figure 7 enter seven as the radius press enter in the keyboard to finish the polygon command. The resultant polygon would be as in Figure 8.

Figure 7.

Figure 8.