Heidi Hewett's Blog

AutoCAD 2007 Webcasts... Mark your calendar!

If you've had difficulty working with solids and surfaces in AutoCAD in the past, then it's time to try AutoCAD 2007 software. This release focuses on improving the ability to create, edit, navigate, and visualize your conceptual designs.

Get a jumpstart on learning the new AutoCAD 2007 conceptual design and visualization tools by joining me for these FREE Webcasts!

Best Practices for Conceptual Design:  May 10, 10:00 AM PST
Best Practices for Rendering and Visualization: May 17, 10:00 AM PST

AutoCAD 200X... It's new to you!

By now you've heard about much of the exciting new functionality in AutoCAD 2007. But what if you don't even have AutoCAD 2006 or AutoCAD 2005 yet? Or worse yet, what if you have them but you aren't using them to their full potential? Quoting a clever slogan from NBC (with a slight modification) , "if you haven't seen used it, it's new to you!" If you are using older releases of AutoCAD (or using AutoCAD 2006 like an older release), be sure to investigate ALL the new-to-you functionality in AutoCAD 2007.

The AutoCAD 2007 New Features Workshop is available online (or from the Help menu in AutoCAD 2007). You can use this interactive tool to learn about AutoCAD functionility that was added as far back as AutoCAD 2005! To further help with your AutoCAD investigation, I've provided links to older Preview Guides under the Documents section on the sidebar of this blog.

AutoCAD 2007 Feature Overview

If you are interested in a broad overview of AutoCAD 2007 functionality, download the AutoCAD 2007 Preview Guide!

In this doc, I don't go into detail about how to use all the functionality. I do, however, provide a brief description of what is available and how to access it... just incase you want to get a headstart before attending that AutoCAD 2007 update course that you've signed up for! You did sign up, right? If not, visit the Training page on the Autodesk Website to locate an Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC) near you!

AutoCAD 2007 has left the building!!!

Today marks the release of Autodesk's 2007 portfolio of products including AutoCAD 2007! AutoCAD 2007 is full of new and improved functionality to help you work more efficiently and increase your productivity. Learn more about this fantastic new AutoCAD release and the many other new Autodesk products from autodesk.com!

If seeing is believing, take a look at these AutoCAD 2007 videos!

Customize your design environment for maximum space and efficiency!
Create a spacious and productive design environment that meets your needs! You can now anchor and auto-hide multiple tool palettes along the sides of your display and when you roll over the palette, it expands to the entire height of the display! This is a huge space saver! Have easy access to all of your favorite palettes AND have maximum drawing space. Save and restore your favorite configurations as named workspaces!

DWF underlays and other externally referenced files!
You can attach secure, vector-based DWF (Design Web Format) files to your AutoCAD drawings as underlays. Manage the DWF underlays and all your externally referenced files (xrefs and images) from a single External Reference Manager! Clip a DWF underlay similar to clipping an image or xref and even fade it so it doesn’t obstruct the drawing geometry. Use a DWF underlay as a basis for creating your design by measuring and snapping to objects using standard AutoCAD tools!

Create 3D objects with easy and familiarity!
Solid primitives provide an easy transition from your familiar 2D world to the exciting world of 3D design! Creating rectangular primitives (box, wedge) you begin just like drawing a Rectangle and then specify the 3D options. The same thing applies to creating circular primitives (sphere, cylinder, cone, torus). Access the same options you would when drawing a circle and then specify the 3D options! There are even new tools to create a polysolid (like a polyline with height!) and a pyramid (like a polygon with height). Press Ctrl-Alt to pick inside a bounded area and quickly extrude the 2D profile into the third dimension! The transition from 2D to 3D is easy!!!!

Edit with ease!
After you create 3D objects, you can easily edit them using grips and the Properties palette. You can even edit sub-objects by pressing Ctrl to pick a face, edge, or vertex. Constrain the movement of a selected object along a selected axis or plane!

Dynamically change workplanes!
Easily draw on any face without having to manually set your UCS! Simply pass your cursor over the face and when it highlights, begin drawing!  Orbit around your model without even launching a command… just press the Shift key and middle mouse button as you move the mouse!

Edit composite solids!
Edit components of composite solids by pressing the Ctrl key as you pick on the sub-objects. Edit those sub-objects with the Properties palette or grips and even use the new grip tools to move and or rotate objects or sub-objects along/around a selected axis or plane.

Use profiles and paths to sweep and loft!
Use Sweep and Loft tools to create complex surface and solid geometry from wireframe profiles and paths. You can even use the new Helix tool to create and edit a wire frame helix and then sweep a profile along the helical path! Grip edit lofted surfaces and slice a solid to a surface!

Apply visual styles to change the drawing’s appearance!
Quickly change the appearance of your model from wireframe, to conceptual, to realistic using predefined visual styles! Create your own visual styles by applying edge overhang, jitter, transparency, and many other options. Easily save and restore your custom visual styles to quickly create a variety of looks from a single drawing!

Create and modify cameras/views!
Easily add cameras to your AutoCAD drawings. Adjust the cameras using the Properties palette or grips and even apply a visual style to the camera preview. Adding a camera automatically creates a named view to which you can assign various properties including visual styles, layer visibility and more! Easily restore any named view from the Dashboard!

Walk through and fly around your model with ease!
Walk through your AutoCAD models using intuitive tools including the arrow keys, WASD keys, and mouse! Apply a visual style or render preset to your walkthrough and record it to various file formats including AVI, MOV, MPG, and WMV!

Apply materials and lights to produce realistic renderings!
Select from over 300 materials or create your own custom materials. Apply materials to objects, faces, or layers! Create realistic renderings with minimal knowledge of advanced rendering options using default render presets or apply your rendering knowledge to create custom render presets.

Create sections that can be used for 2D documentation!
See how you can add live sections to your AutoCAD solids! View cut-away geometry, adjust section settings, and generate 2d or 3D blocks that can be used as a basis for design documents!

AutoCAD 2007: So many solids! How do you choose?

When you get your hands on this new and exciting release of AutoCAD, one of the first things that you’ll probably want to do is start modeling! However, the first tools you choose to create your 3D solids, may not be the most efficient for your situation. Before AutoCAD 2007, how you created your solids wasn’t much of a concern because AutoCAD basically considered all solids to be created equal. They were virtual lumps of mass with minimal editing capabilities. That is no longer the case! In AutoCAD 2007, solids are not created equal. Some are considerably more flexible than others and the more you understand about solids editing, the better choices you will make when creating them!

Consider six different methods for creating a simple 3D solid. All six methods produce a single object type called 3DSOLID. However, the options for editing the resulting solids vary considerably.

In four of the six examples, I began by creating a box. In the first example, I selected the upper right edge of the box and dragged it to the right. In the second example, I used the SLICE command to cut and remove the part of the box that I no longer wanted. Both of these methods produced solids with minimal editing capabilities. If you select either of these solids, you get one grip whose only purpose is to move the solid. Fortunately, however, you can Ctrl-pick on any face, edge, or vertex to further edit the solid.

In the third and fourth examples, I created wedges in addition to the boxes and then used Boolean operations (Subtract or Union) to produce the final solids. At first glance, the resulting solids appear to be the same as those produced with the first two methods. Like the first two examples, selecting each of these solids displays only a single Move grip. However, if you press the Ctrl key and pass your cursor over these solids, the original primitive solids will highlight. If you pick one of these core primitives (Box or Wedge), you will have full editing control over that core object. You can use any of the grips as well as the Properties palette. In addition, you can Ctrl-Pick again to select a face, edge or vertex to further edit the primitive solid.

 

The fifth and sixth methods that I used to create the 3D solid didn’t include any primitive objects. Instead, I began with 2D profiles and then used the EXTRUDE and PRESSPULL commands to produce 3D solids. Selecting these objects displays multiple grips enabling you to stretch any of the vertices on their current plane and stretch the height along the vertical axis. You can also edit the height of these objects using the Properties palette. In addition, you can Ctrl-Pick on any face, edge or vertex for further editing.

Although I’ve focused on box- and wedge-shaped objects in these examples, the same principles apply to other shapes. For example, you might create a bottle or other circular object by revolving a 2D profile around an axis, lofting 2D profiles or by creating multiple primitives and then using UNION, SUBTRACT, and FILLET to create a composite solid.

So many ways to create solids, how do you choose which method to use? Well, I can’t guarantee that I have the right answer, but I can tell you what I do. I always consider primitives first. Primitives aren’t always the obvious solution and they don’t necessarily provide the fastest method for creating solids. However, they do provide the most flexibility and efficiency when it comes to editing. And we all know that editing is where you spend most of your time!

The first time I created the floors in my house model, I did the obvious. I used PRESSPULL to extrude the 2D profile. This method used existing geometry, was very fast and worked great.

However, when I wanted to add different floor materials to the various rooms, I needed to separate the large extruded solid into different objects.

I could accomplish this by using the SLICE command but, given the complicated shape of the various floor areas, I would have to slice and union many times and those sliced solids would have limited editing options.

Instead, I recreated the floors using a combination of boxes and wedges. It sounds like a lot of work, but it was actually very easy thanks to dynamic UCS and primitive grip editing. Now I have composite solids that I can easily manipulate moving forward. For example, if I want to move a wall or separate the existing floors into smaller areas, I can grip-edit the primitive sub-objects, erase existing ones or add new ones.

The best method for creating solids depends on your situation but I encourage you to consider using primitives. You might be surprised how handy they are!

Good luck and happy editing!

AutoCAD 2007 Grip Tools!

Grip tools are interactive 3D icons that enable you to move or rotate objects (and sub-objects) in 3D space within the constraints of a specified axis or plane.

For example, use the Move grip tool to move objects (including vertices, edges, faces, and sub-objects) along a selected axis regardless of where you drag the cursor.

 

Use the Rotate grip tool to rotate objects around an axis by placing the grip tool at a point on the desired axis of rotation and then graphically selecting which axis to rotate around. You don’t have to think about X Y Z!

AutoCAD 2007 Live Sections

Easily create and edit section planes!

View cut-away geometry!

Add section jogs!

Create 2D section blocks!

Create building sections and plans!
 

The “Funnest” AutoCAD Ever!

Yah, Yah, I know, “Funnest” isn’t a word… but it should be!

During my 14+ years with Autodesk, I’ve participated in the launch of many versions of AutoCAD including the “most powerful” AutoCAD ever and the “fastest” AutoCAD ever. Every release of AutoCAD has offered exciting new functionality such as Tool Palettes in AutoCAD 2004, Sheet Sets in AutoCAD 2005, and Dynamic Blocks in AutoCAD 2006. But I have to say, the soon-to-release AutoCAD 2007 is my favorite AutoCAD ever! Why?

AutoCAD 2007 is fun… it really is! I know work isn’t supposed to be fun (you don’t have to tell your boss), but AutoCAD 2007 has a ton of new functionality centered on conceptual 3D design. And, who doesn’t like conceptual 3D design?

AutoCAD 2007 is easy… it really is! The dynamic 3D creation, editing, and visualization functionality enables you to draw the way you think, offering a natural transition from your familiar 2D tools.

Okay, maybe it is easy to create 3D conceptual designs in AutoCAD 2007, but you create 2D construction documents and don’t need that 3rd dimension, right?  Are you sure? After all we are living in a 3D world. Your contractors and manufacturers may understand and require the 2D construction drawings but what about the client and other stakeholders in the project?

My husband and I met with two kitchen contractors last fall to get estimates for remodeling our kitchen. The first contractor gave us a 2D plan of his design and described some of the options from which we could choose. Even though my husband and I both have architectural backgrounds and are familiar with reading floor plans, we had a hard time imagining how our expensive, new kitchen was going to look. The second contractor showed up at our house with his computer and after several hours of interactive designing, he left us with a set of 3D conceptual designs of our new kitchen. We liked both of the contractors and their estimates were very similar. So, which one do you think got the contract?

The 2D drawings were necessary to build the kitchen…

 

But it was the 3D conceptual drawings that sold the design and awarded the contract!

Can you afford *not* to produce conceptual designs in this 3D world?

As our kitchen remodel nears its end (finally!) there are still design decisions for us to make. Fortunately, AutoCAD 2007 has come at the right time! We’ve been able to quickly create conceptual designs to help us decide tile patterns, wall colors, and more.

Practical, efficient, easy and the “funnest” AutoCAD EVER! But let’s just keep that between us. My manager doesn’t need to know how much I’ve been enjoying my work!

The word is out! You can learn more about AutoCAD 2007 from the links provided by Shaan Hurley and of course there will be more to come here as well!

Have fun!!!