SECTION C2 - Scope of the 3D Autocad tuition and Cad 3D tutorials.

Scope of these Tutorials

This 3D Autocad tuition shows users how to tackle Auto Cad modeling in 3D, and then derive traditional orthographic projection drawings from the 3D part and 3D assembly model(s). It does this with depth and clarity covering auxiliary views, view scaling, professional drawing presentation, block and layer management, and drawing issue administration.
All this can be done using the current 'OFF THE SHELF' Autocad and its previous releases back to R11, or the current Autocad LT release and its previous releases back to LT 2. No additional Auto cad modeling software is needed.

Wire, surface, and solid entities can all co-exist within the AutoCAD 3D environment and, in most circumstances, efficient 3D Auto cad modeling is achieved by combining wire, surface and solids to arrive at a design solution. Software suppliers would prefer you to believe solid modeling is an essential part of 3D CAD, but this is not the case. The reasons they want you to believe it is so they can sell you their latest 3D Cad software. In the real world, efficient 3D design relies on using wire and surface methods as well as solids, and the 3D environment behaves the same regardless of the entity types being used. Learning 3D and understanding the Autocad 3D environment is straight forward but with a few new principles to grasp. This is made easy by concentrating on entity types that are already familiar which are used to create wire and surface models.
This approach gives two major benefits.

Firstly, trainees do not face the prospect of information overload, thus making the principles easier to grasp, and secondly, LT users can participate in the tuition as well.

(The point about information overload was borne out while testing the 3D Cad tuition. Not only did the use of solid modeling commands exclude users of LT versions from the 3D Cad tuition, but it was diverting too much attention to geometry construction issues rather than 3D Cad design principles. The basic 2D entities are very familiar to users and it is these that are used in surface and wire methods. It enables people to concentrate on the 3D issues to a far greater extent because they are already familiar with these particular geometry commands. It is one reason why our tuition is so clear and easy to learn from.

Once the 3D environment is understood, solid modeling commands can then be learned easily as a manageable chunk. They behave within the 3D environment in the same way as surface and wire entities.)

Completion of this course will give the user enough understanding and confidence with Cad 3D methods to progress in two ways. Firstly to do their next design properly with Cad 3D methods 3D knowing they have the right approach, and secondly, to successfully experiment with any modeling commands that are part of the standard AutoCAD and Autocad LT packages from release 11 onwards, solid, surface, or wire.

When starting out with Cad 3D methods it is important to grasp the concept that a 3D Cad model should reflect the design or item or product for what it would be like in real life. center lines, hidden detail and dimension lines have no place on a 3D Cad model and belong strictly in the drafting / detailing activity. Auto cad modeling is concerned with representing reality. Drafting is concerned with creating traditional orthographic drawings. This concept of the two activities, Cad modeling and Cad drafting, will become clear as the 3D Cad tuition unfolds.

Applications to Different Engineering Disciplines

The practicalities of working in, and administering Cad 3D methods are equally applicable to the Process, Architectural, and Mechanical engineering sectors. Any sector in fact. This is because the AutoCAD software response is consistent regardless of the industry using the software. The "Line" command works in exactly the same way for a mechanical engineering application as it does for an architectural one. Consequently, this 3D Autocad tuition create models comprising of common general shapes that don't need to be biased toward a particular industry sector. Ultimately, model content and layer names differ from sector to sector. However, the AutoCAD software commands used for achieving the 3D geometry, layers, blocks, projections etc. don't differ. The Autocad commands are the same regardless of the industry sector using the package. People who understand how to create and manipulate these tutorial 3D shapes with the software, will instinctively be able to create and manipulate the kind of shapes that their industry demands.

User Experience Requirements

Users should have a minimum of two full weeks of constant AutoCAD experience to get the most from this training.

While testing the accuracy and validity of this training course, some people did experience difficulty. In all cases this was attributed to the trainee ignoring or not following the 3D tutorial instructions carefully. READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL THE TEXT. Testing showed these Cad 3D tutorials are accurate, correct and easy to follow. If the screen or 3D Cad model does not appear as it should when looking at the Cad 3D tutorials diagrams, then use 'Undo' to go back to when the screen or 3D Cad model was accurate and read the tutorial instructions more carefully than before.