2D CAD drawings are vital to the communication of engineering design information. 2D CAD generated drawings are use in such diverse areas as architectural design, mechanical part design, facilities layout, service and circuit diagrams and technical publications. This module introduces students to the concepts, principles and techniques of 2D CAD drawing and design using AutoCAD. The adoption of best practice strategies for the efficient and effective use of CAD for creating, editing and viewing geometry as part of the design process are stressed throughout the module.

Contemporary CAD software with particular reference to AutoCAD; hardware, software and operating systems; the AutoCAD drawing environment: absolute and relative coordinates, units and limits; CAD tools and drawing setup; drawing templates; the UCS; basic and advanced drawing and editing commands; introduction to layers; creating and using blocks Wblocks, attributes and symbol libraries; communicating engineering and design details; dimensioning and dimensioning styles; text styles; toleranced dimensioning; sectional views and hatching; tool palettes; Paper Space layouts; customisation techniques; customising toolbars and toolbar macros; isometric drawing. CAD construction techniques; plotting; sheet sets; raster images, multilines; using DesignCenter; DWF drawings; Introduction to 3D geometry.

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to: 1.Demonstrate a sound working knowledge of 2D CAD processes and techniques and apply this to communicating design solutions in construction and engineering detailing. 2.Develop drawing, visualisation and modelling strategies to effectively communicate design information through 2D and 3D CAD geometry. 3.Demonstrate how to effectively use AutoCAD to perform a range of drawing and editing tasks relevant to construction and engineering. 4.Create comprehensive drawing template files for efficient and productive use of AutoCAD. 5.Create blocks and wblocks by combining objects to create symbol libraries and insert these into drawings. 6.Produce dimensioned and annotated drawings to comply with the relevant BS ISO standards of their subject area. 7.Create quality plotted technical drawings using paper space layouts and floating model space viewports. 8.Demonstrate how to customise toolbars and tool palettes for more efficient use of AutoCAD.

9. Appreciate how 2D CAD is used in the design process to communicate design information.

NA

The module has a two-hour PC-based lecture followed by a two-hour practical lab with applied tasks each week. Students also undertake a CAD project appropriate to their course of study and produce a report with plotted drawings making proper use of model and paper space. Video tutorials are also provided to facilitate self-directed learning.