Autocad???

flynnser19

hi,
i have just started an engineering course in Mechatronics in Sligo and i cant understand Autocad. my lecturer expects everyone to know how to use it and there's mroe than just me that hasnt done it before. since im the only girl i feel like a complete idiot asking a question becasue they patronise you when you do. does anyone know if there is a book that can help me understand it or a website i could go to??
thank you for amny help given

Fi

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Google yields countless books

eg
http://www.amazon.com/AutoCAD-2004-Bible-Ellen-Finkelstein/dp/0764539922

Take a trip to a good bookshop like Hodges and Figgis or Waterstones. They'll definitely have a few.

su_dios

The books are pointless really as theyre about 800 pages thick. Get a list of the shortcuts and just learn those and then start looking at what they do. It will take you no more than a week to pick up the basics if you keep at it. If you want the easy way why not go onto youtube and type in something like autocad interface or tutorials

tak

If your department has AutoCAD the there ought be included in that a self-learn tutorial.

Start with that.
It guides you as you use it.

dame

Yep, and you can check "Help" as you go along if you're really badly stuck. I assume the college has a library, did you have a look in there for anything that might help? In college you are expected to be a lot more self-sufficient and proactive in your learning than you were in secondary school. The best way is just to go in on your own or with a friend or two and just use it. Draw lines, join them up, flip things around, bisect things, etc, etc. If you just hold the cursor over a command it will tell you what it is. You can open different toolbars and try them all out. You'd be surprised how helpful other students can be as well. People generally don't mind answering questions on what command will do what you're looking for, just try not to be asking something every five seconds.

P.S.: You've basically identified yourself to anyone who knows your class. Not a good idea, especially when you're complaining about a lecturer. Stop talking about being the only girl and never use that as an excuse for anything because it has nothing to do with it. A patronising lecturer will be patronising with everyone.

godtabh

Try and get a copy of autocad and play around with it. Thats how your learn. Thats how I learned. That and asking questions no matter how stupid you might think they are. Just find some thats sound to ask the questions

flynnser19

dame wrote:

Yep, and you can check "Help" as you go along if you're really badly stuck. I assume the college has a library, did you have a look in there for anything that might help? In college you are expected to be a lot more self-sufficient and proactive in your learning than you were in secondary school. The best way is just to go in on your own or with a friend or two and just use it. Draw lines, join them up, flip things around, bisect things, etc, etc. If you just hold the cursor over a command it will tell you what it is. You can open different toolbars and try them all out. You'd be surprised how helpful other students can be as well. People generally don't mind answering questions on what command will do what you're looking for, just try not to be asking something every five seconds.

P.S.: You've basically identified yourself to anyone who knows your class. Not a good idea, especially when you're complaining about a lecturer. Stop talking about being the only girl and never use that as an excuse for anything because it has nothing to do with it. A patronising lecturer will be patronising with everyone.

ive been to college before like i know that i have to work alone but i just didnt know where to start!!well he is only patronising towards me and im worng there is one other girl but dont care everyone knows im bad at it!!lol!!thanks for all the help tho im gonna try all the tips thanks again!!!

chris85

Hey don't know if this helps, but sometimes people have a problem with what they actually have to draw into autocad (i.e. When they get a part, how is meant to look like in autocad). The tutorials and books dont deal with this a lot.

Once you know exactly what you got show on an autocad drawing, the program gets easier to use.

If you give bit more detail about the type of problem you are having with autocad, this may help see where your problem lies.


P.S. contemplated doing mechatronics before doing mechanical engineering, is it any use??

I always found the help system in AutoCad to be very good. It has good tutorials which I sometimes found to be more useful than the guy who was teaching us to use AutoCad.

flynnser19

chris85 wrote:

Hey don't know if this helps, but sometimes people have a problem with what they actually have to draw into autocad (i.e. When they get a part, how is meant to look like in autocad). The tutorials and books dont deal with this a lot.

Once you know exactly what you got show on an autocad drawing, the program gets easier to use.

If you give bit more detail about the type of problem you are having with autocad, this may help see where your problem lies.


P.S. contemplated doing mechatronics before doing mechanical engineering, is it any use??

#


well you see i dont really have a clue what its liek yet because we have to this stupid general first year and im doing things i didnt want to do you know???

chris85

I know what you mean. All areas of engineering will require a knowledge of autocad so it really is a matter of getting to know how to use it but at least you are searching for help unlike a lot of first years who dig their head in the sand and just end up knowing nothing.

I dug up my old autocad book and i take back what i said about them not showing how to see how parts should look on the screen (Most book are useless a they give too much info to take in). This book might be useful, as all it does really is work through examples step by step basically telling you what button you have to press and why!

It will basically work you through the problem and you will see it come together on the screen and this really helps you learn how to do it on your own.

heres a link for the book just so you can see it:

http://www.bookshop.ie/book/0582424909//

This book is not designed for students and beginners and after few weeks you probably won't need it. Maybe get it out in the library in college cos you wont use it much after.

The book that Sean_K mentioned above is good book for autocad but not really a learning book. Has too much stuff in it (it is a bible)

If you need any help just PM me as many people struggle in engineering in the first year and it aint nice.

Also ask the lecturer after class can he help you a bit as you are struggling, and remember if you are willing to learn and you dont know it, it means the lecturer isnt doing his job.

Autocad blew my mind when i started it first too.
The first thing the lecturer told us was that women and right handers suck at spatial things like Autocad.
It took me three sessions to get a hang of drawing a straight line, so I just went to extra sessions and fiddled around myself with the coursework and the tutorials.
The lecturer mellowed when he saw I was making an effort, but really I didn't give a ****e what he thought about me, because you don't go to college because you know it all already!
In the end I topped the class.