[cglover89]

Hello, Im looking to expose myself to CAD as much as I can before I begin classes. Im very inexperienced as far as CAD goes or really drafting in general. I work in a shop with CNCs and Boring Mills so im exposed to prints made from CAD on a daily basis but thats about it. Im looking for good resources to get my feet wet and exposed to drafting in general and also resources focused on CAD.

(I have autocad 2013 if that helps or matters)

Thanks a lot
Casey

[txcncman]

If you have AutoCad then you are well on your way to full exposure. Become extremely familiar with AutoCad and you should be able to transition to any other CAD fairly easily. The differences between CAD to CAD, or CAM to CAM are like the differences between Ford trucks and Chevy trucks. They are both trucks. They both can move your cargo from point A to point B. They will have the radio mounted in a different location on the dash board. Or the A/C controls will be different. One will be slightly more fuel efficient than the other. But once you learn to operate a Ford truck, you can adapt to operating the Chevy truck fairly quickly.

[cglover89]

Ok thank you that is good to know especially considering where I work uses different forms. Do you by chance know a good place to start learning about how to use CAD by chance or should i just start searching in general for CAD tutorials.

[txcncman]

You can ask AutoCad specific questions here on CNCZone. Look for YouTube videos on AutoCad. I do not know if AutoCad continues to include tutorials or not. Check the AutoCad help files for information.

[ger21]

AutoCAD used to have a great help file, but it wouldn't teach you how to use it.
The 2013 help files are 2 steps backward, imo.

I'd say your best bet, is to see if you can get some instruction from someone at your workplace that uses it. It will speed up the learning curve by a factor of 10.

Otherwise, there are some good tutorials here.
AutoCAD Tutorials | CADTutor

[victorofga]

with autocad 2013 you must have book, or cd...

but on ebay you can buy autocad books.. the older versions also works for you.. commands are same..
also variables most of them same.. like dimensioning variables


i have autocad13 amd 2000 books... user guide start with drawing a simple vector, and ending with complex drawings..
comandreference dtailing all commands discussing different settings..

[cglover89]

Cool thanks a lot for the help guys, ill start checking out those resources and go from there