Autodesk AutoCAD pertama kali dirilis pada bulan Desember 1982, tetapi sejarahnya dapat ditelusuri lebih jauh ke tahun 1977 ketika sistem CAD asli yang disebut Interact sedang dalam pengembangan, yang kemudian diubah namanya menjadi AutoCAD.
Perusahaan Autodesk didirikan pada tahun yang sama dengan AutoCAD, yaitu tahun 1982. Perangkat lunak desain ini ternyata sukses besar. Hanya butuh waktu empat tahun bagi perusahaan ini untuk menghasilkan lebih dari $100.000.000. Saat ini, Autodesk AutoCAD telah lama menjadi alat standar industri di bidang arsitektur dan teknik.
Features and Highlights
Autodesk AutoCAD adalah perangkat lunak desain yang ditujukan untuk arsitek dan insinyur yang menggunakan pendekatan menggambar dan pemodelan. Perangkat lunak ini mendukung fungsionalitas cloud yang semakin meningkatkan fungsionalitas dan kegunaannya.
As a software that offers tons of features, the user interface is quite overwhelming for learners, but overall it is divided into several areas which are ribbon, menu bar, toolboxes, command line, status bar, and graphic area. As you spend more time with the software, you will get familiar with all the available features.
Ribbon, which you can hide and unhide as needed, is the area where you can find various commands to perform actions. The ribbon comprises several tabs, and each tab contains specific commands. The tabs are categorized as contextual and static tabs. Contextual tabs appear only when certain objects are selected, while static tabs are always visible even when you do not select anything.
Some of the contextual tabs include Duct Fitting, Pipe Custom Fitting, Cable Tray Fitting, Schematic Symbol, Schematic Line, Plumbing Line, and Conduit Fitting. On the other hand, the tabs that fall under the static category are Home, Insert, Annotate, Analyze, View, and Manage.
Quick Access Toolbar is probably one of the features that you will use a lot. It contains a bunch of commands that are used frequently. You can customize the toolbar by adding and removing commands.
The native file type that Autodesk AutoCAD creates is called DWG. This file type can be created by some other CAD software as well, but only Autodesk AutoCAD capable of creating RealDWG files.
In Autodesk AutoCAD, you will work with elements called block. It is a term which refers to the building elements that are stored in the library. By using blocks, you can save time because all you need to do is just take an object from the library and add it in your design. For example, doors, stairs, chairs, and windows. These are the objects that are commonly needed in designing a house.
