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AutoCAD exercise: a gasket

Draw a gasket in AutoCAD: a rounded plate, a bore, four holes copied from one, centre lines and dimensions, solved step by step. Practise it free online.

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Draw this gasket, in millimetres: a plate 120 by 80 with its corners rounded to a radius of 10, a bore of 40 in the middle and four holes of 10, their centres 12 from the edges, with the bore's centre lines and the dimensions. Everything is typed: the first point of a command is where you type it, and each point after it is measured from the last one. The outline, the centre lines and the dimensions each go on their own layer.

The drawing

The gasket, 120 by 80, dimensioned.120809656Ø40Ø10
The gasket, 120 by 80, dimensioned.

Step by step

The engine draws each step and writes its history as you would type it: the prompts in AutoCAD 2027's order, with the same option letters. After a command's first point, a typed point is measured from the last one, as dynamic input measures it, and the history writes it with @; # measures from the origin.

1. Draw the outline

Make Outline the current layer in the Layer control. RECTANG draws the plate in one go: choose Fillet and type the radius, 10, then the first corner, 0,0, and the other corner, 120,80, measured from the first.

1. Draw the outline
  1. Command: RECTANG
  2. Specify first corner point or [Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]: F
  3. Specify fillet radius for rectangles <0.00>: 10
  4. Specify first corner point or [Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]: 0,0
  5. Specify other corner point or [Area/Dimensions/Rotation]: @120,80
1. Draw the outline

2. Draw the bore

CIRCLE at the plate's middle, 60,40: choose Diameter and type 40.

2. Draw the bore
  1. Command: CIRCLE
  2. Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: 60,40
  3. Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]: D
  4. Specify diameter of circle: 40
2. Draw the bore

3. Copy the holes

Draw one hole, a circle at 12,12 with a Diameter of 10, then copy it with COPY: pick the circle, press Enter, take its centre, 12,12, as the base point, and type where each copy goes from there: 96,0, then 96,56, then 0,56. Enter ends the copies.

3. Copy the holes
  1. Command: CIRCLE
  2. Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: 12,12
  3. Specify radius of circle or [Diameter] <20.00>: D
  4. Specify diameter of circle <40.00>: 10
  5. Command: COPY
  6. Select objects: 1 found
  7. Select objects:
  8. Current settings: Copy mode = Multiple
  9. Specify base point or [Displacement] <Displacement>: 12,12
  10. Specify second point or <use first point as displacement>: @96,0
  11. Specify second point or [Exit/Undo] <Exit>: @96,56
  12. Specify second point or [Exit/Undo] <Exit>: @0,56
  13. Specify second point or [Exit/Undo] <Exit>:
3. Copy the holes

4. Draw the centre lines

Make Centre lines current. Two lines with LINE cross at the bore's centre and run 6 past its edge: from 60,14, 0,52 up; from 34,40, 52,0 across. Enter ends each one.

4. Draw the centre lines
  1. Command: LINE
  2. Specify first point: 60,14
  3. Specify next point or [Undo]: @0,52
  4. Specify next point or [Undo]:
  5. Command: LINE
  6. Specify first point: 34,40
  7. Specify next point or [Undo]: @52,0
  8. Specify next point or [Undo]:
4. Draw the centre lines

5. Dimension it

Make Dimensions current. DIMLINEAR takes two points and then where the dimension line goes: the length from 0,10 to 120,0 further on, placed below; the height on the right; the holes' spacing, 96 and 56. A point typed at its prompts touches no object, so each of these is created non-associative, and the command line says so. DIMDIAMETER picks a circle and places its diameter: the bore's, then one hole's.

5. Dimension it120809656Ø40Ø10
  1. Command: DIMLINEAR
  2. Specify first extension line origin or <select object>: 0,10
  3. Specify second extension line origin: @120,0
  4. Non-associative dimension created.
  5. Specify dimension line location or [Text/Angle/Horizontal/Vertical/Rotated]:
  6. Dimension text = 120
  7. Command: DIMLINEAR
  8. Specify first extension line origin or <select object>: 110,0
  9. Specify second extension line origin: @0,80
  10. Non-associative dimension created.
  11. Specify dimension line location or [Text/Angle/Horizontal/Vertical/Rotated]:
  12. Dimension text = 80
  13. Command: DIMLINEAR
  14. Specify first extension line origin or <select object>: 12,68
  15. Specify second extension line origin: @96,0
  16. Non-associative dimension created.
  17. Specify dimension line location or [Text/Angle/Horizontal/Vertical/Rotated]:
  18. Dimension text = 96
  19. Command: DIMLINEAR
  20. Specify first extension line origin or <select object>: 12,12
  21. Specify second extension line origin: @0,56
  22. Non-associative dimension created.
  23. Specify dimension line location or [Text/Angle/Horizontal/Vertical/Rotated]:
  24. Dimension text = 56
  25. Command: DIMDIAMETER
  26. Select arc or circle:
  27. Dimension text = 40
  28. Specify dimension line location or [Text/Angle]:
  29. Command: DIMDIAMETER
  30. Select arc or circle:
  31. Dimension text = 10
  32. Specify dimension line location or [Text/Angle]:
5. Dimension it

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