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AutoCAD exercise: a stepped shaft

Draw a stepped shaft in AutoCAD: half its outline as a polyline, chamfered, mirrored about the axis, and its lengths as chain dimensions. Free, step by step.

Open in the editor

Draw this stepped shaft in side view, in millimetres: 150 long, with diameters of 30, 40 and 30 over lengths of 40, 60 and 50, and both ends chamfered 2 by 2. Draw the half above the axis as one polyline, chamfer it and mirror it; then the edges seen across the shaft, the axis and the lengths. The diameters are the ones given here.

The drawing

A stepped shaft in side view, 150 long, its lengths dimensioned in a chain.406050150
A stepped shaft in side view, 150 long, its lengths dimensioned in a chain.

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 upper half

On the Outline layer, one PLINE from 0,0: up 0,15, along 40,0, up 0,5, along 60,0, down 0,-5, along 50,0 and down 0,-15, back to the axis. Enter ends it.

1. Draw the upper half
  1. Command: PLINE
  2. Specify start point: 0,0
  3. Current line-width is 0.00
  4. Specify next point or [Arc/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: @0,15
  5. Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: @40,0
  6. Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: @0,5
  7. Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: @60,0
  8. Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: @0,-5
  9. Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: @50,0
  10. Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: @0,-15
  11. Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]:
1. Draw the upper half

2. Chamfer the ends

CHAMFER, then Distance: 2, and Enter takes 2 for the second distance too. Multiple chamfers one corner after another without starting again: pick the two segments at each end's corner.

2. Chamfer the ends
  1. Command: CHAMFER
  2. (TRIM mode) Current chamfer Dist1 = 0.00, Dist2 = 0.00
  3. Select first line or [Undo/Polyline/Distance/Multiple]: D
  4. Specify first chamfer distance <0.00>: 2
  5. Specify second chamfer distance <2.00>:
  6. Select first line or [Undo/Polyline/Distance/Multiple]: M
  7. Select first line or [Undo/Polyline/Distance/Multiple]:
  8. Select second line or shift-select to apply corner or [Distance]:
  9. Select first line or [Undo/Polyline/Distance/Multiple]:
  10. Select second line or shift-select to apply corner or [Distance]:
  11. Select first line or [Undo/Polyline/Distance/Multiple]:
2. Chamfer the ends

3. Mirror it

MIRROR: pick the polyline, press Enter, then the mirror line from 0,0 to 150,0, the axis, and Enter to keep the original.

3. Mirror it
  1. Command: MIRROR
  2. Select objects: 1 found
  3. Select objects:
  4. Specify first point of mirror line: 0,0
  5. Specify second point of mirror line: @150,0
  6. Erase source objects? [Yes/No] <No>:
3. Mirror it

4. Draw the edges

With LINE, the edges seen across the shaft, each 0,30 up from the bottom: from 2,-15 and 148,-15 at the chamfers, and from 40,-15 and 100,-15 at the shoulders.

4. Draw the edges
  1. Command: LINE
  2. Specify first point: 2,-15
  3. Specify next point or [Undo]: @0,30
  4. Specify next point or [Undo]:
  5. Command: LINE
  6. Specify first point: 40,-15
  7. Specify next point or [Undo]: @0,30
  8. Specify next point or [Undo]:
  9. Command: LINE
  10. Specify first point: 100,-15
  11. Specify next point or [Undo]: @0,30
  12. Specify next point or [Undo]:
  13. Command: LINE
  14. Specify first point: 148,-15
  15. Specify next point or [Undo]: @0,30
  16. Specify next point or [Undo]:
4. Draw the edges

5. Draw the axis

On Centre lines, the axis: a line from -8,0 to 166,0 further on.

5. Draw the axis
  1. Command: LINE
  2. Specify first point: -8,0
  3. Specify next point or [Undo]: @166,0
  4. Specify next point or [Undo]:
5. Draw the axis

6. Dimension it

On Dimensions, DIMLINEAR for the first length, 40, placed below. DIMCONTINUE carries on from its second extension line: #100,-20, then #150,-15, typed from the origin with #, and Enter twice to end it. A last DIMLINEAR gives the whole length, 150, further below.

6. Dimension it406050150
  1. Command: DIMLINEAR
  2. Specify first extension line origin or <select object>: 0,-13
  3. Specify second extension line origin: @40,-7
  4. Non-associative dimension created.
  5. Specify dimension line location or [Text/Angle/Horizontal/Vertical/Rotated]:
  6. Dimension text = 40
  7. Command: DIMCONTINUE
  8. Specify second extension line origin or [Select/Undo] <Select>: #100,-20
  9. Dimension text = 60
  10. Specify second extension line origin or [Select/Undo] <Select>: #150,-15
  11. Dimension text = 50
  12. Specify second extension line origin or [Select/Undo] <Select>:
  13. Select continued dimension:
  14. Command: DIMLINEAR
  15. Specify first extension line origin or <select object>: 0,-13
  16. Specify second extension line origin: @150,-2
  17. Non-associative dimension created.
  18. Specify dimension line location or [Text/Angle/Horizontal/Vertical/Rotated]:
  19. Dimension text = 150
6. Dimension it

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