Basic Commands
AutoCAD Tutorials
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In this quick tutorial I will show you how to construct a simple circle within AutoCAD.
The Circle Command
The Circle Command will be one of the most used commands you will perform in AutoCAD.
There are 6 different ways for which you can create the perfect circle, but lets start with the basics first.
Open up a new drawing in AutoCAD to do this go
- File > New
Now, we will enter the Circle Command:
- Type C and then ENTER
AutoCAD will prompt you with the following code within the command line.
Specify centre point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]:
As you can see there are several options with which we can use to construct the circle. You can Specify the circles centre point, or use 3 Points on the circumference (3P), between 2 points (2P) or using the Tangent Tangent Radius (Ttr). Generally speaking, you will use the default option "Specify centre point for circle"
Quick Tip!
Type just the UPPERCASE Letter prompted on the command line to activate that command.
By default, AutoCAD Click anywhere on your screen to select the first point. You screen should look something like this:
type in the radius you want your circle to be or alternatively type D to specify the Diameter you wish your circle to be.
- Type in 50
The screen will now look like this, and you have just created your first circle!
You can use the circle command for all sorts of things, it can come in very handy when you know the radius of an arc, all you need to do is draw a circle between the two points, with that radius and then trim the circle down accordingly.
As I mentioned there are other ways for creating a circle, try these out at your leisure, you may find you like to use another method, I find the one discussed here to be the quickest and simplest to understand.
Sequence:
- C > ENTER
- Click left mouse to pick 1st point
- Select either Radius or Diameter
- Type in Radius or Diameter
- ENTER to end command and place the circle
This gives you a brief introduction to the circle command, next it's onto drawing Arcs
Lines | Circles | Arcs | Rectangles | Polylines | Polygons | Splines | Project