NanoCAD is a CAD program that’s free, and gives us the all functions we need to complete our courses. And as a bonus, it’s command structure, and even it’s interface is very much like AutoCAD.
nanoCAD Plus/Pro 11 are the new releases of the DWG editing software from Nanosoft. In this video, you learn the most basic functions, such as starting nanoCAD, accessing recently-used drawings, navigating the user interface, and how to find the commands you need to use.
Drawings are much larger than your computer screen, and so it is important to move (pan) around drawings, and see parts more closely (zoom). nanoCAD 11 makes real time pan and zoom of large drawings faster. In this video, you learn how to manipulate the mouse to move about drawings quickly.
The line is the most basic object drawn in CAD. In this video, you learn how to draw and edit lines as single objects and as rectangles. Special emphasis is placed on using drawing aids like object snaps, object tracking, and polar tracking, because these help you draw lines relative to other objects. You see how to draw lines with x,y coordinates and by using direct entry.
Arcs may be the trickiest object to draw in CAD, and nanoCAD provides a dozen ways to do this. In this video, you learn how to draw and edit basic arcs, and then learn the differences between them. You also learn workarounds to drawing arcs in special circumstances.
The line is the most basic CAD object, but polylines are possibly the most used ones. A polyline consists of one or more arcs and segments, like a single object. This tutorial shows you how to draw and edit them. Special consideration is given to converting polylines to spline objects. Bonus tips show how to manipulate the spline, and how to turn a group of lines and arcs into polylines.
Text is important for providing information in drawings, and nanoCAD provides two ways to place text — Text and MText. In this video, you learn how to use the Text command to place single lines of text, edit the wording, and change the look of the text.
Sometimes you need to place entire paragraphs of text, and so nanoCAD the MText — short for multiline text. In this video, you learn how to start the MText command and specify the width of the text block, paste several paragraphs of text, and then edit it and change its formatting.
In this video, you learn how to draw circles and ellipses by a variety of methods, and then how to edit them using grips and the Properties panel. The video include tips on how to turn circles into arcs, and arcs into circles.
Moving lets you reposition objects in drawings, while Copy lets you make copies effortlessly. In this video, you learn how to use the Move and Copy commands, which are very similar. As well, you learn how to move and copy objects without having to use commands, and how to copy objects between drawings.
Sometimes we make drawings of symmetrical objects, and here the Mirror command makes it faster to create them. It makes mirrored copies. In this video, you learn how to use the Mirror command to make single and doubly symmetrical objects, as well as how to the command’s Perpendicular option.
Sometimes you need to reference other drawings, and nanoCAD lets you insert those other drawings in the one you are working with. This is called ‘DWG references’ or ‘external references’ or ‘xref’ for short. In this video, you learn how to insert drawings in drawings:
• Using the XAttach command to attach an external drawing to the current one
• Editing the attached drawing and updating it
• Toggling the visibility of xrefs
• Removing xrefs form drawings by unloading them