Drawing a detailed of an extension spring .

In this tutorial you learn hot to draw an extension spring with 2.00 -inch in diameter with right –hand coils made from .250-inch wire.
The spring’s pitch is .25-inch and length is 3.00-inch .See the figure below.

First draw shape of one of the coils. Array the coil shape with 1 row, and 12 columns and .25 apart.Then by the figure 2 draw two concentric circles at the left end of the spring so that larger circles diameter equals the spring diameter.

Using Trim command avoid this figure as shown below, and fillet them with r .125

Using again Trim command you should create a space by eye and use the command that I emphases as shown in the figure.

I hope I have been cleared for you.Thank you very much..

Keyboard in AutoCAD

For AutoCAD veterans users I have listed all shortcuts of keyboard.

See all keyboards shortcuts and use them.


F1 - displays help

F2 - displays text window

F3 - switches object snaps

F4 - toggles table mode

F5 - toggles isometric planes

F6 - toggles DUCS (switches coordinate display, till A2006)

F7 - toggles grid display

F8 - toggles ortho mode

F9 - toggles snap

F10 - toggles polar tracing

F11 - toggles object tracing

F12 - toggles dynamic input (2006+)



ESC - cancel changes, cancel grips

TAB - cycles osnaps

SHIFT - (on object selection) removes objects

DEL - erases objects (hold when pointing)



Ctrl+0 - toggles clean-screen mode (2004+)

Ctrl+1 - displays Properties window

Ctrl+2 - displays DesignCenter window

Ctrl+3 - displays Tool palette (2004+)

Ctrl+4 - displays Sheet Set Manager, or Content Manager (2005+, ADT2004)

Ctrl+5 - displays Info Palette, or Project Navigator (2005-2007, ADT2004)

Ctrl+6 - displays dBConnect window

Ctrl+7 - displays Markup Manager (2005)

Ctrl+8 - displays Quick Calculator (2006+)

Ctrl+9 - shows/hides Command line (2006+)



Ctrl+A - selects all thawed objects (2002)

Ctrl+Shift+A - toggles group selection (group/single)

Ctrl+B - toggles snap

Ctrl+C - copies content to Clipboard

Ctrl+Shift+C - copies with reference point

Ctrl+D - toggles coordinates display (dynamic UCS, till 2009)

Ctrl+E - switches isoplanes

Ctrl+Shift+E - pull a region to 3D (PRESSPULL, since 2010)

Ctrl+F - toggles osnaps

Ctrl+G - toggles grid display

Ctrl+H - toggles Pickstyle (group and hatch selection)

Ctrl+Shift+H - toggles Palettes display (2009+)

Ctrl+I - toggles coordinate display (2009+)

Ctrl+J - repeats the last command (Enter)

Ctrl+K - displays the Hyperlink dialog

Ctrl+L - toggles Ortho mode

Ctrl+N - starts new drawing

Ctrl+O - opens a drawing

Ctrl+P - print a drawing

Ctrl+Shift+P - toggles Quick Properties display (2009+)

Ctrl+Q - quits AutoCAD (2004+)

Ctrl+R - switches to the next viewport

Ctrl+S - saves drawing

Ctrl+Shift+S - saves drawing as (2004+)

Ctrl+T - toggles the Tablet mode

Ctrl+U - switches polar tracing

Ctrl+V - pastes the Clipboard contents

Ctrl+Shift+V - pastes contents as block

Ctrl+W - toggles object tracing

Ctrl+X - cuts contents to the Clipboard

Ctrl+Y - redoes the undone action

Ctrl+Z - undoes the last action

Ctrl+PgDn - switches to the next layout (2004+)

Ctrl+PgUp - switches to the previous layout (2004+)





Alt+F8 - VBA macros

Alt+F11 - VBA editor



Temporary override keys (2006+):

Shift - switches ortho mode

Shift+- switches dynamic UCS mode (2007+)

Shift+)- switches object tracing mode (2007+)

Shift+. switches polar mode

Shift+A - switches osnaps

Shift+E - switches endpoint osnap

Shift+C - switches center osnap

Shift+D - disables osnaps and tracing

Shift+M - switches middle osnap

Shift+Q - switches object tracing osnap

Shift+S - enables osnap override

Shift+W - starts SteeringWheel (A2009+)

Shift+X - switches polar tracing



CTRL+mouse - cycles selection of overlapping objects (till 2006)

Shift+space - cycles selection of overlapping objects in 2D (2007+)

CTRL+space - cycles selection of overlapping sub-objects in 3D (2007+)

CTRL+ALT - extrudes the selected region into 3D - PRESSPULL (2007+)

CTRL+arrow - moves cursor

Arrow up/down - command history



CTRL+SHIFT+letter - goes to the property in the Properties window

ALT+down arrow - opens a list in the Properties window

ALT+up arrow - closes a list in the Properties window

Of course all the Windows shortcut keys remain active as well (Ctrl+Tab, Ctrl+F3, Ctrl+F6 etc.). Other shortcuts may be defined as user keys in the ACCELERATORS section of your AutoCAD menu. Since AutoCAD version 2006 you can also use CUI to define so called temporary override keys.

Thanks CADFORUM.CZ

Publishing your drawing as *.PDF in AutoCAD 2010

One of new feature of AutoCAD 2010 is publishing drawings in PDF format.

Let's start how we can do it.

In command line  type: publishing than enter

See about the image below choose pdf in publish to.

Choose your drawing in our case I have choose Ex16-15MM-Model just as in image below.

You see in the status menu we have no errors ok but layouts I have no activations.

Click publish button and we see our drawing  in pdf.

Naturaly if we have no activation  layouts we have publishing blank sheets.