Functional Difference Between AutoCAD & AutoCAD Mechanical

[love78love]

Hi There,

I have recently installed AutocAD Mechanical 2015 from your portal for 3years as Student Subscription. I am familiar with AutoCAD however finding it difficult to relate to it to AutoCAD Mechanical. I have tried searching the net for some tutorial on AutoCAD Mechanical however could not find concrete solution to the problem. Hence seeking help on this forum. Any information about the difference in the two modules & whether AutoCAD Mechanical can work as a normal AutoCAD tool, would be of immense help.

As an example > In Autocad, a line between the co-ordinates 3,1 & 3,6 would be a straight line, however the line between the same co-ordinates is inclined in AutoCAD Mechanical. But one observation is, in AutoCAD Mechanical when the last co-ordinate was given in the command as *3,6, the line was drawn straight.

I do not have hands on AutoCAD Mechanical & I am trying to learn the tool by myself & using resources on internet. Any help in this regard would be highly greatful.

Regards,

Joy.

[andrewmole]

Hi love78love,

I think this might help you out. It shows you the workflow comparisons in between AutoCAD & AutoCAD Mechanical.

Go to AutoCAD Mechanical Help as below:

[markhoward2]

Line input should be identical in AutoCAD and AutoCAD Mechanical. With Dynamic Input turned on the first input is X,Y in Cartesian coordinates. The second is then relative, i.e. a distance and a vector or angle. so the 3,6 might end up being 3 inches at 6 degrees. You can turn on Polar (F8) or Ortho (F10) and hold your cursor in the direction you wish to draw. You will get a green dotted tracking line, and when you type 3 and hit enter, it will draw exactly 3 Inches in that direction. You may also enter 3 and TAB to the angle field and enter 0 or 90 or whatever angle/direction you are going. As an alternative you can enter # and that will put you in 'absolute' mode instead of relative. Then 3,6 will draw to x of 3 and y of 6 a horizontal line from your 3,1.

[love78love]

Thank you sso much Mark for highlighting this change in coordinate system in the newer version of AutoCAD. I was able to discover the change in the coordinate entry system by getting into the Dynamic Input Settings dialog box.