Using 2D CAD for Steam Engines (Draftsight)

[PatJ]

Here is a review I did in late 2010 about a free 2D drawing program "Draftsight", made by Dassault Systems, the same folks who make Solidworks.  I was so impressed with the 2D program, that I created a tutorial for it, which is included here.

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/free-cad-software/

Note:  Since Draftsight is so similar to AutoCAD 2D, you can generally use this tutorial to also learn AutoCAD 2D.
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I downloaded Draftsight from the Dassault Systems web page and loaded it.

I then loaded the most complicated drawing I could find into it, about a 5 MB drawing, and tried everything I could to make it lock up, but the program operated perfectly.
The screen layout is very good, and no jumpy cursor movement or other annoying things like the cheap programs.
I used it first time no problem without reading any instructions.
I just loaded it and started drawing.  No problems whatsoever.
Very intuitive program.

It does ask you for an email address for registration, and then send you an email that you have to respond to just by pressing the link, but nothing else.

I must say, I am very impressed with this 2D product.  It is not an el-cheapo.  It is obviously a part of a larger very well designed interface.

I did not figure out how to use "press-and-drag" with it, but other than that, it seems to do everything I want, and do it well.
Press and drag eliminates having to click twice to select an object.  You just window an object with press and drag and it is automatically selected.  Much faster.

It appears that the keyboard shortcuts can be customized easily, which is good since I use custom shortcuts extensively.  I draw with two hands drawing, never taking my hands out of position, and never looking away from the screen.  I use the left hand on the keyboard with custom keyboard shortcuts such as E for line, D for delete, F for move, C for copy, V for mirror, T for trim, S for save, A for match properties, R for rotate, B for block, X for explode, etc.  The idea is to group the commands that are used most frequently under the left hand index finger, otherwise you can end up making some awkward hand movements trying to reach frequently used keys.  The worst thing you can do is arrange your shortcuts so that you have to move your left hand out of position to reach a commonly used command, and worst of all, a key stroke that requires you to look away from the screen.

The program seems to have excellent grips, which is what I use constantly, and the thing that I have seen other programs fall short on.  The grips seem to match the other commonly used CAD programs, ie: center, midpoint, endpoint, etc.  Grips are essential for a good drawing program.

This program also allows you to "save-as" to a wide variety of formats such as version 2000, 2002, 2004, etc., and I think even to PDF, but I did not try the PDF feature.
This program would be a useful conversion tool to change from 2010 drawings to 2000 version drawings.

It also has right click for repeat command, or other selections on a pop-up menu, and pan by holding down the wheel on the mouse.

Draftsight appears to be a good 2D drafting program, and in the past, I have paid $750.00 for a similar 2D program.
Draftsight is very similar to AutoCad 2D, a clone basically.

Here is how I set up the program:

SET UP THE PROGRAM TOOLBARS AND OPTIONS:
1. Turn on the toolbars that you want/need/commonly would use. Drag them around into a position that you prefer.

2. Set all the variables such as units, cursor size and type, and a few other options.

GENERAL PROCEDURES - DRAWINGS:
1. Keep the drawings as simple as possible.  Many drafting people are of the opinion that if you are given 10,000 options, then you are a better drafter if you actually use all 10,000 options, and better yet, they mix and match the options randomly so that only they can figure out what they did.  I cannot emphasize enough....LESS IS MORE in 2D cad drafting.
Keep your drawings simple and then you and anyone else can use your drawings.  Don't force other people to have to reverse engineer your cad setup just to be able to use your drawings.  Simple drawings are also much easier to import into other programs, or to change versions within the same program.
Keep it simple, it really pays off in the long run.

2. Consistency is everything in CAD drawings.  One should almost always draw a line or entity by snapping to some fixed point on an object that is already in the drawing, or by started from a defined point in space.  Never draw "floaters".  Floaters are objects that just float around in space, and are not attached to or referenced to any point.  You can never have any accuracy with your drawing if you have floaters.

3. Don't draw more than you have to.  For most objects, you can draw just 1/4 of the object, and then mirror the remainder into place.  The mirrored objects will be exactly identical to the original, and you only have to draw 1/4 of the object.

4. Remember the UNDO button.  Many times, if a number of lines have been drawn, and it is realized that the first line is wrong.  Don't erase the drawing, just UNDO back to the correct point, and then start again.

5. Either use the AUTOSAVE option so that the program automatically saves your drawing every so many minutes, or toggle this command OFF and do a manual save every so often.  I toggle off the AUTOSAVE option, but I manually save the drawing after every command is completed using the customized keyboard keystroke "S". Whichever works for you. If you are not religious about saving, then by all means use the AUTOSAVE option.  There is nothing worse than working on a drawing for an hour, only to have a power bump, and poof, it is all gone.

6. After every session where major work on a drawing is completed, save the file with a new Rev number, ie: ENGINE-NO-5-Rev-01.dwg, ENGINE-NO-5-Rev-02.dwg, etc. That way, if the file happens to get corrupted (which happens rarely, but does occasionaly happen), then you can drop back to the previous rev number.  Or if you realize you have made a massive error as you start into a multi-day drawing, you can just drop back to the drawing created on an earlier day, without loosing the entire drawing.

7. Grids seem to have limited usefulness (grids are a series of tiny dots that you can toggle to show up on the screen), and some find them counterproductive.  If you have a specific application that would lend itself to the grid, by all means use grids.  If you do use grids, the F7 key toggles them on and off.  If you see a bunch of dots appear suddenly that you were not expecting, you may have hit F7 accidently.  Just hit it again and toggle the grid off.

8. It is generally helpful to have a text and scale chart, although it is not absolutely necessary to use one.

9. Draw EVERYTHING exactly the size it is in the real world.  If you measure a screw 6" long with a ruler, then draw it 6" long.  If you have a piston 2" in diameter, then draw it 2" in diameter.  If you fail to draw things the same size as they are in the real world, then your will have endless trouble with dimensions, etc., etc.
NEVER SCALE A DRAWING UP OR DOWN.  Scaling a drawing up or down creates serious problems.  Titleblocks can be scaled up and down without problems.

10. You can start with a series of pre-drawn titleblocks, with one for each of the common scales.  If you insert these all at once into your drawing, as a block, then you can pick the one that fits around your drawing.  This eliminates having to scale titleblocks up and down.  The titleblock that fits around your drawing will determine your scale factor.  For small models, it is easy to use standard sheet sizes like 8.5"x11", and plot everything at a ratio of 1:1, ie: a 5" line in CAD plots on the paper 5" long.
If you include correctly scaled text below each titleblock (in the group of titleblocks you insert), then just copy the text that goes with the size titleblock you select, and you eliminate the need for a text and scale chart.

11. Often, it is helpful to draw a horizontal and vertical centerline first, and then use these centerlines for any mirroring.  Often, if other lines are used for mirroring, you can get an error in line length, especially if you used a reference line that has been trimmed and is no longer symmetrical.

12. I use shortcut keys for the most frequently used commands such as "C" for COPY, "M" for MOVE, "R" for ROTATE, "T" for TRIM, "S" for SAVE, "M" for MIRROR, "O" for OFFSET, "E" for DELETE, "L" for LINE ( I actually have my own key shortcuts to minimize hand/finger movements, but many people stick with the stock shortcuts that come with the program, since it is easier to remember).  Shortcut keys are keys on the keyboard that can be programed to start a particular command using your left hand with a single keystroke.
Remember to hit ESC to stop drawing a line, unless you want to continue to draw segment after segment.
Generally, a fairly consistent shortcut key arrangement will be as follows:

E = DELETE
R = ROTATE (you will have to set this in Draftsight)
T = TEXT (I use T for TRIM)
U = UNDO
I = INSERT BLOCK
O = OFFSET
A = ARC
S = STRETCH (I use S for SAVE)
D = DIMENSION STYLE (I use D for DELETE)
F = FILLET
H = HATCH
L = LINE
X = XPLODE
C = CIRCLE (I use C for COPY) (remember, you can keep selecting additional points and dropping copies all over the drawing once you start the COPY command, ESC to stop copying).
B = BLOCK (makes a block) (Making a block means that you select a number of unrelated lines and objects, and create a single entity such as a "CylinderHead". Once you have created the cylinder head, all of the objects in the cylinder head move as a single object when you select and move the block. Exploding the block returns the items to their original unrelated form.)
M = MOVE

I use custom shortcut keys designed to keep the left hand in place at all times, and to group the most frequently used commands under the left index finger, as mentioned above, but that makes for some odd shortcuts such as F = MOVE. Since most keystrokes seem to be are COPY, MOVE and ROTATE, then I can pick any of these with my left index finger easily using the F, C and R buttons.

13. I use the OFFSET command frequently when drawing engines. Generally I establish a base line, and then offset from that baseline. The effect is to create a copy of the line at the offset distance that you specify. ie: Draw a line, offset it 1", and you have two lines representing a cylinder with the bore of 1". Offset the lines again, and you have the outer cylinder walls, and offset again, and you have the outer flange dimensions.

14. You can easily create symmetrical patterns of holes in either a rectangular (rows and colunms) or polar (circular) pattern.  For instance, for a cylinder flange, just draw one hole in the flange in the appropriate location, and then array the number of holes you want around a 360 degree pattern.

15. AutoCAD has a very useful tool called DIVIDE.  If Draftsight does not have this option, they need to have it.  It allow you to draw a line, and then divide it into any number of segments.  This is extemely handy in laying out holes in steam chest flanges, etc. where you have placed the holes at either end of the chest, and want for instance 4 holes in between these two.  Just draw a line between the centers of the two holes, and use DIVIDE with a quantity of 5 (4 holes have 5 spaces).  Remember that if you use the DIVIDE command in AutoCad, it apears as if nothing happens after you finish the command.  What AutoCad actually does is insert nodes (nodes are just dots) beneath the line, and you cannot see them.  You can carefully select the line only and erase it to see the nodes, or turn on the snap to node option to allow the cursor to snap to the nodes.

16. Using the F8 key toggles ORTHO mode on and off.  With ORTHO on, the cursor moves only in the X or Y direction.  With ORTHO off, the cursor moves in any direction.

17. A nice feature that Draftsight has is if you start a command such as CIRCLE, and pick your first point, you can select the F1 key, and a help screen will pop up and tell you all about how to draw a circle.  Seems to work with any command.  You can close the help screen at any time and continue the command.

18. There are several ways to select an object or objects.  One way is to just pick it with the cursor.  Another way is to hold down the left mouse button and drag a window around the object from left to right.  The objects selected when you window from left to right have to be completely within the window, or they will not be selected.  If you draw the same window, but from right to left, you will see a dashed window (called the marching ants), and anything that this window touches, whether it be partially inside the window but hanging outside the window, or completely in the window will be selected.  The windowing options between solid window and marching ants are extremely useful when your drawing gets complicated, and you want to select certain items and exclude others.

19. Often people select items using one of the window types, but get more objects selected than they wanted, and thus they hit the ESC (escape) key and start all over. You do not have to hit the ESC key if you have selected too many objects, just hold down the SHIFT key and pick any items you want to remove from the selection set.
Sometimes it is much easier to select a large group, and then deselect a few items with the SHIFT key.

20. When using the COPY command, you first select the object you want to copy (preferably select a grip on the object like the endpoint or midpoint), and then select the location where you want the copy to go. If you want to copy a line over to the right 2" and up 4", use COPY, select any point in the drawing, and then type in @2,4.
The @ symbol means copy the object relative to the first point you picked. I often forget the @ sign, and the copy goes flying off the screen, since it is referencing the 0,0 point in the drawing. No problem, just select UNDO.

21. Remember that if you complete a command, and you do not see the result you anticipated, immediately use the UNDO button.  Some people will use a command which draws an object incorrectly off the screen, or draws an object exactly under another object.  Since it appears that nothing happened, then they repeat the command a number of times.  If a command does not yield the results you are anticipating, stop for as long as it takes, ask questions, and figure out what the problem is before you continue with the drawing.  I have seen objects that have been copied on top of themselves 255 times, and then that object was copied all over the drawing.  When I tried to edit the drawing, I would select objects, and erase them, but they would not go away.  I suspected something was amiss when I looked at the drawing file size, which was abnormally large for a small drawing.

22. You can repeat the same command multiple times by right clicking the mouse and selecting "REPEAT COMMAND" in the pop-up dialog box.  The right mouse button can also be used as ENTER if you program it for that function.

[PatJ]

More Draftsight tutorial:
The Draftsight 2D CAD program does have an online manual, and it is a good one.
For the beginner, the manual tends to overloads you with too many options, many of which have no importance.
The manual says set the boundaries for the drawing.  I have never set the boundaries for a drawing in 25 years of drafting, and have not found this to be necessary.
Using too many layer options can create problems.  People sometimes get too complex with layers, and freeze some, thaw some, lock others, and do all sorts of unnecessary things with layers.  I leave all layers on at all times, and never turn off layers or freeze them.  If you start turning layers off, sooner or later you will forget what is on and what is off, then you have a problem.
I don't use lineweights, I use colors to designate the weight at which lines are printed.  Using lineweights can get messy, and it is not immediately obvious which line is which weight.
The beginner only need be concerned with a few simple commands used to draw the basic shapes, lines, circles, arcs, etc. and needs to know how to manipulate these shapes such as copy, move, rotate, trim, array.  The beginner should concentrate on practicing basic commands and drawing simple shapes.
There is only so much you can learn reading the manuals.  At some point you must get practical drawing experience by using the program on a daily basis.
It is difficult to learn CAD if you only practice one a week.  The way to learn CAD is the same way that you learn machining.  You master one skill at a time, and don't move to another skill untill you master the first one.  Print out each item that you master, and make notes about what you did.  Put your printouts in a binder next to the computer and tab them, so that 6 months from now, when you want to do an array command, and have forgotten what you did, you can pull out your binder and remember quickly from your notes.
There is only so much you can learn reading the manuals.  At some point you must get practical drawing experience by using the program on a daily basis.
I recommend from 10 to 30 minutes of CAD practice every day.  Don't practice too long or you will get frustrated and burnt out.  You do need to make some progress every day, and try to master one new command each day.  Initially, it will take 10 minutes to draw one small item, then as you progress, that same drawing will take 5 minutes, then 1 minute, then you find yourself doing some very complex drawings very quickly.  As with machining, expect a few disasters and setbacks in the beginning.  Your first drawings will be simple and not necessarily perfect.
LESSON NO.1: Load Draftsight and set up the toolbars, units, shortcut keys, cursor size, etc.

1. Download the program from here:
http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/#vid1

2. Go through the setup proceedure, and then start the program. I think when you do your first "save", it will ask you for your email address, and they send you an email with a link that you have to click on to active the product. You don't have to do anything after you click the link, your software is ready for use.

3. Most people set up their CAD for their own personal preferences, and you get a feel for this over time. I only know my own preferences, so I list them here, not that they are perfect for everyone, but a starting point.

4. Open the program and move the cursor to the unoccupied gray area on one of the toolbars (See Attachment #1). Right click on the gray area and select "Toolbars".

5. Attachement #1 has already been set up the the toolbars that I would commonly use. Attachments #2 and #3 show the toolbars I selected from the list. Click the checkboxes for the toolbars DIMENSION, DRAW, ENTITY SNAP, INQUIRY, LAYERS, MODIFY, PROPERTIES, STANDARD, STYLES, TEXT and ZOOM, if the these toolbars are not already on. You can drag the toolbars to the top, bottom, right or left side of the screen by picking the dots on the end of the toolbar and holding down the left mouse button and dragging and dropping the toolbar where you want it. You can slide it side to side using the same method, and also stack one toolbar on the end of another, assuming they both fit on the same line.

6. Attachment #1 shows a typical screen layout that I use. The "PROPTERTIES" toolbar on the right takes up a lot of screen space, so I often toggle it off unless I need it to select an item and change its properties. For now, just leave the PROPERTIES toolbar on.

[PatJ]

More Draftsight tutorial:

LESSON NO.1 (continued):

7. When I first started using CAD, I printed a copy of the toolbars, and labeled each button, and then posted the printout next to the computer screen. Soon you will have the most comonly used tool buttons memorized. If you move the cursor over a tool button and hold the cursor still, a label will pop up, so if you don't know what the tool button is, just hover over it until a label pops up. In actual use, I seldom use the toolbuttons, but generally use the programmed shortcut keys, ie: "C" for COPY, "R" for ROTATE, etc.

Also don't let the large number of toolbuttons intimidate you, many you never use, and many are holdovers from bygone days, such as when computers did not have mice, or when the wrong type of zoom could create a 15 minute regeneration of the drawing (we had a lot of coffee breaks in the old days, but did not get much drawing done).
Attachements #4 and #5 are the sheets I made up for a quick reference to the toolbutton names.

8. In addition to the toolbuttons, there are also a series of pull down menus at the top of the page (FILE, EDIT, VIEW, INSERT, FORMAT, DIMENSION, DRAW, MODIFY, TOOLS, WINDOW and HELP. Many of these menus contain duplicates of the toolbuttons, and the reason for this is that initially, CAD programs were text-based, and there was no such thing as object graphics and toolbar buttons. In the old days, the entire program was operated from the pulldown menus only.

9. To set the program properties (you only have to do this setup once). Here are the items I set from the pulldown menus:

a. TOOLS, OPTIONS, SYSTEM OPTIONS, GRAPHICS AREA, POINTER SIZE, use the arrow button to make this value 100.
(Note: Making the pointer size 100 makes the cursor crosshairs span the entire screen. I find this very helpful when I am checking alignment with objects located on opposite sides of the screen. If you like a small crosshair, do not choose this step.)

b. In the same OPTIONS, SYSTEM OPTIONS dialog box, unde AUTO-SAVE & BACKUP, you may want to "Enable Auto-Save" and set a time period. If you are a proficient saver, you can leave off the auto save feature.

c. In the same OPTIONS, SYSTEM OPTIONS dialog box, under DRAWING SETTINGS, UNIT SYSTEM, ANGLE, use precision of 0.0000 for angle, set your units (I use inches), LENGTH TYPE comes stock set as DECIMAL which is what I use.

d. For text style, I generally use either ROMANS, or more recently ARIAL. I will have to look at that further to determine how to set that correctly for text and dimensions.

e. In the same OPTIONS, SYSTEM OPTIONS, OPEN / SAVE AS, you can select the version that the program will use as the standard file format, ie: dwg version 2000-2002, 2004-2006, 2007-2009, or 2010. I use version 2004-2006, since not everyone I know has the very latest version.

10. The program initially appears with a "HOME" box on the left side. You can close that.

[PatJ]

LESSON # 2:  

(Remember, to pan around on the drawing sheet, hold down the mouse wheel and drag the drawing around where you want it.  To ZOOM in and out, use the wheel on the mouse.  About the only ZOOM command I use on the toolbar is ZOOM FIT, which puts the entire drawing within the boundaries of the screen.)

1. Draw one of each object from the DRAW toolbar.  Attachement # 6 shows these shapes.  If the command is not working as you expect, start the comand, and then hit the "F1" key.  A help menu steps you though the command.  Close the help menu at any time, or reduce it in size and set it off to one side as you draw.  I had to use the help key for the polygon, since I have been making polygons using a six sided array.

The POLYLINE is used when you need a thick line, but I generally do not use polylines since they can be hard to control.

The SPLINE can consist of just three points, which would look like an arc, or multiple points, which is what I drew.  When you finish picking the last point for the SPLINE, hit enter three times to end the command.

The RECTANGLE can be stretched in any direction, and can also be exploded using the EXPLODE command to create four separate lines.

2. Be sure to download the handbook that goes with this program.
http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/learning-resources/

3. Attachment # 7 shows all of the objects that I drew after I selected them, either by picking them one at a time, or by using a window around all of them at the same time.  Note that each object has blue squares at strategic locations on it, called grips (Draftsight may call these SNAPS.)  For the line object, you can move the line by pressing and dragging the center grip, or make the line longer (stretch the line) by pressing and dragging a grip on either end.
The other shapes can also be manipulated using the grips.  You can experiment with that.

Remember, you can try any command, and then select UNDO, and repeat that process indefinitely by trying other options.

4. Attachement # 8 shows the one of the lines has been selected, and then the pulldown box is being used to change the color of the line.  Each of the object's colors were changed in this fashion (Attachement # 9).

[PatJ]

There is much you can do with 2D drafting, and while it does not have all the bells and whistles that a 3D modeling program has, it does not have the huge learning curve either.

If you can do machining, you can do 2D CAD, and 2D CAD is very helpful in laying out steam engine parts.

Pat J

[PatJ]

LESSON # 3:

1. For lesson #3, start a new drawing, and draw a couple of lines on the drawing at a 90 degree angle to each other, and touching at the end.  After you draw one line and begin the next, you will notice that as you move the cursor near a grip, it will light up, and if you pick that grip, the line will start exactly at that grip.  Generally, any line that you draw after the first line should begin at a grip or some other exactly defined point.

2. Go through the MODIFY toolbar one item at a time, and try the DELETE, COPY, MIRROR, MOVE, OFFSET, (we will do the PATTERN later), ROTATE, SCALE, STRETCH, CHAMFER, FILLET, TRIM, and EXPLODE commands.  (You will have to draw a rectangle to try the explode command).  Note that the DELETE key on the keyboard works the same as the DELETE button on the toolbar.

3. After trying each command, you can do the UNDO command (multiple times if necesary) to get back to the original object.

Remember, you can toggle ORTHO at any time during a command to either lock the cursor movement vertically and horizontally (ON), or allow the cursor to move in any direction (OFF).  You can also ZOOM in and out with the mouse wheel and pan by holding down the mouse wheel and dragging, at any time during a command.

Note that the COPY command is a sticky one, ie: it keeps on copying as long as you keep selecting additional points.
You can copy an object by just picking any two points in space, but that gives a random spacing between the copies.  A better way to copy is to pick the object, start the COPY command, select any point in the drawing, and then type in @Number X, Number Y, ENTER.

For instance, to copy two lines 6 inches apart horizontally from each other, draw the first line, select it, start the copy command, pick any point in the drawing, and then type in @6,0.  Then hit ENTER.
To copy two lines 4 inches vertically from each other, do the same but use @0,4.

You can copy and move items in the positive or negative direction, and in the X axis only, the Y axis only, or move in both the X and Y axis at the same time with a command like @6,4.

Once you have made one copy of the object the exact distance away from the original object, you can use the COPY command again to easily create any number of objects spaced the same distance apart by selecting the second object, start the copy command, and then pick a grip on the first object, then pick the same grip on the second object, and pick the same grip on the third object, and keep going for as many exactly spaced copies as you need.

4. The CHAMFER command keystroke sequence is: start the CHAMFER command, type D and hit ENTER, enter a number for example 2, hit ENTER twice, select the first line to be chamfered, select the second line to be chamfered, hit ENTER.

5. For the FILLET command, the keystroke sequence is: start the FILLET command, type R and hit ENTER, enter a number for example 2, hit ENTER, select the first line, select the second line, hit ENTER.

6. For the TRIM command, I drew a line at an angle over the other two lines.  There are multiple options with the TRIM command, but the sequence is you select the cutting edge first (the line that would represent the path of a cutting edge), and then hit ENTER, followed by the lines that cross the cutting edge that you want to trim off.  You can select all of the lines for cutting edges, and then trim all the lines, or any combination.  You can continue cutting as many lines as you wish.  Use UNDO if you cut the wrong line.

(Don't you wish there was an UNDO command when you are machining and you cut a part too small?)

[PatJ]

1. I do not use TABBED drawings, but just put all the drawings on one tab.  I use tabs extensively in spreadsheets, but CAD is not spreadsheets, and just because tabs are a good idea in spreadsheets does not mean you have to use them in everything.

2. The titleblock for my original AutoCAD drawing is XREF'ed into may main drawing (XREF is external reference, ie: the titleblock is a separate drawing that shows up behind my main drawing, but is not actually part of my main drawing).  The graphic scale is drawn on the titleblock.  For the attached file, I inserted the titleblock into the drawing in order to make one single drawing that I can post here, but normally I would not insert the titleblock into the drawing.
When using external references, you can change something on the master XREF drawing and it automatically changes in every other drawing that references it.

3. I preface each XREF file with "XR...", ie XR-BERNAY-TITLEBLOCK.DWG.  You need to be able to immediately identify which drawings are base drawings and which drawings are XREF's (Draftsight probably uses a different term than XREF.)

4. If you select any of the text in the drawing that also has a leader, you will see a grip on one side near the leader (be sure to select the text only, not the leader).
If you select the center grip on the text and drag it, the text will move and the leader will redraw itself to the new text location automatically when you stop moving the text (called an associative leader).  This feature saves much time.

5. Typically, the things that are placed on the titleblock XREF sheet are things that do not change, or things you want to change on every sheet such as the Rev. date in this case.  The things that change with each drawing such as the sheet number and the sheet title are actually contained in the base drawing, not in the XREF, so that I can individually modify these items for each sheet.

6. The purple line located near the top of the titleblock is in the layer "DEFPOINTS", and I use it just as a guideline since I normally punch holes in my printed sheets and place them in a 3-ring binder.  You can place anything on the DEFPOINTS layer and use it for reference only, since the DEFPOINTS layer never plots.  If you accidentally unintentionally place an item on the DEFPOINTS layer, you will be highly confused since you see it on your drawing, but when you plot your drawing, the item vanishes mysteriously.

7. I try and use somewhat consistent color schemes, ie: all the tap information notes are in red.  Brass items are typically drawn in a brass color.  Dimensions are a light blue to stand out from any other item.  Base metal is generally drawn in green since it seems to stand out well on the screen.  Be as consistent as possible in your color scheme.  For this drawing I have totally ignored all layers except DEFPOINTS.  All objects are "color-by-entity", as opposed to objects that can be "color-by-layer".  When you set up your objects as "color-by-layer", you can change the color of the layer, and all of the objects on that layer change color at the same time.  For very complex drawings at work, I use color-by-layer for all objects, and toggle layers on and off to be able to sort out everything.  I don't think that level of complexity is necessary for an engine drawing, but if you like complexity, go for it.

8. The hatching is associative, ie: if I stretch the boundaries of a hatched object, the hatching flows with the resized object.

9. Typically I use 3-views, front, top and side.  If necessary, I sometimes use a bottom, top, left and right side.

10. The isometric drawings are just 2D items.  You can draw them easily if they are not too complex just by making two copies of an object, and then drawing lines between the two objects at a 45 degree angle, and then trimming out the lines that would be hidden from view.  I can generally draw a simple isometric drawing faster than I can open and begin a drawing in a 3D program, and the isometrics I draw are part of the 2D drawing and can be modified in 2D, which is not the case in a 3D drawing.

11. Almost everything in this drawing was drawn by establishing an X and Y base line and then offsetting a given defined distance, and trimming.  Holes are mirrored or arrayed into exact places.  (Note: The isometric drawings are not exact, but just used for illustrative purposes.)  The total commands used to create this entire sheet are generally LINE, CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ARC, COPY, MOVE, ROTATE, TRIM, ARRAY (name differs in DraftSight), MIRROR, DIMENSION, TEXT, TEXT with leader.  (Not many commands were used.)

12. Most lines are simple lines, no polylines or other things that can be tricky and problematic.  I use an occasional SPLINE on a shape with a compound curve.  I draw one side of the object with the SPLINE, and then mirror the spline, since you will never draw two splines exactly the same.

13. General text is ROMANS.  Titles are ARIAL.

14. I use the graphis scale because if you do not plot the drawing at a 1:1 scale, then the drawing will be the wrong size.  You should be able to lay a ruler (a scale in the drafting world) on top of your printout, and the inch marks should match the ruler exactly.

15. The light gray tick marks at the lower left of each sheet are guides for inserting additional copies of the titleblock XREF sheet.

16. I have started a few standards at the top of the sheet.  I try all all times to draw to standard stock material and fastener sizes.

17. I did not use a CAD chart for this drawing since all text is 3/32" tall.  I did have to size the arrowhead for the first text with leader that I drew.

18. All sheets plot at 1:1 on a 8.5" x 11" standard sheet.

19. You can also assign pen widths to colors, and save the pen information to what is called a pen table.  I use pen tables for work drawings, but use all PEN2 for engine drawings just to keep it simple, and to allow me to use colors for other then pen information.
I do not use line widths to maintain simplicity, but feel free to assign line widths if you think you can control them.

20. I typically draw the front view first, then project lines up for the top view, and right for the side view.  By projecting lines from the exact endpoint of the front view, you get the exact dimensions on the top and side views.  Always keep the side and top views exactly lined up with the front view.

21. You can copy and recycles items in the drawing such as copying the steam chest to make the steam chest gasket, and copying the hole pattern for the top cylinder head to make the bottom cylinder head bolt pattern.  You can copy the top cylinder head and modify it for the bottom cylinder head.
By copying things that have to fit together, you guarantee that the hole pattern is exactly the same for both objects.
I only created one text with leader.  All other text with leader are a copy of the first one, with the color of the text and leader being changed as required.

22. Reference the cylinder on sheet B-3D.  As I recall, I only drew the left half of the cylinder, and then mirrored it to the other side.
Never draw both sides of a complex piece since with each step you add to the drawing, you have the potential to introduce errors.

23. I used the MIRROR command extensively when creating this drawing since there is a great deal of symmetry in the Bernay.
I use symmetry to great advantage when drawing engines.

24.   Something that I started doing this year is copying the parts over to one side off the drawing sheets, and making blocks of each assembly.
I then assemble the blocks into a somewhat complete engine at the bottom of the page, for top, front and side views.
I have caught a number of errors this way with parts that have to align in an exact way, which is most parts.
There are some tricks to the assembly method, and I will detail those later.
Notice that if you select things in the assembly drawings, most items are blocks, and blocks can be moved as a single entity.

25. Dimensions are associative, ie: if I resize an object, the dimension updates automatically to the new size.  If I move the endpoint of a dimension to a new place, the dimension automatically changes to reflect the new endpoint position.

26. I used the ARRAY function in AutoCad to make all the hex bolt heads.  For Draftsight, just use the POLYGON command and input 6 sides.

2D drawings can be set up exactly like a drawing board, and that is appealing to those of us who came up using the manual method.

[PatJ]

For a small engine, I generally draw one part, or a related group of parts on one 8.5"x11" sheet, and use multiple sheets in a single drawing file.  Below is an overall screen shot of my preliminary No.21 drawings.

I use 3/32" (0.09375") tall text for most items on the page, with the sheet titles about three times larger than 3/32".

I plot each 8.5"x11" drawing at a ratio of 1:1, ie: a line drawn one inch long in cad prints out 1" long on paper.  You can verify the sheet has been printed the correct size by laying a ruler on top of the printed graphic scale that is located on the left of each sheet.  The inch marks on the ruler should line up with the inch marks on the printed graphic scale exactly.

You can also download the No.21 drawing file attached here and open it with Draftsight to see how I setup titleblocks on a typical model engine sheet.
Note:  This drawing is not yet complete.
You can actually copy the titleblock and graphic scale from the No.21 drawing to your drawing and edit and reuse those items if you wish to save time.

To draw your own titleblock, just draw a rectangle in your drawing that is 8.5"x11" in size (assuming you want a standard A4 size sheet).  You can copy your 8.5"x11" rectangle around in your drawing, and add any text you want to it.

Note:  In the attached drawing for engine No.21, in AutoCAD, I use a single titleblock for every sheet, and use the external reference command (XREF in Acad) to reference that titleblock in the drawing.  For this example, I have used the "BIND" command to make the titleblocks a part of the drawing, and if you select one, it will show up as a block.  You can EXPLODE the block, but be aware, you will have the many component parts of the titleblock, not a single entity.

[PatJ]

To create circular pattens of holes, for instance for a cylinder head bolt pattern.

Photo No.1:
Draw a vertical and horizintal line to establish a centerpoint for the cylinder.
Draw a circle with a radius equal to the bolt pattern you want.

At the intersection of the vertical line and the circle, draw a small circle the size of the tap or clearance hole that you want to create a pattern from.
If you are drawing the cylinder, use the tap hole size.
If you are drawing the cylinder head, use the clearance hole size.

Photo No.2:
You can select the tap or clearance hole first, or start the "PATTERN" command, and then use the "Select Entities" button to select the tap or clearance hole.
Start the "PATTERN" command, enter the number of holes that you want, ie: 4,5,6, etc. under "Total Number".

Select "CIRCULAR" pattern type.

Select the "Axis Point" button, and pick the intersection of your vertical and horizontal lines.

If you have not already selected the tap or clearance hole, use the "Select Entitiy" button to pick it.

Hit "OK".

If you do not get the pattern you want, select the "UNDO" command from the pulldown menu "EDIT".