Atlas Intellicad Help

Thanks JC. Very helpful

tscottme wrote:

> A year or so ago someone in this NG posted a link to a free version of
> Atlas Intellicad CAD program. I got the program when it was posted,
> even though I've never used a CAD program. Anyway, I now want to use
> the thing but I don't have a clue where to start. The program works,
> but the operator is ignorant.
>
> Can someone point me to some sort of help? I've searched through the
> program and the links to web sites or documentation don't lead anywhere.
>
> For example, say I want to design a 4 inch by 6 inch piece with 1/4
> holes precisely located in that 4 x 6 how would I do that? I can make a
> rectangle, and I suppose I could remember or say that rectangle is 4x6
> but how do I precisely locate details?
>
> Thanks for any help.

First off, not sure what "Atlas" Intellicad is--just google "Intellicad" and
you'll find a lot of information.

Next, the freeware versions seem to be dead--the vendors seem to be laboring
under the misconception that they can beat AutoDesk by playing Autodesk's
game and I suspect have shot themselves in the other foot in the
process--the only one who seems to have the right idea is
<http://www.intellicadms.com/>.

Now, in answer to your specific question, there are generally several ways
to do things in Intellicad, but they all translate to commands given on the
command line, so I'll tell you how to do it from the command line.

First, you want a rectangle, 4x6. To get that, type "rectangle" (without
the quotes) and hit the enter key.

In the command window you'll get a line that says:
"Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Rotated/Square/Thickness/Width/<Select first
corner of rectangle>:"

In all cases, whatever is between the <brackets> will be the default, so the
default is to draw by entering points.

I'm going to assume that you want to start at 0,0, so for the first point
just key in 0,0 and then the enter key.

That gets you another prompt: "Other corner of rectangle:"

At that prompt key in 4,6 and then Enter.

You'll see a rectangle on the screen.

Now, you want to position your holes.

To do that, type "circle" (without the quotes) and then enter. You'll see
<Center of circle> as the default, so key in the position of the center.
I'm going to use 1,1.

That will get you to another prompt: "Diameter/<Radius> <(some number)>:"

Since you want 1/4 inch diameter, instead of putting a number, just type
"Diameter" and enter. You'll get another prompt: "Diameter of circle
<(some number, twice the previous one)>:"

At that prompt key in "1/4" (without the quotes of course) and Enter and
you're there.

Note that you can enter dimensions decimally or as fractions--if you want
more than an inch then you can use "1-1/4" for example.

You can also do this by drawing with the mouse. To get precise measurements
that way you first have to turn on "snap". If you look on the lower right
side you should see a group of boxes--the first one has 3 numbers separated
by commas, the second has one number, probably 0, the third and fourth have
words in them, probably "BYLAYER", the fifth has "SNAP". If "SNAP" is gray
then double-click it and it should turn black. Now, move the mouse pointer
around and you should see two of the three numbers in the first box
changing as you move--that shows your current position on the screen. Note
that it moves in jerks, not smoothly--that's because the mouse pointer is
snapping to different positions on the screen. Go ahead and draw your
rectangle--click the tool in the toolbar near the top that has a square
shape with a colored circle on the lower left corner and a colored diamond
on the upper right, then move the mouse pointer to your starting point (0,0
for example), click once, then move to the end point (4,6) and you should
see the rectangle form as you want it. Note how easy it is to hit a
precise position with the snaps on.

Now, the snaps are probably wrong for your circles, so you need to change
the snap setting. Go to Settings/Drawing Settings/Coordinate Input and
chane the "spacing" in the "X" and "Y" boxes under "Snap Settings" to .125
to give you a 1/8 inch snap, then click "OK".

Now to draw your first hole, you want the "Circle Center-Radius" tool, which
is a circle with a small colored dot in the middle and a colored diamond on
the rim--it should be about 4 to the left of the rectangle tool that you
used earlier. Click that and put the mouse pointer wherever you want the
center to be, then click there, move the mouse pointer to set the radius,
click again, and you've got your circle. Repeat as required.

To show the dimensions, go to the Insert menu and pick "Dimensions" then
"Linear" then whichever points you want to mark the dimension between.
Save the whole thing and you're done.

There's a lot more--for example you can do this in three dimensions--but
that's plenty to start with I think.



>
> --
>
> Scott
> --------

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Intelicad has come a long way in a year. I would suggest downloading the
newest version. Be aware that the old version will have to be uninstalled,
they will clash. I'm not sure if the trial comes with a user manual but one
is available (free) on the CMS website (URL below). Intellicad operates like
AutoCAD. Same commands ect, hence, it has a rather steep learning curve. The
upside is that, since it is so Autocadlike, AutoCAD training materials are
directly applicable. There are lots of tutorials on the net. If you find
Intellicad to be to much of a PIA, do a Google search on DeltaCad. It is the
easiest cad program to use that I know of.
http://www.intellicadms.com/
http://www.cadalot.co.uk/


"tscottme" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A year or so ago someone in this NG posted a link to a free version of
> Atlas Intellicad CAD program. I got the program when it was posted,
> even though I've never used a CAD program. Anyway, I now want to use
> the thing but I don't have a clue where to start. The program works,
> but the operator is ignorant.
>
> Can someone point me to some sort of help? I've searched through the
> program and the links to web sites or documentation don't lead anywhere.
>
> For example, say I want to design a 4 inch by 6 inch piece with 1/4
> holes precisely located in that 4 x 6 how would I do that? I can make a
> rectangle, and I suppose I could remember or say that rectangle is 4x6
> but how do I precisely locate details?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> --
>
> Scott
> --------
>
>