Inferred constraints and 3D surfacing are the two most visible additions to AutoCAD 2011, but there are two other additions I think are really important.
Real-time Hatching
Autodesk has added just-about-realtime hatching that works like this:
1. Type h (to start the Hatch command).
2. Pass cursor over a closed (or nearly closed) area. AutoCAD fills the area with a pattern using the current defaults.
(Optional) 3. Adjust parameters in realtime, such as scale, pattern type, rotation angle.
4. Press Enter to confirm.
Bonus tip: AutoCAD lets you switch fills between hatch pattern and gradient fill effortlessly, because the new ribbon tab contains both.
Expressions
Autodesk is as shy about the new Expressions addition as it was in 1985 with the then-new "Variables and Expressions" add-on -- known today as AutoLISP.
In AutoCAD 2011, a number of 3D modeling commands sport a new option, named Expression, but Autodesk doesn't particularly document it -- just as it didn't for that momentous addition 25 years ago. The Expression option is available in existing commands like Extrude and new ones, like ChafmerEdge.
At the 'Enter Expression' prompt, you can enter a formula, such as arithmetic (2 * pi) or parametric (dia1 / d2). The result of the expression defines the size of the feature.
This means that the extrusion height and 3D fillet radius can be defined by dimensionally constrained objects elsewhere in the drawing. However, the size is only defined, but not determined. If you change constraint dia1 or d2, the extrusion or chamfer are not changed, for there is no link.
Real-time Hatching
Autodesk has added just-about-realtime hatching that works like this:
1. Type h (to start the Hatch command).
2. Pass cursor over a closed (or nearly closed) area. AutoCAD fills the area with a pattern using the current defaults.
(Optional) 3. Adjust parameters in realtime, such as scale, pattern type, rotation angle.
4. Press Enter to confirm.
Bonus tip: AutoCAD lets you switch fills between hatch pattern and gradient fill effortlessly, because the new ribbon tab contains both.
Expressions
Autodesk is as shy about the new Expressions addition as it was in 1985 with the then-new "Variables and Expressions" add-on -- known today as AutoLISP.
In AutoCAD 2011, a number of 3D modeling commands sport a new option, named Expression, but Autodesk doesn't particularly document it -- just as it didn't for that momentous addition 25 years ago. The Expression option is available in existing commands like Extrude and new ones, like ChafmerEdge.
At the 'Enter Expression' prompt, you can enter a formula, such as arithmetic (2 * pi) or parametric (dia1 / d2). The result of the expression defines the size of the feature.
This means that the extrusion height and 3D fillet radius can be defined by dimensionally constrained objects elsewhere in the drawing. However, the size is only defined, but not determined. If you change constraint dia1 or d2, the extrusion or chamfer are not changed, for there is no link.
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