The Arc Tool
Essential AutoCAD Commands
OFFSET
Create parallel lines at a set distance — fundamental drafting move.
TRIM / EXTEND
Clean intersection of geometry — speeds up every drawing.
MIRROR
Reflect geometry across an axis — symmetric layouts in seconds.
ARRAY
Rectangular or polar duplication — handles repeating elements.
Noble Desktop's AutoCAD Certification teaches drafting, layouts, blocks, and dimensions.
Dive into this comprehensive tutorial to enhance your AutoCAD skills, covering important topics like using the Arc tool to complete a drawing of a trash bin container and draw door swings.
Exercise Preview
Using the Arc Tool
Open the file Arc-Bin Container.dwg.
Now you will use the option on the Arc command
to finish the floor of the bin container. As with other tools, you can follow the prompts in the Command Line for different options, but there are options that appear in the Ribbon and Draw menu that are not available in the Command Line. As shown in the screenshot below, click on the Arc drop down menu in the Draw panel of the Ribbon.
Choose Start, End, Radius. As indicated by the name, you will pick a start point, then pick an end point, and then enter a radius of the arc. Remember that by default, angles, and arcs are measured and created in a counter-clockwise direction, so your start and end points must be chosen so that emanate counter-clockwise from the start point. Zoom in on the right door hinge and click on the center intersection of the hinge on the right for the start point as demonstrated in the diagram below. For the end point, click the same hinge intersection point on the opposite side. Enter a radius of 60.
Now you will add the door swings with the Arc tool. Change the current layer to Doors. Select Start, Center, End in the Arc
drop-down menu. Because the arc will be created counter-clockwise, click and snap on the upper-left corner of the right door as specified in the diagram below for the Start Point. For the Center of the arc, click on the intersection at the hinge where you started the arc in the previous step. For the End Point, click on the Midpoint of the arc you created to complete the floor in the previous step.
Once again, select Start, Center, End from the Arc
drop down menu. Because this is an option on the Arc tool, you can not use Enter to repeat the command, as that will reset to the default options of the Arc tool. Again, considering the arc will be formed counter-clockwise, select the same midpoint where you ended the last door swing as the Start point for the new one. For the Center, select the hinge intersection on the opposite side. For the End point of the arc, select the upper-right corner endpoint of the right door as specified in the diagram below. You may notice that endpoints of both door swing arcs are not placed properly. This will be addressed in the next step.
Because the Arc tool
produces arcs that are sections of perfect circles, the endpoints of your arcs may not always be placed exactly where you need them to be. You can select the arcs and use Grips to make minor corrections as needed. Refer to the diagrams below to correct the door swing arcs.Right door swing (use red square grip to correct it):
Left door swing (use red square grip to correct it):
Save and close the file.