Books on CAD
Operation & Design

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Autocad 14 : No Experience Required (No Experience Required)

by David Frey
Amazon's Price: $23.99 (ISBN:  0782121993)
Paperback - 496 pages (February 1998)

Description: The novice AutoCAD user can peruse these pages to learn the product's essential functionality by following a step-by-step project from start to finish. The direct tutorial style allows the reader instant gratification, because in no time at all, a small cabin design is started and completed. The reader will even figure out how much wood to buy! .

AutoCAD® Release 14 For Dummies®

by Bud E. Smith
Amazon's Price: $19.99 (ISBN: 0764501046)
Paperback - 352 pages 2nd edition (July 30, 1997)

Description: Without a doubt, AutoCAD computer-aided design software is as indispensable a tool for today's architects and engineers as a drafting table, straight edge, and compass were for yesterday's architects and engineers. Of course, though far more powerful, AutoCAD is also dauntingly complex -- and therefore ripe for …For Dummies® treatment.

In AutoCAD Release 14 For Dummies, author and AutoCAD ace Bud Smith provides you with the essential, practical reference you need to make sure that you spend time using AutoCAD rather than waste time trying to figure out how to use it. With AutoCAD Release 14 For Dummies, you discover how to Install and configure AutoCAD so that it fits your work style Use blocks and external references to save time and avoid mistakes Take advantage of all the features new with Release 14 -- including putting your drawings on the World Wide Web, incorporating ActiveX controls, creating VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language), and embedding hyperlinks within your AutoCAD drawing Pan and zoom smoothly Place scanned images, including blueprints and photos, in your AutoCAD drawings

Organized around common AutoCAD tasks and problems, a book for users who want to become proficient quickly focuses on AutoCAD for Windows Release 12 and the new AutoCAD LT Version 1.0, but includes information about AutoCAD for DOS Release 12. Original. (Intermediate). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The premier book for users who want to get up to speed quickly with the AutoCAD program. This book is organized around common AutoCAD tasks and how to solve the problems that arise from these tasks. Covers AutoCAD for Windows Release 13, the new AutoCAD LT Version 1.0, and it includes information about AutoCAD for DOS Release 13.

Autocad and Its Applications : Basics/Release 14
by Terence M. Shumaker, David A. Madsen
Amazon's Price: $41.28 (ISBN: 1566374219)
Paperback - 1129 pages Loose leaf edition (September 1997)

Booknews, Inc.
A text for classroom instruction and independent study, featuring step-by-step explanations accompanied by illustrations, command lines, and dialog boxes. Offers complete coverage of AutoCAD tools and 2D commands, an introduction to 3D modeling, and extensive coverage of dimensioning, along with basic drafting and design concepts. Other subjects include isometric drawing, digitizing existing drawings, and using Windows. Includes exercises, drawing problems, and tests, with space for answers. A package of disks is available.

This book provides complete instruction for 2-D commands and introduces 3-D applications current with AutoCAD Release 13 for DOS. The text is written in an easy-to-understand language applying step-by-step instruction. Also included are hundreds of exercises, review material, and drawing problems. This book is made to be used in conjunction with the advanced book which is also featured in this catalog.

Autocad and Its Applications : Advanced : Release 14 : Windows

by Terence M. Shumaker, David A. Madsen
Amazon's Price: $34.00 (ISBN: 1566374146)
Paperback - 602 pages (February 1998)

Description: Booknews, Inc.
Provides instructions for AutoCAD Release 14 3D modeling commands, Internet access, and customizing techniques. Topics include industrial practices and standards, user coordinate systems, model space viewports, surface modeling and rendering, solid model construction and display, structured query language functions, and dialog box programming. The self-study format includes chapter tests and some 75 exercises.

Applying Autocad, Windows Version : A Step-By-Step Approach for Autocad Release 13

by Wohlers, Terry R. Wohlers
Amazon's Price: $47.48 (ISBN: 002677142X)
Paperback - 875 pages 7 edition (March 1995)

Comments: A reader from Lancaster, Pennsylvania , November 18, 1998.  5 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book for beginners who want to learn ACAD. I've been using and teaching with Terry Wohlers' book since 1987. This is an excellent way to learn AutoCAD.

The "Step-by-step approach" is exactly that. The student follows instructions which guide her into features of the software, then answers questions that have NOT NECESSARILY been answered, (but Wohler has given the student the tools to FIND the answers).

Each chapter is followed by simple, interesting, varied problems that use the commands or features described in the chapter.

I hope that there will soon be a R14 version of this book!

milgram@bellsouth.net from Atlanta, Georgia USA , January 27, 1998.  5 out of 5 stars.
An excellent choice for those wanting to learn AutoCAD R13. I have used AutoCAD extensively in my previous job for design of mechanical parts. I wish that I could have had this book when I first began using AutoCAD.

Because the book is presented in classic workbook format, it is suitable for classroom use, or alternatively, it is also very effective as a self-teaching tool.

The book covers all of the basics that are relevant to AutoCAD and technical drawing: drawing, editing, viewports, 3-D modeling, dimensioning, etc. Information is logically organized into bite-size "units" that make finding a particular topic easy. Beginners can follow the book in order, and advanced users can read only the sections they want to brush up on.

I have had numerous people approach me and ask to help them learn AutoCAD in a few sessions, an impossible task (imagine trying to teach someone to play the guitar or piano in a few hours). I have often recommended/loaned this book, and of those who've used it, some found it so useful that they bought their own personal copy. This book is highly recommended.

Basic Pro/Engineer in 20 Lessons

by Louis Gary Lamit
Amazon's Price: $51.95 (ISBN: 053495068X)
Paperback - 800 pages (December 1997)

Description: The book uses 20 bite-size hands-on projects to guide readers and professionals through the use of Pro/Engineer a parametric modeling and CAD software package used widely in industry and increasingly in education as an alternative to Autodesk's competing AutoCAD package. This book features a work-text layout and presentation with step-by-step instructions provided for all of the individual projects which progressively build a reader's mastery of the program from very basic procedures through intermediate-level functions such as assembly constraints detailing sections and auxiliary views and exploded assembly drawings.

Pro/ENGINEER Tutorial (Release 20)

by Roger Toogood
Amazon's Price: $49.95 (ISBN: 188750365X)
Paperback - 240 pages Bk&Disk edition (August 1, 1998)

Description: This tutorial series was created to introduce new users to Pro/ENGINEER Release 20. This is a major revision of the software, particularly in regards to the user interface, which is now considerably friendlier and easier to use. The tutorials cover most of the major concepts and frequently used commands required to advance from a novice to an intermediate user level. Major topics include part and assembly creation, and creation of engineering drawings. The major functions that make Pro/E a parametric solid modeler are illustrated. Although the commands are presented in a click-by-click manner, an effort has been made, in addition to showing/illustrating the command usage, to explain why certain commands are being used and the relation of feature selection and construction to the overall part design philosophy. Moreover, since error recovery is an important skill, considerable time is spent exploring the created models (in fact, intentionally inducing some errors), so that users will become comfortable with the "debugging" phase of model creation.

From the author, Roger Toogood <roger.toogood@ualberta.ca> , January 28, 1999
Effective, classroom-tested Pro/E training material.
This book was written to introduce new users to Pro/Engineer, and take them to an intermediate skill level. I have tried to write the book I wish I had when first learning Pro/E! The material covered includes basic part design, assemblies, and creation of detailed engineering drawings. Completion of all lessons in the Tutorial requires about 40 hours. The Tutorial has been updated twice for new Releases of Pro/Engineer.

I have been using the Tutorial for three years, with excellent results, in a mechanical engineering design graphics course. Since my class size is typically 120 to 130 students of diverse backgrounds (in terms of CAD experience), I needed a book that would be able to stand alone and allow students to learn the basic elements of Pro/E at their own pace. A large portion of the Pro/E training in the course occurs outside regularly scheduled computer lab time, so I wanted the book to be complete and accurate in its description of Pro/E commands. At the same time, I wanted the book to be able to answer most student questions, allowing them to proceed with a minimum of instructor assistance.

In the book, I try to balance breadth of coverage of basic Pro/E functions, and depth of understanding of the modeling philosophy inherent in a feature-based, parametric modeler. Thus, students must do more than blindly execute command sequences (although these are given in full detail in the Tutorial), but must also spend some time thinking about what they are doing. To reinforce this, numerous exercises are scattered about the book which require the student to explore the Pro/E models they create to discover the "why's" as well as the "how's" of successful modeling. Most importantly, they are introduced to the Pro/E tools necessary to recover from modeling mistakes and errors.

Several students have landed summer jobs based on their knowledge of Pro/E after taking this course. Many more students are using Pro/E in subsequent design courses in our program and for student design competitions.

Comments from users have been positive and the success of this Tutorial has been gratifying. I am particularly pleased that the book has been adopted at so many other schools. Nonetheless, improvements are possible and I am always open to suggestions for improving the book. I look forward to its continued development.