Penn Foster Career School’s online Drafting with AutoCAD program consists of courses to help you gain the knowledge and skills relevant to the field of drafting. Drafting with AutoCAD classes will cover basic sketching and drafting techniques, as well more advanced applications of AutoCAD software.
The program provides students with the necessary skills for entry into the field of drafting. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to create mechanical and architectural drawings, both by hand and using AutoCAD software.
In this course, you’ll develop the necessary skills to ensure your success in the program. You'll learn how you can improve your study skills, so you're able to use a number of tools that will help you to be successful.
Did you ever build anything? Before building anything, you would have to picture how it would look when finished. You would have to imagine how the item would look from the front, the top, the sides, and the rear.
This course focuses on the basic concepts and skills you'll need to understand drafting. First, you'll learn about the importance of sketching and why this is a pivotal skill to develop and practice. You'll also learn about the instruments and notations you'll use to create complete and accurate sketches. This course ends with a brief overview of basic mathematical concepts you'll come across in sketching and drafting.
In this course, you'll study orthographic projection, applied geometry, and dimensioning and tolerancing. You'll start by learning the fundamentals of drawing orthographic projections. Then, you'll learn about calculations in applied geometry, such as how to find the perimeter, area, and volume of different geometric shapes. The last lesson in this course covers basic concepts in dimensioning and tolerancing.
In this course, you'll learn about basic, introductory AutoCAD software functions. This includes essential tools and how to draw lines and circles. You'll also learn about layers, colors, linetypes, and a variety of other commonly used functions to create AutoCAD drawings. At the end of this course, you'll practice all of these things and more in a graded project.
This course continues your learning of AutoCAD software with more advanced functions. Building off of what you've already learned, you'll now look more at text and dimension functions. You'll also learn about functions for blocks, polylines, and attributes. You'll be instructed how to create isometric drawings, customized panels and macros, and 3D modeling. At the end of this course, you'll get a chance to practice all these new AutoCAD skills and more with a graded project.
In this course, you'll learn about special symbols, callouts, and designs for structural drawings built from an engineer’s calculations and sketches. The structural drawings will be based on components associated with various types of commercial construction methods involving concrete, wood, and steel. You'll also get an in-depth look at civil drafting by developing drawing plans, site plans, and profiles from survey information.
This course covers topics in HVAC and electrical schematic drafting. In this course, you’ll learn about special symbols and drawings used in HVAC drafting. Some concepts include pattern development, intersections, and material bending and chassis layout. You also learn about the fundamentals of electrical schematics and diagrams, including electric power substation design drawing, residential and commercial electrical plans, and printed circuit technology.