Drafter X CAD User

From time to time a question arises at the related forums AutoCAD:
I need to know how to draw to learn how to use AutoCAD?

Obviously the answer is and will always be Yes, but why?

Let's two examples:



A person who knows technical drawing and has used a drafting table , and a person who never had notions of drawing. We will call the first person of X and second of Y.

X already works for some time with drawing on the drafting table, but the company bought AutoCAD licenses to walk along with technology. Obviously X already has notions of computing, already using some programs such as Microsof Word and Excel, for example.
So when he opened the AutoCAD may have viewed the program as an " electronic drafting table ", but that was in the beginning, he soon discovered that the AutoCAD was more than that and today it takes a lot of resources to streamline and improve its work on the drawings .

Why "electronic drafting table"?

Obviously he saw that the command CIRCLE corresponds to the COMPASS; LINES and PLINES could be used as the rulers and triangles(30°, 45° and 60°) ... and it was ... as soon as he learned the BLOCK, seen that corresponded to the templates.
While he has the concept of drafting table was easy to understand how and when to use the commands for building drawings.

With Y the story was quite different ... although Y need some understanding of computers, suppose that X has the same, well ... nevertheless, when he opened the AutoCAD Y, or he was shocked or he thought it was a Paint "improved".
Even so learned the basic commands and was trying to make a drawing.
Imagine a square with a circle in the middle: how to do?

For X it is easy, he could use an auxiliary line or function OTRACK to do the drawing, but Y has no notion of geometric construction, but we're not too nasty, and Y have imagined the creative solution: did an auxiliary line and used the middle of the line as a center for the circle.
Okay, you say I'm evil ... but now imagine a drawing a little more "fancy" with tangent arcs and circles, or displaced axes and stuff like that.
I will not speak of X, Y to go straight: he did not even know where to start!

Then Y search for example designs to practice and found a series of mechanical drawings representing of simple mechanical parts views.
Problem 1: Y doesn't know anything about mechanical drawing - "What drawing is this ?"
Problem 2: derived from problem 1: " Why have three different drawings positioned in this way? I think a better place if I put one alongside the other and so I do it in sequence." – If not known mechanical drawing, knows nothing.

Even in architecture and engineering drawings of the concepts of mechanical design are needed: for example sections, similar to one section on the left or right side view in a mechanical drawing.
But the basic concepts of technical drawing, you must know some basic geometry to understand how to construct the drawings.

Concluding, if you want to learn AutoCAD and wants to be a good "CAD User ", be before a good “Drafter/Designer”.
The phases for a good learning are:
1 - Geometry and Trigonometry
2 - Technical Drawing
3 - AutoCAD

Exist many Drafters that are CAD Users, but exist rare CAD Users that are Drafters.

What do you want to be?

:)