This document provides an introduction to AutoCAD and technical drafting. It discusses that CAD allows designers and computers to work as a problem-solving team, making drawing production faster and easier. It also identifies the basic computer hardware required for CAD, including the central processing unit, keyboard, monitor, storage memory, and peripherals like printers. The document explains that software provides the instructions to tell the computer what to do, and describes the basic types of operating system and application software used for CAD.

1. TECHNICAL DRAFTING
10
INTRODUCTION TO AUTOCAD

2. CAD IS IN!
COMPUTER AIDED DRAWING IS A TECHNIQUE WHERE THE
ATTRIBUTES OF THE COMPUTER AND THOSE OF THE DESIGNER
ARE COMBINED TOGETHER INTO A PROBLEM SOLVING TEAM.
USING THIS SOFTWARE MEANS FASTER AND EASIER PRODUCTION
OF QUALITY OUTPUT. CAD IS AN ESSENTIAL SKILL TO BE
ACQUIRED BY DRAFTSMAN NOWADAYS IN ORDER TO FINISH AN
ASSIGNED TASK.

3. Think about it!
What will happen if a draftsman uses a computer to
accomplish a task? As a future draftsman, what will
be your tool to be successful in this chosen career?

4. Let’s identify the computer hardware
and functions!
A. Hardware
A computer’s hardware includes all the physical parts of
the computer. These are the parts that we can see and
touch.
The hardware components include the Central Processing
Unit (CPU), keyboard, monitor and primary storage
memory (RAM), and the secondary storage memory.
Peripherals include disk drives, mouse, digitizers,
printers/plotters, etc.

5. THE SYSTEM UNIT
The main part of a
microcomputer is sometimes
called the chassis. It
includes the following parts:
motherboard,
microprocessor, memory
chips, buses, ports,
expansion slots, and cards.

6. CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
(CPU)
It is the brain of the computer
where it performs all instructions
and calculations that are needed
to manage the flow of
information. It holds
instructions, data, and
intermediate final results during
processing. It also receives
instructions from software or
computer programs and
executes them.

7. KEYBOARD
It is the principal device for
communicating with the
computer. All keyboards
have letter keys, punctuation
keys, and a space bar which
are similar to the keys on a
typewriter. Keyboards also
have functions, numeric and
arrow keys in additional to
Alt, Ctrl, and Enter keys.

8. MONITOR
It has a screen that displays
information such as the
instruction you send to the
computer and the
information and results from
your computer are sent back
after interpreting your
instructions.

9. HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD)
It is known as a hard drive,
which is a storage device
that is installed inside the
computer. The hard drive is
used as permanent storage
for data. In a Windows
computer, the hard drive is
usually configured as the C:
drive and contains the

10. OPTICAL DRIVE
It is a storage device that
uses lasers to read data on
the optical media. There are
three types of optical drives:
Compact Disc (CD), Digital
Versatile Disc (DVD) and
Blu-Ray Disc (BD).

11. MOUSE
It is a small hand-held
device used to control the
cursor / crosshair on the
screen. It is used to select an
item by pointing to it and
clicking a button.

12. DIGITIZER TABLET
IT IS A GRAPHICS
It is a graphics drawing
tablet used for sketching
new images or tracing old
ones. It is also called a
"graphics tablet," where the
user writes or draws on the
surface of the device with a
wired or wireless pen or
puck. Often, mistakenly

13. PRINTER
It is an output device that is
used to print information
processed by your
computer. Printers and
plotters vary in speed and
output capabilities.

14. PLOTTER
It is an output device that
can produce better quality
drawings as compared to the
printer. However, the speed
of plotter is generally slower
than a printer.

15. B. SOFTWARE
The software is the set of programs that make a
computer run. Opposite to the hardware, the
software is an intangible part of a computer. They
are sets of instructions that tell the computer what
to do to come up with the desired result. The
software can be categorized into two main groups:
operating system software and application
software.

16. OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE
THE OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE PROVIDES VARIOUS
LEVELS OF INTERACTION (CALLED INTERFACE) BETWEEN
THE COMPUTER AND THE USER, AS WELL AS BETWEEN THE
COMPUTER AND THE APPLICATION SOFTWARE. THESE ARE
THE PROGRAMS THAT WORK WITHOUT YOUR
INTERVENTION. THEY AUTOMATICALLY OPEN ONCE YOU
BOOT YOUR COMPUTER. SOME OF THEIR TASKS INCLUDE
LOADING AND RUNNING PROGRAMS, CHECKING AND
PROTECTING COMPUTERS, AND CONTROLLING
HARDWARE.

18. Application Software
The application software is the program installed
in a computer. It is also
called as programs. These enable you to do
different tasks like typing, making
presentations, editing pictures and videos, and
surfing the internet. It has a specific
use or task to perform such as AutoCAD for
architectural drawings and layouts,
Lotus 1-2-3 for business and marketing, Adobe
Photoshop for image processing,
and so on.