Dimensions

AutoCAD Theory
Group Members
 Tyrese Crawford
 Brandon Glasgow
 Tohari Canterbury
 Andrew Jordan
 Isaiah Bristol
 Samuel Alexander
 Christopher Caitan
Dimensions
The basic types of dimensioning are linear, radial, angular, ordinate,
and arc length. Use the DIM command to create dimensions
automatically according to the object type that you want to
dimension.

You can control the appearance of dimensions by setting up

dimension styles, or by editing individual dimensions in special
cases. Dimension styles allow you to specify your conventions
quickly and maintain industry or project dimensioning standards.
Types of Dimensioning
 Linear Dimensions - Linear dimensions can be
horizontal, vertical, or aligned. You can create an
aligned, horizontal, or vertical dimension with the DIM
command depending on how you move the cursor when
placing the text.

 The command for this action is DimL+ “Enter”

How to do linear dimensioning?
1. Click Annotate tab > dimensions panel > dimension.
2. Select a line or specify the first and second extension line origin points.
3. Move your pointing device to the desired position and orientation of
the dimension.
4. Before specifying the dimension line location, you can edit or rotate
the text.
5. Click to place the dimension line.
6. Repeat steps to continue dimensioning or press Enter to end
dimensioning.
 Radial Dimensions

 Radial dimension - measures the radius or

diameter of arcs and circles with an optional
centerline or center mark. Several options are
displayed in the illustration.

 The command for this is DimR + “Enter”

 How to do Radial Dimensioning?
1. Click Annotate tab dimensions panel dimension.
2. Select an arc or a circle.
3. At the prompt, enter r (Radius) or enter d (Diameter).
4. Before specifying the dimension line location, you
can edit or rotate the text.
5. Click to place the dimension line.
6. Repeat steps to continue dimensioning or press
Enter to end dimensioning.
Angular Dimensions
 Angular dimensions - measure the angle between two
selected geometric objects or three points. From left to
right, the example shows angular dimensions created
using a vertex and two points, an arc, and two lines.

 The command for this DimANG + “Enter”

How to do angular dimensioning?
1. Click Annotate tab Dimensions panel Dimension.
2. At the prompt, enter a (Angular).
3. Select one of the following:
• An arc
• A circle and two points
• Two nonparallel lines
• A vertex and two points
4. Before specifying the dimension line location, you can edit or
rotate the text.
5. Click to place the dimension line.
6. Repeat steps to continue dimensioning or press Enter to end
dimensioning.
Ordinate Dimensions
 Ordinate dimensions measure the perpendicular
distances from an origin point called the datum, such as a
hole in a part. These dimensions prevent escalating errors
by maintaining accurate offsets of the features from the
datum.

 The command for this is DimORD + “Enter”

Important: The datum is established by the current location

of the UCS origin.
How to do Ordinate dimensioning?
1. Move the UCS origin to the datum.
2. Click Annotate tab Dimensions panel Dimension.
3. At the prompt, enter o (Ordinate).
4. If you do not want jogs in the ordinate leaders, turn on Ortho mode
[F8].
5. Specify a point for the feature location.
6. Specify a leader endpoint.
Note: You can also specify an X- or Y-datum to determine the orientation
of the dimension location and dimension text.
You can use polar tracking to line up the text of the ordinate dimensions.
Arc Length Dimension
 Arc length dimensions measure the distance along an arc or polyline
arc segment. Typical uses of arc length dimensions include
measuring the travel distance around a cam or indicating the length
of a cable.

To differentiate them from linear or angular dimensions, arc length

dimensions display an arc symbol by default. The arc symbol, also
called a hat or cap, is displayed either above the dimension text or
preceding the dimension text.

The Command for is this action is DimARC + “Enter”

How to do arc length dimensioning?
1. Click Annotate tab > Dimensions panel > Dimension.
2. Hover over an arc or an arc segment in a polyline.
3. At the prompt, enter L (Arc Length).
4. Select the arc or the arc segment in a polyline.
5. Click to place the dimension line.
6. Repeat steps to continue dimensioning or press Enter to
end dimensioning.
Continued Dimensions
 Continued dimensions, also called chained
dimensions, are multiple dimensions placed end-
to-end.
The command for this action is DimCONT +
“Enter”
How to do continue dimensioning?
1. Click Annotative tab > Dimension panel > Continue
2. If prompted, select the dimension to continue.
Note: This prompt is skipped if the first extension line origin
can be assumed from the origin of the second extension line of
the last created linear or angular dimension.
3. Use object snaps to specify additional extension line origins.
4. Press Enter twice to end the command.
Baseline Dimensions
 Baseline dimensions are multiple dimensions with
offset dimension lines measured from the same location.

 The command for this action is DimBa + “Enter”

How to do baseline dimensioning?
1. Click Annotative tab > Dimension panel > Baseline
2. If prompted, select the base dimension.
Note: This prompt is skipped if the first extension line origin can be assumed
from the last created linear or angular dimension.
3. Use an object snap to select the second extension line origin, or press Enter to
select any dimension as the base dimension.
4. The second dimension line is automatically located at the distance specified
by the Baseline Spacing option in the Dimension Style Manager, Lines tab.
5. Use an object snap to specify the next extension line origin.
6. Continue to select extension line origins as needed.
7. Press Enter twice to end the command.
DimStyle

Creates new styles, sets the current style, modifies

styles, sets overrides on the current style, and
compares styles.
How to create Dimension Style?
1. Click Home tab > Annotative Panel > Dimension Style
2. In the Dimension Style Manager, click New.
3. In the Create New Dimension Style dialog box, enter a name for
the new dimension style, and click Continue.
4. In the New Dimension Style dialog box, click each tab, and
make any changes for the new dimension style.
5. Click OK and then Close to exit the Dimension Style Manager.
Reference
AutoCAD LT ”the Types of Dimensions” uploaded
by Autodesk.Help 05/10/2016
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad-
lt/learn-
explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/Aut
oCAD-LT/files/GUID-9A8AB1F2-4754-444C-
B90D-CD3F2FC8A3E0-htm.html