From the course: AutoCAD 2014 Essential Training: 2 Drawing Fundamentals
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Understanding the Cartesian coordinate system - AutoCAD Tutorial
From the course: AutoCAD 2014 Essential Training: 2 Drawing Fundamentals
Understanding the Cartesian coordinate system
AutoCad is a vector based application, this means that all of the geometry that we see in a drawing is tied to an underlying coordinate system. This coordinate system allows AutoCad to know with a high degree of precision where everything spatially exists in a file. In this lesson, we're going to take a behind the scenes look at model space to better understand how AutoCAD manages our geometry. Generally speaking, model space represents an infinitely large grid, much like a sheet of graph paper. We draw our geometry on this grid and AutoCAD uses the grid to maintain the accuracy of the file. It does this through the use of base lines. The first is an east to west base line called the x axis. The x axis is also a number line. Everything to the right of zero is considered positive x, everything to the left of zero is considered negative x. There is a second base line that runs north to south, it's called the y axis. And it also represents a number line. Everything above the x axis is…
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