How to draw an arc Left click the button in the tool bar. Left click the mouse in the working space to choose a start point. Left click the mouse to define the midpoint of this arch. Left click the mouse to define the endpoint of this arc. Additional arc drawing options are located in the drop down menu next to the arch button. How to round corners Select the Filet tool Type “r” and press “Enter” Type “.5” and press “Enter” to specify a radius of 0.5 mm for the corner Select the two lines of the corner How to make dimensions Left click the drop down menu on the linear dimension button. Choose aligned from the list. Left click the start point of the line and another left click at the end point; move the mouse to move the displayed dimension; left click to set the displayed dimension down. 3) Left click the mouse on the displayed dimension to set the properties. 4) Then right click the mouse and choose the “properties” in the menu list. 5) Reset the “Color” and “Text height” of the dimensions in the properties list. How to view the design The view can be zoomed in and out by scrolling the middle mouse button. The design can be panned by holding down the middle mouse button and move the mouse The whole design can be viewed by selecting the extent button in the view tab. How to use pedit command The pedit command contains many useful tools; two of which are join and spline. Multiple lines can be joined together into a polyline. The total length of the polyline can be viewed by selecting the polyline, right click, and then selecting properties; the length of the polyline is under geometry section. This feature helps in getting the total length of an antenna design. Joining multiple line into a polyline Type “pedit” and press Enter Type “m” and press Enter Select two or more lines connected in series by left clicking; then press Enter Type “y” and press Enter Select join Type “1” and press enter for the fuzz distance Press Esc Converting a polyline into multiple line
Enter “180” as the Angle. The result should be as Figure 5. Fig. 5 Join the individual lines into one polyline. Type “pedit” in the command bar.(located in the bottom area of your window) Type “m” and press Enter. Select all the lines in the design by left clicking or drag a box around the design. (Figure 6) Press Enter when all the objects are selected. Type “y” and press Enter when prompted. (Figure 7) Select the “join” option in the popup menu. Type “1” and press Enter when prompted for the fuzz distance. Press Esc to finish. Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Checking the total length of the design. Select the polyline. Right click. Select “Properties”. The length of the polyline is displayed on the Properties window. Note: the length is 45.7080 mm which is longer than the specification of 31.25 mm. Rescaling the design to get the right length. Calculate the scaling factor by using the formula . The calculated scaling factor should be 0.683687757. Select the design. Press the “scaling” tool button in the tool bar. Select any point in the design to choose a base point. Type in the scaling factor 0.683687757 and press “Enter”. Verify that the design is 31.25 mm by checking its length in the Properties window. Add dimension labels. Make a copy of the design pattern.
Enter height of the box for “Row offset”. Enter the width of the box for “Column offset”. (Figure 11) Press “OK” to create the array. Draw a 50 mm radius in the center of the array. (Figure 12) Fig.11 Fig.12 Print out the pattern on a transparency. Open the main menu, and click “Print” to open the printer dialog box. Choose the printer as “HP Deskjet 930C/932C/935C”, and set 1 unit equals 1mm as shown in Figure 13. Click the “Properties” button, and then click ‘Custom Properties” in the dialog box. Choose Media as “HP Premium Inkjet Transparency Film”, Quality Settings as “Best”, Color as “Black & White” as shown in Figure 14. Click “OK” to restore when finish setting. Click “OK” to print out the pattern in a transparency film. Note: the transparency must be place with the paper strip facing up and the edge with the paper strip going into the printer first. Fig.13 Fig.14 Example 2: Design an antenna pattern by using AutoCAD 2012. This example will be based off tracing an image if you wish to make your antenna a more complex design. It follows the same requirements as the previous example. The following example is to design an antenna pattern for WiFi (2.4 GHz) using a quarter wavelength. After calculation, the total length of the antenna pattern should be 31.25 mm. Design specification: Antenna length should be 31.25 mm long Antenna width shall be 0.5 mm or wider Antenna line shall not intersect any line from beginning to end.