AutoCAD 2010 – First Look at Parametric Constraints

by Donnie Gladfelter on February 6, 2009

in AutoCAD 2010

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I just recently returned home from San Francisco, CA where I was privileged enough to join some of the most popular AutoCAD bloggers in the blogosphere for the AutoCAD 2010 release event in San Francisco. Although we stayed incredibly busy throughout the day Thursday, I must say I really did have a great time at the event. It’s always a golden opportunity when you get to have meaningful chats with the people who manage and develop AutoCAD.

During the day we also recorded a number of videos, which I understand will be released on a soon to be launched AutoCAD community site. Keep a look out for its launch in the near future. While there were countless serious moments, we also had our fun. Wednesday night Autodesk hosted a meet & greet for us bloggers. Shaan Hurley and some other bloggers had an embarrassing moment in the hotel elevator as they shook the hand of who they thought was me. They quickly figured out, the guy in the elevator was not me, just some guy named Travis who, according to them, looks just like me.

As I said, we recorded a number of videos yesterday, and like any video shoot there’s bound to be some bloopers. I think my best blooper was a take in which I kept saying Paramedic Constraints, not Parametric Constraints. So in the spirit of my gag footage, I give you a video introducing the new parametric constraints inside AutoCAD 2010. If you find yourself needing a paramedic afterwards, please press the F1 key.

Tagged as: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2010, features, Parametric Constraints

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  • kkchiang

    Autocad 2010 is rubbish comparing to previous versions.

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  • Dave

    Wow! Sorry bout that :-(

  • Dave

    Wow! Sorry bout that :-(

  • JOE HILL

    I HAVENT DETERMINED A GOOD USE FOR THIS NEW FEATURE- PARAMETRIC CONSTRAIGHTS GEOMETRIC AND DIMEMSIONAL.

    I TRY MY UTMOST TO BE ON TARGET WITH DIRECT DISTANCE ENTRY THERE SELDOM IF EVER IS A NEED FOR WHAT I OBSERVED IN YOU DEMNOSTRATION.

    I WILL NOT PAY EXTRA FOR THIS , THATS FOR SURE..

    I DO APPRICAITE YOUR VERY GOOD WORK ON THE PRESENTATION,
    YOUR DEMONSTATION IS FAR SUPERIOR TO SOME OF THE OTHERS ON UTUBE AND THE WEB.. SO MUCH JUNK IS OUT THERE..

    THE UTUBE PRESENTORS NEED TO LEARN FROM YOU HOW TO MAKE A GOOD PRODUCTION AND VIDEO RE-PLAYABLE !!

    KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK . I AM LOOKING FORWARD FOR MORE OF YOUR LESSONS.

    • http://www.thecadgeek.com Donnie Gladfelter

      Joe – Thanks for the compliment on the YouTube video; I do my best to keep it casual, but also professional.

      With regard to the parametric feature itself. I think it really depends on the type of work you do. If you’re in the mechanical field, it’s probably a no brainer. AEC field, I can see finding a use for it a stretch. I didn’t show it in this video, but I think the AutoConstrain feature, combined with some dimensional constraints can work some real magic (especially in things like standard details that have to be tweaked).

      Even still, while parametrics may not do everything you want them to in 2010, I’d guess that Autodesk is looking for ways they can further enhance them. Not sure we’ll see anything in 2011, but you never know, Autodesk may surprise us.

      Donnie

  • JOE HILL

    I HAVENT DETERMINED A GOOD USE FOR THIS NEW FEATURE- PARAMETRIC CONSTRAIGHTS GEOMETRIC AND DIMEMSIONAL.

    I TRY MY UTMOST TO BE ON TARGET WITH DIRECT DISTANCE ENTRY THERE SELDOM IF EVER IS A NEED FOR WHAT I OBSERVED IN YOU DEMNOSTRATION.

    I WILL NOT PAY EXTRA FOR THIS , THATS FOR SURE..

    I DO APPRICAITE YOUR VERY GOOD WORK ON THE PRESENTATION,
    YOUR DEMONSTATION IS FAR SUPERIOR TO SOME OF THE OTHERS ON UTUBE AND THE WEB.. SO MUCH JUNK IS OUT THERE..

    THE UTUBE PRESENTORS NEED TO LEARN FROM YOU HOW TO MAKE A GOOD PRODUCTION AND VIDEO RE-PLAYABLE !!

    KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK . I AM LOOKING FORWARD FOR MORE OF YOUR LESSONS.

    • http://thecadgeek.com/ Donnie Gladfelter

      Joe – Thanks for the compliment on the YouTube video; I do my best to keep it casual, but also professional.

      With regard to the parametric feature itself. I think it really depends on the type of work you do. If you’re in the mechanical field, it’s probably a no brainer. AEC field, I can see finding a use for it a stretch. I didn’t show it in this video, but I think the AutoConstrain feature, combined with some dimensional constraints can work some real magic (especially in things like standard details that have to be tweaked).

      Even still, while parametrics may not do everything you want them to in 2010, I’d guess that Autodesk is looking for ways they can further enhance them. Not sure we’ll see anything in 2011, but you never know, Autodesk may surprise us.

      Donnie

  • erk

    Is it me, or is this just a really crude version of Solidworks relations?

    Surprised there is not an easier way to constrain endpoints (or automatically assume they are constrained when they are joined). Having to click all my endpoints and constrain them is ridiculous!

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/dgladfelter dgladfelter

      Erk – This post was just an introduction to the basics of parametrics in AutoCAD 2010. There is an Auto Constrain button that I did not demonstrate in this video (you have to crawl before you can walk). Still the parametrics in AutoCAD 2010 are really aimed at 2D, not 3D applications.

      As for the comparison between AutoCAD and SolidWorks, there's really no comparison. SolidWorks is a 3D parametric modeling platform, AutoCAD is not. If you were to draw parts in AutoCAD, you'd probably do so in 2D. Think of the parametrics in AutoCAD as a basic version of what's available in Inventor. While you can certainly draw parts in AutoCAD, if you're looking to do any substantial modeling, you're probably going to want Inventor.

  • erk

    Is it me, or is this just a really crude version of Solidworks relations?

    Surprised there is not an easier way to constrain endpoints (or automatically assume they are constrained when they are joined). Having to click all my endpoints and constrain them is ridiculous!

    • http://thecadgeek.com/ Donnie Gladfelter

      Erk – This post was just an introduction to the basics of parametrics in AutoCAD 2010. There is an Auto Constrain button that I did not demonstrate in this video (you have to crawl before you can walk). Still the parametrics in AutoCAD 2010 are really aimed at 2D, not 3D applications.

      As for the comparison between AutoCAD and SolidWorks, there's really no comparison. SolidWorks is a 3D parametric modeling platform, AutoCAD is not. If you were to draw parts in AutoCAD, you'd probably do so in 2D. Think of the parametrics in AutoCAD as a basic version of what's available in Inventor. While you can certainly draw parts in AutoCAD, if you're looking to do any substantial modeling, you're probably going to want Inventor.

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