Learning AutoCAD

AutoCAD is a very popular and versatile CAD application that is used by most drafting offices worldwide. However there are too many parts in a typical steel structure, and too many drawings to be made to make it an efficient solution for steel detailing by itself.

Parabuild can run inside AutoCAD, it helps to automate the drawing of structural steel in 3D and will automatically generate output like shop drawings and CNC data. Unique features such as customizable template-based parametric connections, SmartArray, Context Modeling, Propagate and dimension placement optimization make Parabuild a very effective and performant steel detailing software solution for detailers, fabricators and structural engineers.

Parabuild is fully integrated into the AutoCAD interface. Parabuild objects can be manipulated by basic AutoCAD commands including the Object Property Manager, making it easy for those familiar with AutoCAD to learn and use Parabuild. Automatic dimensions drawn by Parabuild use the built-in AutoCAD dimensions which allow for easy editing and customizing of the dimensions on shop drawings and general arrangement drawings.

Other applications that are based on AutoCAD such as AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Architectural Desktop, and CADWorx can be run on the same AutoCAD alongside Parabuild, and data from all these applications can be stored along with the structural steel in the same DWG file. This allows you to combine your steel detailing software with your preferred applications.

Many steel detailers already know how to use AutoCAD, but for those who do not, a big advantage of AutoCAD is the number of learning resources available for it. The software has been popular for very long and the number of learning resources and community has kept growing during all this time.
Below you can find a small selection of those resources.

Autodesk Academy
Click here to access Video training (free, by Autodesk)

AutoCAD tutorials
Click here to access Webinars and tutorials (free, by Autodesk)

The Source CAD
Click here to access 70 free online video lessons with quizzes (More are offered with a subscription)

Udemy
Click here to access Online courses (paid)

My CAD site
Click here to access some free tutorials with videos (more paid tutorials)

CAD Tutor
Click here to access Tutorials and Tips (free)

Tutorials 45
Click here to access Free tutorials (online courses are paid)

All About CAD
Click here to access Blog with Tips, Techniques, and Tutorials (free)

Computer Aided Design Guide
Click here to access AutoCAD Tutorials and exercises (free)

CADSetterOut
Click here to access the blog that contains tutorials (free)

Draftsperson
Click here to access Tutorials (free)
Click here to access Tips & Tricks (free)

Cookie	Type	Duration	Description
__cfduid	1	4 weeks	The cookie is set by CloudFare. The cookie is used to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	0	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-non-necessary	0	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non-Necessary".
PHPSESSID	0	30 minutes	This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user sessions on the website. The cookie is a session cookie and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy	0	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not the user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
_ga	2 years	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitors, sessions, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-9477553-1	1 minute	This cookie is used for throttling requests to Google Analytics servers to increase the efficiency of network calls.
_gid	1 day	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information on how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of the traffic performance of the website. The data including the number of visitors, the source where they came from, and the pages that were visited are collected in an anonymous form.