Parametric drawing in AutoCAD Complete tutorial

In this article, I will show you the step by step method of making parametric drawing in AutoCAD and working with geometrical or dimensional constraints or dependencies.

Parametric drawings update automatically if any parameter is changed, this also helps in maintaining design intent.

The parametric drawing is made with the help of geometrical and dimensional constraints.

These constraints build a relation between different parts of the drawing in such a way that if one part changes the other one updates automatically based in constraints applied to them.

This feature of parametric drawing was introduced in 2010 version of AutoCAD and we have covered it in detail in our Customization and cloud tools of AutoCAD course.

So, let’s start with applying constraints in a simple drawing. 

Applying Constraints

Make a rectangle with any dimensions and a circle at the geometric center of the rectangle.

Now go to the Parametric tab and select the linear option from the Dimensional panel.

Click at the top left vertex of the rectangle and then click at the top right vertex and place the linear constraint.

Similarly, apply the linear constraint on any one vertical side of the rectangle.

Now we will apply dimensional constraints from the Dimensional Panel.

The dimensional constraint is different from the simple dimensioning and should not be confused with dimensions.

Select Diameter constraint from Dimensional panel and apply it to the circle at the geometric center of the rectangle.

Now apply the linear constraint to the circle with respect to the horizontal and vertical side of the rectangle.