AutoCAD Tip – Create neat diagrams more easily with Grid Snaps

by Dennis Collin

Whilst AutoCAD is an excellent tool to provide drawings for manufacturing and asset tracking for sites and buildings, there is also a need to create schematic type drawings to show pipe networks, P & IDs or wiring diagrams.

The resultant drawings don’t need dimensional accuracy necessarily, but they should be neatly presented and legible, like all drawings.

Fig 1. Enabling Grid Snap makes it easier for drawing and editing schematic diagrams

Creating schematic type drawings is made much easier using the Grid snap, this will cause AutoCAD to draw on a user definable grid. Where it is easier to draw straight lines at intervals and place symbolic components to indicate flow or connection.

Fig 2. Grid Snap controls element behaviour, Grid display is optional.

Grid snap control is located on the task bar at the bottom of the screen. Set the grid interval to an appropriate spacing that you may wish to see on paper. Since it is just a diagram the annotation scale can be left at 1 to 1 (1:1) although for simple schemes users could draw directly on the title sheet! However, I’d recommend still drawing in model space for greater flexibility and for more complex diagrams.

Fig 3. Setting Grid Snap on, can be useful for schematic drawings.

As with all drawings, layers, annotations, and a library of blocks should be used to make drawing production faster and more efficient. Any organisation using AutoCAD should have a template defined to maximise user productivity.

Fig 4. Whether its pipe routes or circuits, time can be saved using layers and a shared block library and template.

If Electrical or P&ID creation is a common occurrence it is worth considering using a ‘flavoured’ AutoCAD which has tools above and beyond the conventional ‘vanilla’ version.

Using Grid snap is also beneficial when creating isometric drawings. I will discuss this aspect of ‘Vanilla’ AutoCAD (and LT) in a future blog.