PANEL PRO
21
What is CAD
CAD (Computer Aided
Drafting) is nothing more
than a database of drawing
entities and the properties
that define those entities.
CAD is a vector based
program rather than a paint
type program. Paint and
drawing programs simply turn
pixels on or off on a screen.
They are simply visual and
not scaleable since there is
no definition of which pixels
belong to what object.
Vector graphics involve
entities such as lines that have properties such as a starting and ending point. Such an
entity may be scaled for display on a screen or paper.
EasyCAD is a 2 axis drawing program. Looking at the screen, left and right is the X
axis, where moving right results in a higher number. IE moving from a 0,0 coordinate to
a 10,0 coordinate places us at a position 10” to the right of the previous position.
The Y axis is viewed on the screen top to bottom and moving up yields more positive
positions.
The view for drawing an instrument panel would be if the panel was on a table viewed
from the top.
The plan of attack:
The most efficient way to make panels is to:
1. Create each cutout (instrument or even a round hole for a switch) as a separate
file and store it with a name for future use, I.E. KI206.fc7.
2. Draw the panel shape and store it also as a file using the serial number of the
airplane as a reference. I.E. BB421plt.fc7
3. Start a new drawing and insert the panel drawing, and the instruments as
desired. Save it as a dxf as a “cut” file. I.E. BB421pltCut.dxf
4. Load the file in AvCAM and preview it.
5. Cut the file.
