Hi Forum,I'm new to CAD software, and start learning it by myself.Now I have manufacturing drawing files in PDF format that I want to import to the software, and run simulation assembly before the parts are made out according to those drawings.The reason I want to do that is because sometimes those drawings have some dimensional errors. I want to make sure those dimensions are correct and at least the parts can fit together nicely.Can someone please tell me how can I achieve that with AutoCAD?Thank you,

Hello koble, if you are doing parts alone and then try to assemble them you are wrong.A good study should be done on the assembly and then you extract the parts.More, if you do PDF of parts then you have "images" and not vectors parts.When a study is done you have always modifications when doing the details drawings, you should always modify first the assembly and then update the parts.In the old days studies were done on "sketches", the detailed then assembled into the assembly drawing or in a verification study.This is no more the case and more of this when you use 3D or even 2D AutoCAD blocks that can be done inside the main assembly file or out the file in WBLOCKS or XREF ( but complicated ).

Thank you for the inputs philippe. Do you mean I have the whole idea wrong, that I want to do the test assembly in CAD first before the actual assembly?The designer should have done the simulation assembly when they create the system(our product to be manufactured).Somehow when those individual parts are pulled out from 3D model of our product, some errors slip in. If I cannot check and find out before the manufacturing stage then I would face big problem when doing actual assembly. So if I cannot do it with PDF files, then maybe I could try to draw those according to dimensions given for each parts?

Hello koble, so your study is done in 3D. There must be an assembly drawing ( file ) but you haven't done it yourself.The component must have being dimensioned considering all of them and not individually.Eventually, re-assemble the assembly on 3D AutoCAD because I don't know how to do it with "images" PDF ( or is it 3D PDF ? ).On the other hand, beginning AutoCAD directly with 3D is not easy and you should ask the person that have done the initial job to provide a 3D assembly AutoCAD file.
philippe JOSEPH2018-01-31 11:26:20

Can the designer send you actual CAD files?  What program did he use to create the model of your product?  Have you considered having the product model printed in 3D?Re: simulations.  Inventor, not AutoCAD, would be a better choice.
John Connor2018-01-31 12:26:21