About Solidtorial

What Solidtorial is

Solidtorial is a set of free CAD bootcamps for students and anyone who wants to learn a CAD program by drawing real parts. Each bootcamp is a sequence of lessons. Every lesson teaches a few commands through one part: you get the dimensioned drawing to copy, the steps in order, a practice exercise of your own with its solution, and the finished files in DWG, DXF, STEP and STL. Nothing requires an account. The site is funded by advertising.

How the exercises are made

Every part is original and designed from code, so its dimensions are exact and every file comes from the same model. The drawing sheets are projected from the 3D model with the hidden lines and center lines a draughtsman would add, dimensioned at full size in model space, and finished with a title block. The metric sheets follow ISO first-angle projection (third angle in the Japanese edition) and the inch sheets follow ASME third-angle conventions. Before publishing, every DWG is converted back to DXF and compared with the original, and every STEP model is re-imported and its volume checked.

No screenshots of the software

The lessons do not use screenshots of any program. The step images are drawn from the part itself, so they stay valid when a new release changes the interface. Command names are taken from the vendor's own documentation.

Errors and contact

Found a dimension that does not add up or a file that does not open? Write to [email protected]. The contact page explains what to include.

No affiliation with software vendors

Solidtorial is an independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Autodesk, Inc. or any other software company. AutoCAD and DWG are trademarks of Autodesk, used on this site only to describe the software the lessons teach and the file formats.