CAD practice drawings

These practice drawings are real parts to model in CAD, in 2D and in 3D. Each drawing gives every size the part needs, so it works in planex2d and in any other CAD system. Every page has a solution in planex2d and the values to check a model against. The tag on each card gives the drawing’s difficulty.

Each drawing is also a PDF at its true scale, linked at the top of its page, and all of them are collected in one PDF to print, after a title page with the contents. The solutions of the 2D drawings also open in the playground, where they run in the browser.

The practice drawings are under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, with an additional permission for teaching for which a fee is charged. See License and notices for details.

2D practice drawings

Each 2D drawing is a flat part, built as one constrained sketch or from Boolean operations on faces. The values to check are its area and, where it helps, its centroid.

Runs in the browser

Crane hookMediumA chain of tangent arcs around a throat for the load, fully constrained.

Runs in the browser

LeverEasyTwo bosses joined by an arm tangent to both, with a slot, from a rough outline.

Runs in the browser

Flange gasketEasyFour holes on a bolt circle: a circular pattern, fully constrained.

Runs in the browser

Lobed gasketMediumThree ears on a bolt circle, from the union of discs with rounded corners.

Runs in the browser

Chain link plateMediumTwo eyes and a waist of arcs tangent to both, from circles trimmed to the outline.

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Keyed hubEasyA bore with a keyway, its sides trimmed into the bore and its depth from the far side.

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Circular-arc camMediumA base circle, a nose and two flanks tangent to both from the inside, trimmed to the outline.

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Bell crankHardTwo arms at an angle: one chain of lines and tangent arcs, each arm's flanks mirrored about its center line.

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Vent plateEasyRounded corners with mounting holes at their centers, and a grid of vent holes from one linear pattern in two directions.

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Adjusting plateMediumA fan around a pivot as one chain, and an arc slot placed by its radius and two angles.

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Nut retainerEasyA slot as the outline, a hexagon for the nut, and holes in the centers of the slot's ends.

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Wall hangerEasyA rectangle with rounded corners and two keyholes, the second a linear pattern of the first.

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Motor mount plateMediumChamfered corners, a bore, and screw holes and slots, each from one pattern in two directions.

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Spring clipMediumA center line of tangent arcs and lines, offset to both sides into a strip of constant thickness.

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Ratchet wheelMediumOne tooth between two construction circles, repeated by a circular pattern into a closed outline.

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Open-end spannerHardA head and a handle united, a jaw at 15° subtracted, and fillets at chosen corners.

Runs in the browser

Lifting lugEasyOne half drawn as a chain of a base, a flank and the eye, and mirrored about the axis.

Runs in the browser

Ratchet pawlMediumA boss and a tooth in one chain, the edges tangent to the boss and the catch face at an angle to the back.

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Chain sprocketHardOne tooth gap of a seat and two tangent flanks, repeated around the wheel and tied to the chain's pitch.

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Disc camHardA pitch curve through a cycloidal lift and the profile as its offset by the roller's radius, with the lift table on the drawing.

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Flange seriesMediumOne sketch with named dimensions and a rule for its bolt circle, updated to three sizes from a tabulated drawing.

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Gear pump gasketMediumTwo chambers united, the outline and the bolt line as offsets, and holes equally spaced along the bolt line.

3D practice drawings

Each 3D drawing is a solid built from sketches, padded and pocketed, revolved, lofted or swept. The values to check are its volume, its mass and its center of mass.

Pillow blockEasyA bearing housing in two views: a profile extruded, with bolt holes and an oil hole.

Guide blockMediumA T-slot profile padded through, with two counterbored holes from the top.

Angle bracketHardAn L profile with a rib, holes in both legs sketched on the faces of the solid, three views.

Step blockMediumTwo steps with a slot, bolt holes and a cross hole, each dimensioned from the edges of its face.

Inclined blockHardA slope at 30° with a counterbored hole square to it, dimensioned from the slope's edges, and a view onto the slope.

V-belt pulleyMediumA half section revolved about its axis, a keyway in the bore, and a full section with hatching.

Corner blockEasyA block with a corner cut off by a plane through three points on its edges, at an odd angle.

Column baseEasyA plate from a centered rectangle, a boss padded onto its top and a blind bore, in a full section.

ClevisMediumA U profile padded, a pin hole through both prongs in one cut, and a blind hole for the rod.

Fork leverHardBosses on both faces and a slot pocketed partway into the thickness, stopped by an arc around the hub.

RockerHardOne chain of tangent arcs and lines, bosses on both faces and a forked eye pocketed into the thickness.

Saddle supportMediumA front and a side profile padded crosswise and intersected, with a hole pattern in the base.

Stepped shaftHardA profile with chamfers and a ring groove revolved, and a keyseat cut from a plane offset to the shaft's top.

Spur gearHardOne pitch with involute flanks and root fillets, repeated around the gear, a hub and a keyed bore, checked by the span over three teeth.

ImpellerHardA revolved disc and hub, and six curved blades as offsets of arcs, cut to a revolved contour.

Square-to-round transitionMediumA loft from a square to a circle of four quarter arcs, hollowed by a second loft, with two flanges.

Elbow ductMediumA rounded rectangle swept along a path with a 90° bend, hollowed by its offset, with two flanges.

Impeller with twisted bladesHardBlades lofted through two sections of different shape, cut to a revolved shroud contour, on a curved hub.

Hex standoffEasyA hexagon padded, a stud padded from its top and a tapped hole pocketed from its bottom.

Control knobMediumA half section with a spline side through a table of points revolved, grip flutes from a circular pattern and a D-bore.

Split shaft collarMediumA ring with a slit, and the clamp screw's holes sketched on planes square to the slit, set by their distance from the axis.

Electronics enclosureMediumA rounded outline padded, its inward offset pocketed as the inside, bosses on the floor and a rebate for the lid.

Connecting rodHardTwo eyes and a tapered shank united and filleted, and an I-section pocketed into both faces from the outline's inward offset.

Manifold blockHardPorts sketched on three faces and placed from their edges, their channels drilled until they meet inside.

Sheet-metal bracketMediumThe folded profile as one chain padded, and its flat pattern from the bend allowance, the holes where they land.

Compression springHardA helix with closed end coils as a 3D spline, the wire swept along it and its ends ground flat.

Pipe flangeEasyA half section with a hub and a raised face revolved, and a circular pattern of bolt holes through the plate.

HandwheelMediumA rim and a hub revolved, and five spokes, a strip times the ring between them, turned around the axis and padded.

Gear pump coverHardThe gasket's outline padded, a boss with the bearing bores and a seal seat, and counterbored holes along the gasket's bolt line.

Gear pump housingHardThe gasket's opening pocketed as the gear chambers, tapped holes on its bolt line and ports drilled from the sides into the chambers.

Gear pump rotorsHardTwo involute gears with thinned flanks for backlash, meshing in the chambers, each one piece with its shaft.