Determining Polar Coordinates on hardcopy

[Behemothrex]

Hey guys this is a serious newbie question as I just started my CAD classes. I have been doing basic 2d drawing and just learning the commands etc.

My question concerns polar coordinates. I know how they work, but are you expected to be able to get polar coordinates off lets say a hard copy drawing with no annotations.

My homework so far has always had the length of the lines depicted on the drawing but not the angles. So if I was required to replicate a drawing that had no annotation is there any way other than guessing or whipping out my protractor.

This is just a nagging thought as I strive to understand CAD.

Thanks

[Dadgad]

Welcome to the forum.
If there are no annotations you are screwed.
There always needs to be something to provide a reference and scale.
As soon as you have to start scaling from a hard copy you have lost the battle, your accuracy goes right out the window.
Sure it gets done all the time, but it is not a good idea.
Our title block includes the note N.T.S. (Not To Scale), providing insurance against that inevitability.
The only better insurance is a properly dimensioned, unambiguous drawing, so that nobody has cause to resort to that approach.

[Behemothrex]

Thanks Dadgad,

Yah I figured if you had no obvious way of figuring out the angle you shouldn't be required to. It was just something nagging in the back of my brain. I was afraid I was overlooking something in my text book, as they never said one way or the other how you acquired polar coordinates if they were not given. So whew! lol.

Okay back to it, thanks for the reply and I am sure I will have more questions later.