AutoCAD users needed

[lesliedc23]

I am currently working on my degree in inerior design, and am in an introduction to AutoCAD class. This week we have an assignment to interview autocad users. I have just a few simple questions to ask. If someone could take the time to answer, I would really appreciate it.
-Leslie


Name, location, and profession

When do you use CAD in the production process (i.e. preliminary design, design development, etc.),

The types of standardization you use, and

Advantages or disadvantages that CAD brings to your practice.

[Mike.Perry]

Hi Leslie

Pleese note I've *moved* this post from the AutoCAD General Forum (http://forums.augi.com/forumdisplay.php?f=120) to this Forum.

Please refer to the AUGI Forum Guidelines (http://forums.augi.com/faq.php?faq=vb_augi) for more information.

Thanks, Mike

Forum Moderator

[mjfarrell]

I am currently working on my degree in inerior design, and am in an introduction to AutoCAD class. This week we have an assignment to interview autocad users. I have just a few simple questions to ask. If someone could take the time to answer, I would really appreciate it.
-Leslie


Name, location, and profession

When do you use CAD in the production process (i.e. preliminary design, design development, etc.),

The types of standardization you use, and

Advantages or disadvantages that CAD brings to your practice.


Michael Farrell, Phoenix AZ, Civil Engineering, AutoDesk instruction.

I employ CADD from beginning to end, from planning stage though
to site design and permitting for final construction.

The Standards I use are governed by both the reviewing agency as
to the final submitted plan documents. For standards I use Layer, T
ext and Dimension styles, file naming and directory structure standards.

The biggest advantage is the ability to evaluate mutiple design alternates
and produce finished plans for the approved concept in the shortest time possible.

The biggest disadvantage, where do I plug this Laptop in for power???

[RobertB]

R. Robert Bell
Spokane WA
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Consulting Engineers

We do some limited work at SD, but the majority begins in DD/CD phases.

Nearly all aspects of AutoCAD are standardized, from dimensions, text, layers, blocks, details, plot styles and page setups, menus, accelerator keys, programming, and the kitchen sink.

Advantages are speed of production, consistent look of drawings, revision process, and reuse of work. Disadvatages are... carpal tunnel?

[Mike.Perry]

Mike Perry
London (UK)
Multi-Disciplinary Consultancy (I work within the Bridges & Special Structures division)

All stages of project work. Largest percentage is on Design & Build.

All the usual (as the others have already given).

Advantages - Consistency of drawing work; Quality of drawing work; Ease of drawing work (especially true when it comes to Revisions/Reuse of drawing work).

Disadvantages - Sore eyes; trying to deal with people (there is always one where ever you are) that won't follow good CAD practice.

[richard.binning]

Richard Binning
Jacksonville, FL
CAD Management (DesignBuild Firm)

We are a multi-discipline, integrated Design Build firm. We do everything from Land Planning, finance and land acquisition, through Design into construction (self perform) and sometimes lease back to owner.

We utilize CAD in many forms and throughout the entire life cycle of a project.

Advantages: Consistency, portability, re-use.

Disadvantages: disassociation with traditional practices.

[arcadia_x27]

Jason Goodwin
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Modular Housing(Pre-fab) Construction Company. (I work as the Cad Coordinator)

We use Autocad and Architectural Desktop at all stages from preliminary design to final production drawings and details. Its also used by the purchasing department to do material takeoffs

Standardization is used in most aspects of the drawings, from layers, dimensions, lineweights, even some of our blocks are standardized and very specific as they have to represent real world objects to their exact dimensions.(ie showers, tubs, cabinets).

Advantages: speed of production, ability to recycle work, ease of revising drawings.

Disadvantages, users who feel that stardards "aren't necessary", dealing with management who have no idea what CAD is. Users who continue to use Autocad the same way they did 10 years ago.

[Glenn Pope]

Glenn Pope
Lawton Oklahoma
CAD/GIS Technician

We use CAD for the entire life of projects and maintenance of all GIS data.

Current working on a set of standards :(

Advantages: The ability of calculating all kinds of data in minutes that would take days my hand.
Disadvantages: Users that refuse to learn anything new about the software. Windows.

[baechlerj]

Joe Baechler
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Facilities Management/CADD Specalist

I use Autocad from start to finish, dealing with Architectural, Mechanical & Electrical/Communications. Also use CAD for layouts for Elec. Panels, Synic Board, Schematics, Piping runs, ect. Any structural or odd design projects are also created in-house.

Standardization is critical as we deal with many other goverment agencies and design groups. With multipule buildings around the country and a vast arrary of archived documents, a standard methodology for how drawings are setup, saved and Titled with Drawing Numbers is important, as well as layers, blocks and even sheet size standards.
When you introduce the factor of many departments which can access these documents, standard, clear information is a must.
This is a constant 'work-in-process', you are never finished with Standards as you must always maintain and adapt your rules as the work enviorment changes- a constant battle.

The advantage of Autocad is the ability to customize, not only for each operator at their station, but for the magor disiplines them self, ie Arch., Elec. with templates, menus and tool palettes.
Autocad also allows rapid editing, which is great when you need to layout 8 different office layouts!

Disadvantages - Programs, operating systems, hardware are constanly changing upgrades are expensive and training is constant - AutoCAD now names its releases by yaer, some day it will be by month I fear, - (AutoCAD November2008!!).

Anyway, great tool would not want to go back to the board.

[JASONM30395]

Jason R Melanson Halifax N.S Canada Civil Design CAD Manager

CAD is used throughout the entire process.

standards set by client. (usually government)

Advantages as stated by others.

Disadvantages:
"Since it's so easy to change let's see what happens if we do this"
Quote from a engineer a day and a half before project is due. Used to be things were "thought throught" a lot more before a project was started. Now it's "We'll change it on the fly, because we can do it so quick." and mistakes are made.

[jhohman]

Jason Hohman, Spring Hill, FL CAD Technician

We are currently using ACAD 2002 with Arch. Desktop 3.3 for construction document production from conceptual to permitable construction documents. We use ACAD for 2d and 3d layouts, and produce everything including foudations, floor plans, elevations, framing, mechanical ,and electrical layouts.

Advantages of AutoCAD: I would have to say the ability to program within AutoCAD is very helpful, allowing you to perform multiple tasks at once through LISP or diesel coding. Not to mention that you can save alot of time with being able to match properties between drawings as well as the ability to handle word and office documents.

Disadvantages: Everyone's an expert and not always open to leaning new tricks. That and Autodesk "forces" upgrade but eliminating backward compatabilty. Frustrating when you have to deal with consultants and they cannot afford an upgrade.

[treb]

Name, location, and profession:

Sam, Montreal, Designer/Draftsman, Cirque du Soleil

When do you use CAD in the production process (i.e. preliminary design, design development, etc.):

CAD is used for concept to as bulit

The types of standardization you use:

A basic layering/sheet system, nothing to complicated

Advantages or disadvantages that CAD brings to your practice:

With virtual models, and GPS information, we can accuratly plan our show sites

[michael.12445]

Michael Evans, Pasadena, CA, Architect

We use AutoCAD fairly early in the design process, all the way through production of construction documents. In design, we use it in conjunction with other visualization tools like Photoshop and Form-Z.

We have adopted standards for layering, line weights, text and dimensioning, as well as a number of graphic symbols like scales, north arrows, section cuts, etc.

The biggest advantage is the ability quickly to put down a lot of information on paper because of the ease of copying and pasting standard details, use of xrefs, etc.

However, that's also one of the disadvantages - those same processes can automate the process of generating mistakes with the same speed. But I'd say the biggest disadvantange is that AutoCAD is so forbiddingly complicated that our principal decision makers have only the vaguest idea of what's actually involved to carry out a given task, i.e., "send copies of our latest plans to Consultant XYZ but he needs them in R14 format." I find in general, because a computer is involved, and because they've heard something about Moore's Law, often their expectations far exceed the actual capabilities of the software.

Michael Evans

[slayer913]

Albert Terrazas
Lodi, California
Engineering Technician, CAD Specialization
Food Process Industry

I utilize AutoCAD for all phases of most projects, from initial sketching and conceptualization with the customer, through design development and revisions, 2D and 3D modeling of final assembly / layout / system / facility, fabrication and deployment, start-up and even customer training.

I’ve had to standardize the entire department from the ground up, which really makes me appreciate the consistency and automation AutoCAD can offer. Everything from dim & text styles, to page templates, filing structure, and part blocks (2D & 3D) have been standardized to offer uniform end results.

Advantages: CAD allows me to produce models and drawings that are completely accurate and intelligent (attribute data), which store / convey information seamlessly while still holding the all-important aspect of being instantly revisable.

Disadvantage: So besides Carpal Tunnel, CAD sometimes leads inexperienced operators into thinking that they are God’s Gift to Drafting, including but not limited to, *cough cough* students and management. Also, it takes reading about 6 different release notes, watching 2 webcast / tutorials, and digging through the forums here to learn about all of the new updates made to each release. Enough said=)

Thanks, Albert

[baechlerj]

Disadvantage: So besides Carpal Tunnel, CAD sometimes leads inexperienced operators into thinking that they are God’s Gift to Drafting, including but not limited to, *cough cough* students and management.

[font=Arial]Thanks, Albert

You are so right, I have guys that transfer into the department, take a 4day course and think they sould be let loose to produce a full design!!! Scares the @*#$ out of me every time we get a new transfer.

joe

[Ms. Serene]

My name is Lisa Vickery and I am in Tucson Arizona. I have worked in industuries from mining to microelectronics and disiplines from architectural to electrical. I have done both drafting for all disiplines and design for civil and electrical. I currently work for a company that does a lot of University expansion work. We use AutoCad and many of the add on software for everything from prelim to final design.
If by standard you mean how drawings are presented I am trying to get the office to use the NCS (National Cad Standard), but it is slow in comming.
As to drawbacks, I quess that I would have to say that most people who do not use Cad in this office think that it is magic, though it is faster than doing things manually it does take time to do things. Also some people trust Cad Calculations so much that they don't check the work (user error can cause a lot of problems)
I hope this helps

[tbedrich]

Name, location, and profession

When do you use CAD in the production process (i.e. preliminary design, design development, etc.),

The types of standardization you use, and

Advantages or disadvantages that CAD brings to your practice.


Thomas Bedrich, Brenham Texas, Designer in an Architectural Firm

AIA Layer standards, and the templates that I create, also what ever the boss deems as standard for that project

Advantages: ease of change, project navigator.
Disadvantages: project navigator, whatever new feature the boss reads about - the week the project is due.

[Maverick91]

Name, location, and profession

When do you use CAD in the production process (i.e. preliminary design, design development, etc.),

The types of standardization you use, and

Advantages or disadvantages that CAD brings to your practice.


Doug Draper, Arlington, Texas -- My title is CAD Specialist. What it really means is that I'm the only full-time CAD tech in the company. I'm not quite a CAD Manager, but I'm more that a coordinator.

The standards I developed are loosely based on the AIA standards, a few standards from clients, and from what I've seen work in other companies where I've worked.

There are so many analysis and dimensional related tasks that many here perform that would be all but impossible without CAD. You can only scale so well off of paper. Using CAD also enables us share drawings with others very easily and have them become part of our own drawings. It's very easy to store an electronic copy of a drawing and call it up quickly. And then there are the various and many 'what if' games.

There are many other advantages. Lastly, my own handwriting. I can letter okay in manual (board) drafting, but you couldn't read my regular handwriting. :lol:

[tc3dcad60731]

T. Cannistra, Chas SC, Owner/Senior Designer

I use ACAD from beginning to end of each of project.

As for standards: I have those that I have set-up and when a client asks for us to follow their company's std I do so. For the most part I follow industry CAD stds. that i have seen over the years.

Hand drafting will only go so far but e-dwgs are easier to store, manage and read. The biggest time deal is making symbols that i need to do my work that ACAD does not have.

[Brian Myers]

Brian Myers, St Louis, Missouri - Residential Designer, HDA, Inc.

I use CAD in each phase of the production process.

I have set layers, drawing naming, etc. Nothing too complicated as I'm the only production CAD user in this company and the only person that will access my CAD drawings. In a previous job where I was the CAD manager for a medium size firm we had much stricter rules and regulations regarding layering, blocks, x-refs, drawing locations, title block set-up, drawing names, etc. The more people you have in your organization (or the more people that use your drawings) the more important it is to have set standards.

Just about every advantage you can think of I get by using CAD in my position. The only disadvantage I have is that my boss (with a 35 year career as an award winning residential draftsman/designer) still does drawings on the board. That makes it more difficult for us to exchange and use each other's drawings in our projects. Of course that won't be an issue when I take his place when he retires in a couple years... ;-) But at that time I'll need to put in place stricter standards for when I hire my own draftsmen to take over my current position.

On a side note: I was originally hired for this position because I had been a project manager, then a good CAD manager and finally a Residential Designer in the past and would be around to take over the department and keep us profitable in the future. So I've made a successful career from good CAD use...and that's been the thing I've been the most thankful for with the creation of CAD, it's helped me stand-out in my career field along with a lot of hard work.

[tommy.huckabee]

Hi, my name is Tommy I work in South Louisiana and am a crane designer. We use cad for every crane from design to customer approval to the finished product. All of our standards are based on the ANSI spec. The only disadvantage cad brings is that with current technology it is getting harder to keep people employed, our drafting department has shrunk from 10 people to just four in the last 10 years because it is a little too efficient.
Hope this helps

[mfahlman]

I am currently working on my degree in inerior design, and am in an introduction to AutoCAD class. This week we have an assignment to interview autocad users. I have just a few simple questions to ask. If someone could take the time to answer, I would really appreciate it.
-Leslie


Name, location, and profession Mike Fahlman, Regina, Saskatchewan. Drafting Standards Supervisor

When do you use CAD in the production process (i.e. preliminary design, design development, etc.),We start at the initial stages. ie: setting up legal fabric for roadway design.

The types of standardization you use, and

Advantages or disadvantages that CAD brings to your practice.
We have developed a drafting standards manual. The manual dictates layer names, color configurations, specific linetypes, etc...
The advantage to CAD is change. Changes can be made very easily.
Disadvantage is the possiblilty to have one drawing located in two or more different places.
It is a challenge to keep one file of a drawing.

[charlinda72144]

C. Williamson
CEW/APR
Surprise, AZ

I have used AutoCad in the past as the graphic part of a building information system for over 600 buildings owned by Maricopa County in Arizona. I am currently doing research for a building information program that uses less expensive ways of doing space planning and monitoring. So far I have found that FaciliCad appears to use AutoCad and do direct relations to a database. I still need to look at AutoCad 2005 to see how it links directly to MS Access or other databases. Anyone using AutoCad 2005 with a database to do space planing?

[llambert]

Leo L. Lambert
Chandler, AZ
Technical Support in Communications Field

Use ACAD in all production processes (sp?) from start to any and all revamps.

Standardization based only on most recent ANSI standard but loosely.

Advantage is it's quicker for layouts like cable drawings or block diagrams over the 3D option I have with SolidWorks. and time is everything in the workplace. Therefore it's also easier to update drawings and send them out in a ".pdf" format for coworkers and vendors.

[chuckorcz.58742]

I am currently working on my degree in inerior design, and am in an introduction to AutoCAD class. This week we have an assignment to interview autocad users. I have just a few simple questions to ask. If someone could take the time to answer, I would really appreciate it.
-Leslie


Name, location, and profession

When do you use CAD in the production process (i.e. preliminary design, design development, etc.),

The types of standardization you use, and

Advantages or disadvantages that CAD brings to your practice.
Chuck Korcz, Chicago-land area, Project Engineer, Metal Stamping
CAD is used throughout the product life cycle from conception through on the fly revisions during production. All our NC machines require CAD.
I use scripts to force outside drawings into compliance with best practices within our organization. We use outside help extensively. Additionally, my own templates are a great deal of help when inserting drawings from other users or CAD systems.
CAD has changed this business completely from when I started in the late 70S. We react much more quickly to customer requirements, we are able to be more accurate on ever more challenging parts. Disadvantages are that the people doing the work cannot access the files or do not know how to use them. They still rely exclusively on paper. That is my challenge in the long term.