Four years ago I retrained from drawing on the board to using AutoCAD 2000 to enable me to stay in work, I may add at this point I was 54yrs old, and with 35 years experience in producing drawings on the board in most disciplines of Civil and Structural Engineering.
My learning curve was fast and with a combination of books,college and support from colleges I can now hold my own with most Cad Technicians except for a few grey area's.
In all my experience so far the accepted way of producing Cad drawings is to draw 1:1 in Model space and create dim/text styles to suit the scale of intended details drawn in Model space and then in Layout area create Viewports to suit scale of plans and details. The end product is that in Layout the drawing can be read with all the details at the required scale and that all the text is at the relevant size no matter what the scale the details, example- 2.5 text on a plan @1:50 is shown at the same size on a detail @ 1:20. This is as a result of using scaled viewports and not by placing all the text for respective plans and details in the Layout area.
During my working life I have worked for a number of large Consultants and in all cases where AutoCAD drawings were produced the Cad manuals all stated that all plans and details that constitute the finished drawing shall be drawn in Model space at 1:1 and that text should be placed in model space and scaled to suit relevant details.
My problem now is that I have just started at a new consultants whose has a head office in Belfast, Ireland. with two other regional offices. I have the position of Senior Cad Technician in one of these regional office. The problem is that the company Cad Manual states that text for all drawings should be placed in the Layout area of the drawing which is totally opposite to which I have previously experienced, as noted above.
Part of the brief for new position with my company is that I have to ensure that all the Cad technicians are all singing from the same song sheet. I have managed to talk to some of my new colleges and the general census is that they have preference to using my previously experienced method of detailing the text and not the company way.
I have also spoken to my opposite number in one of the other regional offices and he said that he uses the Layout text method because some clients require a 3D Model of the projects it is easier to integrate the drawing into 3D model drawing area. I would have thought it would be alot easier to just switch off the layer in Model space that you do not require and then export the required outline to the 3D drawing.
I am sorry for the lengthy script to explain my query but I felt it was the easiest way. I need some comment from some you long term Cad people to help me decide if I have cause to make the efforts to change new situation to one of what is excepted as being the most accepted and productive way of producing an AutoCAD drawing in the Architectural and Construction industry
JIm