Single Layout per Drawing (Industry Standard?)

[Mlabell]

Mark,

We put all of the design information in a model drawing. We then use sheet drawings that reference the model. All pertinent information is then placed on each sheet.

Ahhh gotcha. Makes sense to and I can see the logic in that now. I am just used to seeing our design drawing as the "sacred cow". Each sheet has its layout in it with all annotation done there, and all points and design are in model.

Does having a drawing of each layout make navigation of your EP project directory cumbersome at times?

It is interesting to see how others use CAD so differently, and I am happy to see such different results.

[madcadder]

NCS 3.1 does not specify layout tabs per drawing.

"Layout tab" or "layout tabs" are not mentioned anywhere in the 960 pages.
After reading over the UDS again I can't even really state an implied intent derived from verbiage.

Before the SSM we did one project per file, as possible. With SSM it is now one layout per file.



If they did not specify in the contact "one layout per drawing file" then charge them.

[tedg]

Whether it is "Industry Standard" or not. The Architect does not want your plans to have multiple layout tabs. You might try this thread, "Convert multiple layouts to individual drawing files," to help you convert your drawings.

We use one layout per drawing most of the time. This allows more than one drafter to work on a set of plans. The rare occasion to use more than one layout is for our Construction Stakeout work drawing which only one person will use. There are probably others, but allowing more than one drafter to work on a set of plans usually reduces the need for multiple layouts per drawing.

We have the NCS 3.1, and I don't believe it addresses the multiple layout issue. I think it's more of a company procedure thing.

I work at a large A&E firm, and we use one layout per plot sheet drawing. The "plot sheet" drawings contain the titleblock, text, dimensions and other symbols. We use allot of xref bases (ie: plans, elevations and sections) and this allows many people to work on everything. Many times we're scrambling at the 11th hour doing markups to get it out the door. One or two people are working on bases and one or two people are chasing text and dimensions on the plot sheet drawings. When we change something on a floor plan, the overall plan and enlgarged plans change automatically. I couldn't imagine doing all this with one drawing with many layouts for the plot sheets.

But thats me..

[Opie]

Each sheet has its layout in it with all annotation done there, and all points and design are in model.

That is what I was trying to say on how we do things here. Is that what your firm does or is that what you understood I said? I'm just a little

Does having a drawing of each layout make navigation of your EP project directory cumbersome at times?

Since EP's Roadcalc does one drawing per sheet, I'm used to that. Our projects are not large enough to have more than about 10 sheets. On occasion, we will have more, but it is rare.

It is interesting to see how others use CAD so differently, and I am happy to see such different results.

That is the best thing about AutoCAD is that it can be used in so many different ways to produce drawings.

[mikesal]

We do not restrict the use of multiple layouts during the design of a project. However, our company requires the 'deliverables' to be one drawing per file and that the file be named the specific drawing number. We do have it specifically addressed in our standard that the consultant/contractor receives when they are awarded the bid. The reason we do it this way is we manage our drawings through a database and each drawing has attributes in the titleblock that are attached fields in the database. The database 'talks' to the attributes to keep the titleblocks consistent and searchable. Also, once the drawings are delivered they are now maintenance drawings instead of construction sets. If one drawing is updated in a multiple layout environment you would/should 'up' the revision in all of the layouts and redistribute the print set to make sure that a duplication of information error does not happen. If you are not in a multiple layout environment you can just update the one print. I agree with past posts though... If they did NOT have their requirement of single layouts per drawing in the contract then you should charge for that service.

[H-Angus]

I work for an Architectural firm and we generally have more than one layout per drawing. Our company standard is to name the layout tabs by drawing No and the file by drawing No/s and a brief title, this works well for us. We also have clients who request us to include A3 title blocks on additional layouts set up to say extract from drawing No....... so they can print parts of larger drawings out but still have a reference of what the drawing is.

When the transition from Acad R14 to R2000 occurred it was common practice to stick to one layout per file as R14 users could only see the first layout, but nowadays its just not an issue for us when sending or receiving drawings.

On another note, national or any other published CAD standards that I have seen do not relate specifically to Autodesk products, they tend to relate to the industry, do other CAD packages even have layouts which work like they do in Acad?

[aletarennee]

Thanks for the link Opie. The lisp included will save me time in the future.

This Architect and I have been going round and round for the entire project. If it were anyone else I would have happily complied to their request but these people have made me cranky.

Our specifications do not specify how the drawings should be submitted with the exception of file format. (R2000) I just wanted to know if this truly was an "industry standard" or if they were just continuing to give me a hard time.

Since we're a contractor and this is the last thing that needs to be done before we get paid I'll probably end up breaking up the drawings.

We use multiple layout tabs keeping floor plans in it's own dwg, elevation drawings in their own dwg., and then the details and hardware schedules in it's own dwg. When we are finish with a job it is published and ONLY the publication is released... dwg file cost BIG $$
and if that is how they want then then that's how we would set them up but it will cost them... we are using AutoCAD 2007

[StephenJ]

I used to have one dwg per one plot sheet. That is until I moved and changed jobs about 2 years ago. Now I have multiple plot sheets per dwg. The system they had at this office had all the sheet layouts in one drawing, WHAT A NIGHTMARE. After talking with the user and person in charge of creating the system I implemented what I have now. It is generally broken down into the drawing series. The 1/8" plans / 1/4" plans / RCPs / Elevations / Bldg sections / Wall Sections / Details / ... are individual drawings with multiple tabs. The overall plans are xrefs and are referenced into their corresponding drawings.

I concluded that I could have multiple drafters work on different parts of the set at the same time. If someone is working on the plans then someone else can work on the elevations. So far it has worked out well. It found that it is easier to plot and transmit drawings this way.

Also check this thread http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=34261

[abdulhuck]

We are a consulting firm. We have to follow the clients' standards if there is one. Otherwise, we follow our own standard. In both cases, we work on one drawing file against one hard copy deliverable. So in most of the cases, one layout per drawing. The advantages I see for this method are:

1. As Opie stated, more than one user can work on the drawings, if they are individual files.
2. Tracability of documents - the hard copy document number and the electronic file names can be matched.
3. Revision control is easier. If only one document is going to be get revised, no need of bringing the entire electronic documents to the next revision. I don't know how people manage this with several sheets in one drawing file!
4. Software performance. It is defenitely going to slow down the system if you have a huge layout and a lot of sheets in one drawing. You will see the difference when you work on individual files.

These are just a few of them. If given a chance, i would defenitely choose one electronic file against one hard copy deliverable.

Cheers,
Abdul Huck

[Avatart]

To put in my two-pennorth; we are a multi-disciplinary Architects (Structures, Services, Architecture, Civils, etc.) and we only ever use one file per drawing.

The reasons for this?

1. We can have plenty of bodies working on the job, a typical job for us is about 1000 drawings.
2. We do all our drawing work in Model files, so all our drawings update automatically.
3. Our Document Control systems work much easier with one drawing per file, you can just read the file name to know what drawing it is.
4. Printing and Publishing is easier in 1Sh/File.
5. Drawings run faster with the smaller file size and lack of loads of viewports.
6. It is more intuitive to have one file per drawing, it is how it worked in the days of pen and paper, so our "more senior" Architects and Engineers can get a grasp on the system.
7. It is the accepted norm in our industry (note I didn't use the word "Standard").