What do you use AutoCAD for?

[michael.12445]

I voted "Architecture," but the real uses of AutoCAD in our office are:

- Automated mistake generation
- Causing or aggravating myopia and astigmatism
- Raising blood pressure
- corrupting drawing files
- Making random "art" on hardcopy output devices
- Giving everyone an excuse to revert to babyhood and miss deadlines.

Michael Evans

[Grumpy]

I voted 2D Architectural. I mostly use it to layout our equipment in customer buildings. I also use it to do wiring diagrams. Here at my 8-5 job we use AutoCAD 2005, but at my second job which happens to be for my dad (he as a small civil engineering firm) I do about half of his drafting for him. He does civil designs, house plans, etc., anything to keep working. He uses AutoCAD 2000i, and he knows that he will have to upgrade by January.

[CADKitty]

I voted "other". We do commercial MEP work here on A2K4 and A2K4LT. Then there are all the "miscellaneous" uses - new garages, walkways, t-shirt logos, etc. It's amazing just how versatile AutoCAD is . . .

[clint.sowers]

I would have to say other also. I use it mainly for 2D Electrical Schematics, 3D Mechanical, Lisp routine animations, and VBA programming.

[jonathan_fairholm]

I voted "other". I mainly draw 2-D poultry processing factory layouts, covering building / plant room design, mechanical & electrical services schematics and processing line layouts. Some 2-D & 3-D mechanical design, also.

[allenjl]

I voted other, because of multiple uses - architectural and also industrial automation (control panel design, loop diagrams, wiring schematics) - all in 2d to this point.

[Scott D Davis]

We use AutoCAD 2005 for 2D Architecture, primarily in educational work. But we also do civic, police and fire facilities, and some mutli-unit resisential.

Currently transitioning the office to Revit, so soon to be using AutoCAD to clean up consulatnats drawings, and to help keep our detail library up to date.

We had ADT 3.3, but it was best used when users needed something to prop up their monitors to a higher level...the multiple volumes of manuals came in handy for that.

[J. Grouchy]

Backgrounds to engineers (imported from Revit).
Editing projects done before we came to our senses (by moving over to Revit).

Some work (prototypes) still require ACAD...so there are a few poor souls in our office that still use it more regularly...

[Brian Myers]

I use AutoCAD mainly in 3 different applications:

1.) I complete construction drawings for Residential projects (mostly single family homes).
2.) I do as-built drawings of our office and ever increasing distribution center (my company creates and distributes home plan books).
3.) I create the house floor plan drawings and 2D elevations you'll find as you flip through these home plan books.

Between these publications and the drawings I did at a previous job (we had plants in multiple countries) I can honestly say my AutoCAD drawings and/or designs have been seen in the follow areas (that I know of):

1. United States (every state)
2. Canada
3. Mexico
4. South Africa
5. England
6. Scotland
7. Malaysia
8. Cuba (yes.. I know of some mechanical components I designed 12 years ago that ended up in Cuba along with my drawings.. no one knows how they got there, but we had a call on them!)
9.) Ireland
10.) Brazil

In reality, most of them are nothing special as far as CAD work goes.. just an interesting tid-bit that sounds impressive!!!

(That's reminds me of 9 years ago when I did plans for NASA! That's the truth and doing work for NASA sounds impressive enough! Of course, it was just the plans for a large, open, and very unimpressive metal storage building. )

[bmichell]

I work for a manufacturing company so I voted 2D mechanical.