AutoCAD Interview

[Daisy437]

Hi all, my name is Jennifer Farr and I am an Interior Design student through the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I discovered this forum while doing research for an assignment. Before I get into why I am here, I would just like to say that I am impressed with what I have seen in these forums so far. I wish I had known about this when I began my class in AutoCAD. I briefly checked out the challenge forums and I was amazed at what I saw. I would love to someday be able to be proficient enough in these programs to create the art that I have seen posted here. My goal in this forum is to become part of this community to keep up my skills while not in class and to stay current on new and changing information. The more knowledge I gain now, will only be an asset to me in the future. My eventual goal is to specialize in adaptive reuse projects and historic rehabilitation. One of the biggest challenges I have faced in my course work has been getting “professionals” to take 10 minutes of their time to answer a few questions, so I have decided to go a different route this time around for my interview. I acknowledge how valuable your time is as well as mine, and I would highly appreciate it if someone could help me out with this. What I am looking for basically is how you use Auto CAD in your particular profession. The section on standardization is referring to how your particular firm or employer requires, i.e., layers, title blocks, colors, layouts etc… Thank you again for your time and help.

· Name, location, and profession of the person,

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

· The types of standardization they use, and

• Advantages or disadvantages that CAD brings to their practice.

Jennifer M. Farr

[3dway]

If you're in interior design you'll want to check out all of the architecturally related AutoCAD information. You'll also see a lot of mechanical engineering use of AutoCAD. The pretty renderings you see in these forums are not likely done with AutoCAD. You should become familliar with Autodesk 3dsmax, and

Autodesk Viz. Also in the same family, by other software companies are, Maya, Soft Image. 3dsmax and Viz are strong in the Arch Viz world. Maya tends to be used for film and increasingly for games where 3dsmax used to have a foothold.

 

I'm an architectural technologist. I draft sets of construction drawings every day. I used to to large commercial projects up to 3.5 million construction budget, but my new job is working for a Design/Builder doing 1-3 million dollar custom homes.

 

I'll use AutoCAD to model buildings then take the models into 3dsmax to texture and render. (on those rare occasions when I actually get to do 3d work).

 

As far as layering goes. Learn how to properly use layer 0, as in never draw on it unless you're making a block. Check out the AIA. American Institute of Architects. They have a standard layering system which is quite flexible and comprehensive. I'm Canadian and I use a modified version of it myself. I'm not sure if it's the same in the USA or whichever country you're in, but find out what layering system the government uses. Contractors make a lot of money working on government projects and there are often special requirements surrounding applying for them. In Canada every government project has to open for bidding by anyone nationally. You must submit drawings as specs in a very specific format. This includes a layering system. Your instructors should be able to help you find it. Learn that system as well.

 

Tidy, accurate, well layered drawings are faster and more efficent to work with. Be good at it and it will pay off. Learn the difference between freeze/thaw and on/off. Learn how to use layer locking to speed up your work. Learn to isolate layers and then restore the previous layer state after you're done what you isolated for.

 

Layering, text styles, dimension styles, xrefing, viewports, model space/paper space.... these are subjects which cause a lot of problems for beginners but are crucial to understand.

 

More retohic you say.... ok..... Never draw anything twice. If you've drawn it once somewhere use it again. Change things globally always unless there is a really good reason to do it otherwise. This means using text styles, dimension styles, bylayer, etc...

[IC]

These are just my thoughts but I think most of use Cad in the following ways:

 

1 Design or receipt/perusal of the design from the architect

2 Modelling from the above design

3 Export to 3d file format for rendering

 

Some of us don't model in Cad and do it all in the 3d app using the cad (or paper prints thereof) drawings as reference.

In the modelling stages, layers are mainly used to set up materials for 3d export.

 

The advantages of Cad are precision and flexibility. Disadvantages are poor export options and non-intuitive 3d modelling.

 

Hope this helps.

[Allen]

Name: Allen Bussell

Workplace: GEES, Inc.

Work type: Civil Engineering / Land Planning

 

Layer management is EXTREMELY important...and becomes more so as drawings increase in their complexity. We use standardized layers we've developed over the years. Good management allows for use of one base drawing while using different layouts and viewports to show different aspects of your design (street on one sheet, sewer and water on another, etc...)

 

Standards for title blocks, etc - increases your productivity while providing clients with a consistant look for your work.

 

I love AutoCAD for drawing, design - but find it a dog for 3d modeling (compared with LightWave and other modelers)

 

BTW, after learning the basics of AutoCAD, you might want to look at a program like Sketch-Up for preliminary design which will allow a very fast 3d look at your designs.

 

Good luck - and be patient with yourself, always strive to standardize the redundant - so you can spend your time designing - not drawing.