Autocad workflow?

[chiquito]

Hi, I do some project development, and what im looking is to try to optimize a standard in terms of file sharing, layers management, line types, etc.

At the moment I use a standard implemented by an architectural practice, but im sure there are better ways to shar information and work, has any one got any hint or place/sugestion? thank you all in advance.

Martin

[neko]

that's a tricky one to answer, but here are my thoughts....

 

if you need to share data with other consultants (or co-workers) you need to ensure that your drawings are easy to understand, flexible in terms of editing / modifying and possibly converting to other programs.

 

your layering system does not need to conform to an architectural standard (AIA or some other office system) but the names and organization should be consistent and easy for all to understand. do not do stupid things like force colours and linetypes on objects.

 

the same goes for blocks, drawing names and xrefs. xref's in particular are an excellent tool for file sharing, but you must have a clear concept of what needs to be a block/xref or just part of a drawing.

 

drawing accuracy is also important - CAD data can be used and interpreted for different purposes, but if the drawing is sloppy and innaccurate then others will lose confidence in your work.

 

hope that helps

 

paul

[mikedeerf]

I agree with everything Paul said.

 

In the US, there's been work for years on a national CAD standard >>http://www.nationalcadstandard.org

but: a)it seems to apply only to the U.S., and b)nobody I've worked with follows it anyway, partly out of habit, and partly because you have to buy the standard manual for $250...

 

I've worked at 3 different companies running CAD. Two of them had/have an extensive CAD manual they've developed in-house over the years to standardize layer naming, colors, etc. within the company. The other was a free-for-all - everyone picked their own layer names (although the .ctb file was company-wide, so the colors were pretty much standard).

 

When we get a job where we're going to be using CAD files from another firm, we allow an extra day of time for layer translation and drawing cleanup.

If you're looking for a way to make that more efficient, I'd recommend checking out the "layer translator" if you haven't already - In 2004, it's under Tools->CAD Standards->Layer Translator.

 

If you have a consistent layer naming convention for yourself, then you can set up a translation set for each company you work with, assuming their layers are decipherable and consistent within their own convention.

 

Also, make sure that when you request drawings from someone else, you request whatever .ctb file they're using to plot - that way you can at least tell what layers should be dark and what should be shaded, etc.

 

And just to reinforce what Paul said - there's nothing worse than getting a file where colors and linetypes are NOT by layer. It makes layer translation really difficult. There are user-created LISP routines floating around for breaking apart a file like that and creating a new layer for each object color in the drawing, but it's a LOT nicer if you can avoid that in the first place.

 

The way I like to have my drawings:

every entity by itself: color by layer, linetype by layer

any entity nested in a block: color by block, linetype by block. (and preferably, on Layer 0).

 

Let's see, what else? Oh - elevations. For a 2D plan, try to have everything at 0 elevation. If you have one that's not, you can type "Flatten" to help fix it. One exception in my line of work is contours - they have to be elevated for certain Land Desktop commands to be happy. And so we put them in their own x-ref. Everything in every other file should be at 0 elevation.

 

Obviously, if you're drafing in 3D, your workflow will be different. I know that's not "the answer" you're looking for, but I hope it helps a little.

[chiquito]

Brian, first of all, thank you for taking time into writting that response.

Im cheking the cad standards link you have provided, Ill see if what they offer can be applied over here.

I have been working with cad for some years now, from version 12... hehe. and although I have como across lots of ways to share and handle files and co dependant issues, I couldnt find anything that could compare like a Catia or similar. Like an employee manual if you like.

Thank you again for the response.

Martin

[mikedeerf]

R12... nice. :-) Hope my post didn't come across as condescending then - it's sometimes hard to know what skill level I'm trying to help with... :-)

I know nothing about Catia and how they do it - sounds interesting.

If you're looking for more information, Cadalyst Magazine periodically revisits the CAD Standards topic. The latest article I found is here:

http://aec.cadalyst.com/aec/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=449711

It's not a solution, but it makes for interesting reading.

Brian

[mikedeerf]

As an example of a customized manual, Harvard University has their project manual online:

http://www.upo.harvard.edu/CampusProjects/Stds/Csg_2006.pdf

I'd send you our in-house manual, but I doubt I'd be allowed...

[chiquito]

I have the manual and standards used in mine as well... but same prohibits, hehe.

Its incredible how everyone build up porceses and manuals and sharing protocols, being diferent the regulations, standars, and laws everywere its tough to think on a big picture and try to make something in clean, its like picking up little crumbles of experience fom here and there.

Thank you for the link, I didnt know that page. And for the prior answer, everything helps. Thank you again.