Anybody have a copy of their company's CAD Handbook?

[StykFacE]

I have the honor of now creating my company's CAD Handbook. Mostly for record keep & to pass on to new employees. Thing is, I'm looking to see if anybody has a copy on PDF or Word format so I can look over and get an idea/starting point for doing my own for Venture Mechanical.

I already know all the things I want to cover, but I want to do a great job. It will need to be updated to when things change, and I want to have a great starting base so when things do update it will be painless and easy. Can anybody out there hook a brutha up? Thanks!!

- Tannar :)

[ReMark]

Standards? We don't need no stinkin' standards!:lol:

CADalyst Magazine's CAD Management corner has several excellent articles regarding this subject should you get stuck. Here's a link to get you started...

http://search.cadalyst.com/results.php?cx=008600089690839190750%3Af7ucb4sfdoq&q=company+standrads&cof=FORID%3A9&sa.x=3&sa.y=4#1361

When you're done with yours can you send me a copy?:lol: :lol:

[StykFacE]

Standards? We don't need no stinkin' standards!:lol:

CADalyst Magazine's CAD Management corner has several excellent articles regarding this subject should you get stuck. Here's a link to get you started...

http://search.cadalyst.com/results.php?cx=008600089690839190750%3Af7ucb4sfdoq&q=company+standrads&cof=FORID%3A9&sa.x=3&sa.y=4#1361

When you're done with yours can you send me a copy?:lol: :lol:
haha, sure I'll send you a copy. thanks for the link mang. :)

[ReMark]

Based upon my reading might I suggest the following items be contained in your CAD Standards Manual:

File Naming / NumberingStandards

File Location Standards

File Backup Standards

List of Standard Sheets, Titleblocks and their sizes

List of Standard Scales

List of Graphics Standards

Sheet Layout, Standard Blocks, Line Weights, Dimensions, Symbols and Blocks, etc.

Layering Standards

List of Text Styles and Fonts

List of Hatch Patterns and Linetypes

List of any custom Aliases and LISP files

Plotting Standards

Contents of Temple Drawings and their locations

That should keep you busy for the remainder of the week. When you're done writing it all up, come back and I'll have a few more suggestions for you.

[ReMark]

Here's an additional link for you re: CAD standards.

www.nationalcadstandard.org (http://www.nationalcadstandard.org)

[ReMark]

Styk: I don't know why I like you so much but here's another helpful hint. Google the phrase "CADD standards" (include the quotation marks) and you'll get a truckload of hits to online references. I checked out one for the state of Nevada and it was 210 pages (PDF) long! Happy reading. Hope you had nothing planned for the next month!

[StykFacE]

Awesome, Mark, Thanks a lot for the links. I'm already 3 sections in the new manual. Now I have about 50 more to go.... lol

I basically did what you did in your 2nd post. I got a notepad and wrote down all the sections I need to cover. It seriously came out to about 50 (not just AutoCAD, but our plotter, file management, etc...). It definitely helped me out when you did that in your post. Thanks bud, when I get going on it, I'll PDF it and PM you what I have for you to look over. :)

[ReMark]

Stykman: Your welcomed. I'd be more than happy to take a look and contribute whatever I can in the way of constructive commentary.

[borsdodas]

i have one pm me

[Hepcat]

I was promoted to CAD Manager last week and the first job on my plate is to create a company CAD Standard.

I've decided to do it in AutoCAD so that I can save a read-only copy of the pages on the server and anyone needing help can save a copy to their hard drive and follow along with the directions in a file that's set up already for whatever task they're tackling.

Jon

[Pineapple]

I just started a new thread on my Cad Handbook. Check it out.

[mechguy]

I have the honor of now creating my company's CAD Handbook. Mostly for record keep & to pass on to new employees. Thing is, I'm looking to see if anybody has a copy on PDF or Word format so I can look over and get an idea/starting point for doing my own for Venture Mechanical.

I already know all the things I want to cover, but I want to do a great job. It will need to be updated to when things change, and I want to have a great starting base so when things do update it will be painless and easy. Can anybody out there hook a brutha up? Thanks!!

- Tannar :)



---- You can try your local library ... they usually have up-to-date material on CAD packages.

[skipsophrenic]

the one thing i found useffull at college was also doin a little tutorial on profiles/workspaces - that way can keep to the standards BUT have cad setup for how i use it best - just my thought for a penny:)

[stevsmith]

I found this website, It may be usefull


http://ci.ftlaud.fl.us/engineering/cad.htm

[rookie37]

Standards are much harder to enforce than they are to write.

People bring in their own standards as they have gotten use to those

My suggenstion is to write lisp routines around those standards. Make it easier to use your standards than without. In fact, Write your standards around the lisp programs you can write.

Even with this, it will still need enforcing. The hardest thing (by far) about drafting is modifying a drawing created by someone else because there are so many ways to draw. I'm all for standards.

Bringing in so many variables and making Autocad so powerful also made an infinite number of standards. It is debatabe of Autocad has become easier or harder

You seem to be preaty cluey and can write powerful lisp programes.

[ReMark]

Standards are the guideline. It's the manager's job to enforce the standards (within reason - no beating employees with birch branches).

[Caddy79]

Standards are the guideline. It's the manager's job to enforce the standards (within reason - no beating employees with birch branches).

C'mon, just this once? :P

[Sickguy]

Standards are much harder to enforce than they are to write.

People bring in their own standards as they have gotten use to those

My suggenstion is to write lisp routines around those standards. Make it easier to use your standards than without. In fact, Write your standards around the lisp programs you can write.

Even with this, it will still need enforcing. The hardest thing (by far) about drafting is modifying a drawing created by someone else because there are so many ways to draw. I'm all for standards.

Bringing in so many variables and making Autocad so powerful also made an infinite number of standards. It is debatabe of Autocad has become easier or harder

You seem to be preaty cluey and can write powerful lisp programes.i have been in charge of company standards for about 2 years now. i have learned that you cant make people draw differently, but you can establish layers, blocks, penweights, file naming schemes, xref usage, etc for them to follow.

my goal has been to streamline the look much more than dictate how to get there. i also dont buy into making everything a lisp routine. it may work and be efficiant, but it makes anyone new coming in dependant on a lisp routine to do simple tasks, and eventually they become drones that dont really know how to use autocad. out of the box and free of lisp, ACAD has an amazing number of ways to get to where youre trying to go.

[Ritch7]

yeh I guess people will always draw how they see fit, I see lots of stuff and im like why did you do it that way when you can do it like this, sometimes they even know about other ways its just ways they know best even if there slower!

ps. this thread has been dragged up:huh: lol

[Sickguy]

yeh I guess people will always draw how they see fit, I see lots of stuff and im like why did you do it that way when you can do it like this, sometimes they even know about other ways its just ways they know best even if there slower!

ps. this thread has been dragged up:huh: loli used to work with a guy that used grips for everything. he was fairly fast at it, but its like, there are a hundred better ways to get that result than by just using grips.

i currently work with a guy that sees xrefs in black and white. he would rather draw "everything" in a base xref and just xref it around into the sheets. his argument is that its just one change thats universal. while in theory its a good idea, but just ridiculous to work with if you want to do something like a simple enlarged plan of some sort.

now that i have been drafting for 10+ years, i do my best to utilize a variety of tools in autocad for my drawings. i have been places where companies dont even use paper/model space for layouts. ugh!

[Caddy79]

yeh I guess people will always draw how they see fit, I see lots of stuff and im like why did you do it that way when you can do it like this, sometimes they even know about other ways its just ways they know best even if there slower!

ps. this thread has been dragged up:huh: lol

And sometimes they may even know a faster/better way to do it.

[Jack_O'neill]

i have been places where companies dont even use paper/model space for layouts. ugh!

The last place I worked for before the big layoffs started had several locations scattered around the country, and every single office had a different way of doing things. Even the titleblocks were arranged differently.

Most of the guys at my location would make use of paper space, but our location on the east coast would write somebody up for doing that. A 200 page set of drawings was 200 individual files, and everything was in model. You could get fired for using an x-ref, and everything, and I do mean everything was on layer zero. Our location had a very different set of "standards" but little was done to enforce them. For instance, dimensions were supposed to be on the "dim" layer, but some of the templates didn't have it. They had a "dime" layer instead. Some of the older drawings had a "dims" layer. We had a bunch of autolisp routines that would look for things on various layers, but half the time the layer name in the routine would be spelled differently from the layer in the template. These routines were on the protected "corporate" drives and only certain people were granted access to these drives. They never had time to fix it, or the usual excuse was that there were more people using them as is than just us we we needed to fix our templates. In the five years I was there, I never talked to anyone at the other locations that didn't complain about the same problem, but the corporate guys would not fix it. Some of the guys that transferred from the east coast location would still put everything on layer zero, but change the color of the individual objects to match the layer they were supposed to be on. In other words, the dimensions would be on layer zero, but would be yellow instead of cyan. The lisps I mentioned would ignore those objects all together.

The east coast location was so **** about their way being the "right" way that they had a lisp routine that they would use any time we sent them a drawing. It would explode all the blocks (I forgot to mention that they hated blocks too), move everything to layer zero, change all the colors to cyan, substitute their title block for ours and delete all the paper space view ports. Someone would then take the time to move all the layouts to individual files.

We had all sorts of standard details and assemblies that you could pull in to start a project and then modify as needed, but they suffered from the same anomalies. In the end, you could wind up with a couple of dozen layers that seemingly had nothing on them, but you couldn't purge them out. If you dug deep enough, sometimes you'd find a tiny line or some other little bitty thing on one of the layers, or maybe not. They'd be buried in a block somewhere.

Where I'm going with all this is to say that if it's been out of control for a long time, it's going to take a very long time indeed to get it under control. Standards can be a two-edged sword. They can make things more efficient and orderly if you are starting from scratch, but they can also slow things down considerably if they are strictly enforced after a time of not having standards. If you bring in an old drawing that is similar to what you're working on now, it can be very time consuming to clean it up and make it conform to the standards. And if you don't get support from any other locations you may have and outsourcers that get used, you'll be pulling your hair out.

[hontis]

the cad standards link does not seem to be working

[GCarr78]

StykeFacE...sorry to steal your "thread thunder" if im out of line I'll create a new thread...Its related, but with a twist.

Any of you guys work in firms with multi-disciplines? ie Engineering AND Architecture or Architecture AND Landscape Architecture, or a firm that does work in differenct sectors? ie Greenfield AND High desity? and have had to create interactive standards for the whole company?

I would like to chat on how to best go about that.

[NBC]

I do GCarr; and indeed it is potholed with troubles trying to agree a common standard across multi-disciplines.
You will need the full support of senior management at the very least

[GCarr78]

I do GCarr; and indeed it is potholed with troubles trying to agree a common standard across multi-disciplines.
You will need the full support of senior management at the very least

Yeah, that seems to be our main problem, Senior mngmt doesn't want to deal with it, however they don't understand how much more efficient everything would be if they were in place and enforced.:?

Were you successful administering your standards? How did you approach management?

[NBC]

I recently joined this company, and so am at the very early stages of getting senior management buy-in; I am having to learn some sales techniques, and a whole new language of words. It is proving somewhat tiresome trying to get my point across but I shall persevere as it is something I passionately believe in.
No standards = chaos.
Bad standards = chaos.
Multiple standards = chaos.
One robust standard (does it even exist?) = everyone knows the boundaries and the way of working = professional, quality and efficient outputs that clients want and need.

[Caddy79]

I have worked in an office which had structural, civil, civil structures, mechanical, electrical and survey drafting/engineering going on, it was pretty much chaos. At the moment I am setting up a drafting manual/standard for one section/division of the place that I am working for so it should be easier for me.

[Nick-H-]

did you manage to finish your manual? can i have a look :)

[Pineapple]

Unfortunately - no. I eventually got pulled in a different direction and had to put the manual on hold. I will eventually finish it, but who knows when.

[StykFacE]

did you manage to finish your manual? can i have a look :)
No for me too. Since I started this thread, we all have moved from AutoCAD to AutoCAD MEP and Revit MEP so looks like I'm trashing the old one. :)

[Nick-H-]

Whats the difference in Revit mep & Autocad mep?

Im still trying to get hold of those books, they dont supply them here in the UK, so have to order them from Ireland if i want one

[StykFacE]

Whats the difference in Revit mep & Autocad mep?
Uh.... everything. :lol:

[Nick-H-]

Well i dont use either so I wouldnt know

[nickydsl]

Uh.... everything. :lol:
I had using the trial version of mep 09 for 25 days, it will expire in a few days. How can I get another trial version longer...? I really want to learn this program.

[stevsmith]

I had using the trial version of mep 09 for 25 days, it will expire in a few days. How can I get another trial version longer...? I really want to learn this program.

If you are a student you can download the student version from Autodesk student community.

[nickydsl]

If you are a student you can download the student version from Autodesk student community.
I am not a student anymore, I don't have a school email address any more, any other ways to get the student version?

Thank you !

[NBC]

I am not a student anymore, I don't have a school email address any more, any other ways to get the student version?

Thank you !
If you're not a student anymore, then you shouldn't be using the student version - simples.

[stevsmith]

If you're not a student anymore, then you shouldn't be using the student version - simples.

Thats a bit of a narrow minded statement, what about people who are looking to progress over to 3D software to try and better their career.

Do you believe that it should only be for the priviliged who are enrolled in college to get the student edition, as to those who are genuine learners and who are self taught?

Maybe if the companies who supply the student editions realised this, there wouldnt be as much piracy do download the full working versions.

[NBC]

Steve, it's not my personal opinion (as I share yours) - it's what the Autode$k license says.

[stevsmith]

Steve, it's not my personal opinion (as I share yours) - it's what the Autode$k license says.

My bad for sounding like i was ranting on mate.

Sorry.

[arkicel]

Standards are the guideline. It's the manager's job to enforce the standards (within reason - no beating employees with birch branches).
:) although an old topic, but i like this approach, just maybe with rattan or bamboo..

[GettinBetter(work)]

.......out of the box and free of lisp, ACAD has an amazing number of ways to get to where youre trying to go.


Maybe, but from an economical point of view, there is only one way, and that is the fastest way. Sure, twenty clicks will get the job done, but why do that when it could be done in two or three?

I have been a hands on production engineer for much of my life, 'time' efficiency is in my blood, and to watch these guys work makes me want to scream.

Therefore I never understand why these application makers allow various different ways to do a task. Just do one, the most efficient one.