decipherd Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Ok, The title says a lot - but i will explain. I use AutoCAD because i have to at work, our architectural practice is refusing to move to BIM despite a lot of internal pressure from the more tech-savvy employees! Obviously there are some hardcore AutoCAD'ers here - are you planning on moving to BIM, do you think it is unnecessary or do you work in a field other than architecture where it just isn't relevant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift1313 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I use ACAD for this forum and thats pretty much it. I send a lot of parts out to get water jetted and the company i send them to has issues with my files unless i send them an acad04 format or earlier. So there are cases(like the other day) when i was asked to draw up a really simple part and send off to have cut when i hopped on acad. For most of my work I used SW09 and SolidCam. At home I use Inventor 2010 but if I could I would use SW at home as well. I am in the Mechanical industry and not Architecture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryder76 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I do Electrical drafting and I use ACAD 2009 Electrical, but run it as Vanilla. The previous company I worked for bought Electrical thinking that the BOM generation feature would solve all their needs. Even OTB it would need to be customized and they had niether the time nor resources to train the employees on Electrical or customize the blocks they needed in order to generate the BOM they needed. That's what happens when people who don't have the skills or knowledge make the decisions to purchase software. I still grind my teeth at night over it. For what these companies really needed - a BOM generator - they should have just paid a code writer to customize ACAD 2009 Vanilla to generate the BOM. The employees (me) could have developed the db's that would have been necessary. But no. These engineers and managers that had absolutely no clue how to use ACAD made the decision and never even bothered to ask the CAD monkeys what they thought. I can't begin to tell you how insulting and just plain stupid that was on their part. Needless to say I no longer work there. This was only one of many poor management issues going on there. I won't go into details other than to say that the DOL would have had a field day with these guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CADMASTER1128 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Why do I still use AutoCAD? Because that is all our school will buy us and the fact that I know it the best. I am starting to use Revit, but it is a slow process as I have no text books, or instructors that use it. Heck, my instructor thought I was making Revit up (LOL) I have been using AutoCAD for 4 years now and I just find it to hard to give away. I started with AutoCAD 2004 ADT and I am now using 2009/2010. There are so many thing in CAD that I use. I wouldn't even know how to do them in Revit '08. So that is why I still use AutoCAD!! -Steven Huseman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkent Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I am a one person CAD office using AutoCAD and during the course of a year I will start or modify everything from Architectural, process piping, P&IDs, Electrical and Control Schematics, machine parts, water jet parts, landscaping, Facilities Management, weldments, .... I am starting to learn Inventor so I can use that where appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indorat Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I have the options of: -AutoCAD 2007 -& CADopia 8 Professional for obvious reasons i use AutoCAD. Anyone that has used CADopia would understand. I use AutoCAD for 2D substation plans with sections & the occasional isometric raised platform drawing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I work for a specialty chemical company. There is no need for BIM. AutoCAD does pretty much everything I need it too. I'd like to switch to AutoCAD P&ID and/or add a program like AutoPlant but the beancounters and the engineering manager do not see an overriding reason to buy more software. Plus they keep harping about the cost of training, lost time, upgrades to computers that are already heads above anything else on-site in terms of drive speed, RAM and graphics cards. Think I'll be on AC for a long time to come or until the company goes out of business. I think they are even considering putting an end to the subscription program. AutoCAD 2010 could be the last release I'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decipherd Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Ok, So it seems that a lot of the forum regulars here aren't actually in architecture and are more biased towards mechanical and engineering which makes sense i guess. I wondered if it was generally accepted that BIM in architecture is the way forward or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCAD Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 I've been using AutoCAD for over eight years now, and honestly there isn't much I've run into that AutoCAD couldn't handle. Sure, there are probably programs that are better at certain things, but I don't see the value of throwing all of my AutoCAD knowledge and training down the drain for a minimal increase in capabilities (not to mention the downtime of having to learn another system). I do architecture on the side, and I work for a custom cabinet maker full time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noahma Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Ok, So it seems that a lot of the forum regulars here aren't actually in architecture and are more biased towards mechanical and engineering which makes sense i guess. I wondered if it was generally accepted that BIM in architecture is the way forward or not. I do residential design, I do see bim as the future, it is a process, not a software package, I personally do not think the software packages out there are there enough yet to make it worth while. We are slowly transitioning into using autocad architecture do to it's incredible flexability that I just do not see in revit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeloureiro Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I think BIM is definitely going to be the standard in a few years. I´m looking into taking a course in Revit, but the change here is going to be slow. The problem isn´t as much of integration, but cooperation with other firms. It seems Revit doesn´t export/use layers, which is a big problem when working with colaborators who still use cad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-GB Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 My first Cad program was Key Cad Complete cost me about £10 in 1995/6 and required 4mb of ram. I had just installed an extra 4mb to give me 8mb at the time and had been told that that was plenty of ram for the "fore'seeable" future Later I got to play with Acad 2000 and had a couple of jobs working in workshops who gave me access to later versions. So I am pretty well stuck on Acad. Rather like Supercad I find it does all I need in the woodworking field, from doors to stairs and roofing to furniture or turnery to relief carving templates. The program works and with less hassle than the first one I played with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darin.Green Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Companies that are still using AutoCAD or AutoCAD Architecture are mostly production driven.... a few Engineers (Designing) and a bunch of CAD Operators (Mark-ups). If you are a drafter, Revit isn't for you. Companies are a little hesitant about switching to Revit because it'll require more time from Architects than and less time for Drafters. Revit is a really good application for all facets of Architecture, but it's about Modeling not Drafting; Dynamic Feature and Geometry not lines, circles and arc's. Navisworks is also cool for viewing all types of 3D models which is another application for BIM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qball Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I just read a couple articles about BIM. It sounds great! But it's not realistic at this point. I think it's years away. There are still so many architects and engineers that hand draft, or never learned drafting at all. That's a major problem. Then there's the techs and draftspersons that do know some CAD. I'd say that so many of these people have yet to draft 2D properly. Now you'd be asking them to create a model that's accurate enough for the people down the line to use. I do structural, and I find it very beneficial redrawing or at least re-coordination layers, etc. I learn about the building, find errors, inconsistencies. I don't think all architects know about structure as well. Some can do details, and colours and everything, but don't know construction. In conclusion, BIM is extremely specialized. I'd love to do a project with it, but I don't think the training time would pay off for the project as a whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFRUSSO Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 We are trying to make the jump over to Revit for our architectural design, but it seems as though the engineers have been fighting us on it. Revit MEP has a ways to go before it is fully functional. Once MEP is improved appon I suspect we will be able to use it a lot more. I think there are some major advantages to Revit even if it is not used at it's full BIM capacity. Using it to get the facility's model and typical schedules is a hudge time savor. I can easily spend a day updating a building section if we do some thing as simple as rase a floor by 2 inches. With Revit I can rase the floor and have my sections updated and elevtions to match in about 20 minutes. I have been using CAD for about 10 years now, but I am completly behind the BIM movment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eatonpcat Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I do residential design, I do see bim as the future, it is a process, not a software package, I personally do not think the software packages out there are there enough yet to make it worth while. We are slowly transitioning into using autocad architecture do to it's incredible flexability that I just do not see in revit Bim... The wave of the future. Ha, I was scheduled to go to class in Baltimore and it was cancelled due to lack of intrest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFRUSSO Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Bim... The wave of the future. Ha, I was scheduled to go to class in Baltimore and it was cancelled due to lack of intrest. More and more DoD projects are beginning to require BIM for there projects. Also if the AIA starts granting credits for BIM training, we will see an exposion of BIM related projects. BIM is coming, like it or not, so be ready and learn it. This is one of those areas that knolage will not hurt you, it can only help. And if you are ahead of the curve it can help you dramaticaly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBC Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 BIM is seen as the future predominantly by people who have never seen a drawing in the first place. The transience will fade eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eatonpcat Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 More and more DoD projects are beginning to require BIM for there projects. Also if the AIA starts granting credits for BIM training, we will see an exposion of BIM related projects. BIM is coming, like it or not, so be ready and learn it. This is one of those areas that knolage will not hurt you, it can only help. And if you are ahead of the curve it can help you dramaticaly. "Knowledge" is a wonderful thing. But I was also told Catia was the wave of the future when I had to learn it... Used for one project (new Jeep plant in Toledo). I am a structural designer and believe that Autocad is a powerful enough program for anything I will ever do. But I guess I'm not the one who decides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorg Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Bleh, all these other products are stealing away AutoCAD unqiue freedom of drafting. AutoCAD is the original, and for me, that is the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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