Why use AutoCAD instead of alternatives to model in 3D?

[Timld]

Hi

 

I'm a student considering spending some time to learn to use the 3D modelling features in AutoCAD because its a big area of AutoCAD I've barely touched. However, I was wondering what use these skills would be because in every situation there seems to be a better specialist alternative piece of software?

 

Inventor does precise parametric models, 3DS Max does high quality polygon modelling and visualisation, Sketchup does conceptual modelling, and Revit/ACAD creates 3D architectural models.

 

In the real world what sort of things do people create and why do they use AutoCAD instead of something else? This would be very nice to know because it would also give me more motivation to learn.

 

Any and all help is appreciated

[ReMark]

The "why" part is easy. In my case the company I work for refuses to buy any additional software so I work with the "tools" that I have and not necessarily the tools that I want.

 

What do I create? I'll give you the most recent example. Last week I was asked to produce, in 3D, one corner of a process building so we could then pass this 3D drawing along to a company that is going to design a new piece of equipment for us. My drawing depicts the entire southeast corner of the building and includes the footing, slab, all the building's steel framework (a "Butler-type" building), an interior pipe rack, a platform for a 750 gallon reactor, a vertically mounted heat exchanger and its support (a W8x31 column), a concrete pad, the framework for two extraction systems, a 50 gallon decanter, the building's truss system, overhead door, and some miscellaneous support steel for a discontinued pilot plant system. This was all done using plain vanilla AutoCAD 2011. How's that for being motivated?

[arjun_samar]

The question is not why autocad, instead what kind of 3D will you going to produce? knowing your goal first and thats the time you can answer your question.

In my case, my company is a designer & contractor, I use autocad for 2D plans and 3ds Max for Architectural Rendering (for presentations to the client - very important if you want your project to be approved:D) (my job is for architectural). so why I do not use inventor, Revit, maya, z-brush? it's because my job do not require those 3D softwares

 

Example if your job is more on mechanical modeling then inventor is for you.

 

Hope it helps.

[Raudel Solis]

3ds MAx

Used In Movie 2012

3ds Max Ozzy osbourne music video let me hear you scream Feature 3ds max effects

games: Tom Clancys Hawx 2, Bioshock 2, tomraider underworld

 

this man does great work with 3ds max

watch the whole videohttp://3design.mega.kg/videos/pentural/pentural.html

 

also Dont Forget Autodesk Is The Industry Standard

watch some videos from here

http://rayfirestudios.com/index.php?id=17

[ReMark]

Raudel: The OP asked these two questions regarding AutoCAD:

 

"I was wondering what use these skills would be because in every situation there seems to be a better specialist alternative piece of software?"

 

"In the real world what sort of things do people create and why do they use AutoCAD instead of something else?"

 

I don't see where your response addressed either. Maybe you can relate some of your experience using AutoCAD to create 3D drawings. Now that would be beneficial don't you think?

Edited January 26, 2011 by ReMark

[Timld]

Thank you all very much for your replies. As a student its helpful to see the sort of work people do in industry.

 

I'm going to be going into the Building Services (M&E) side of the construction industry (I've spent time on AMEP too). I think ReMark makes the interesting point that companies won't always have the best software available (unlike me who has about $20,000 of free student stuff on my laptop!), and I'm sure I'll have to create details occasionally and AutoCAD 3D would be the best thing if I don't access to Inventor.

 

Thanks again for the advice

[43st]

It's come down to a fairly simple distinction for me (I'll do AutoCad v. Inventor as it fits my industry)

 

 

• AutoCad = Explicit modeling software (Design as you go, make changes at will, delete/modify entire sections without effecting the overall process)
  

 

• Inventor = Parametric modeling software (you create constraints and relationships as you draw, which means you better be 90% sure of your final design as you move forward. More or less you need to have an idea of what you're design is before you begin drawing)
  

 

As a designer AutoCad, and more specifically non-parametric modelers, are the only way to go. If the engineering department wants to recreate my design in Inventor for detailing then that's fine. But I require the non-parametric end of it to solve design problems in 3d.

Edited January 26, 2011 by 43st

[JD Mather]

AutoCad = Explicit modeling software (Design as you go, make changes at will, delete/modify entire sections without effecting the overall process)

 

Inventor Fusion = Explicit modeling software (Design as you go, make changes at will, delete/modify entire sections without effecting the overall process)

 

Inventor in combination with Inventor Fusion and Change Manager - the conceptual designer does direct modeling editing without constraints in Fusion and the parametric modeler uses Change Manager to resolve in Inventor.

[43st]

Unfortunately Inventor Fusion is not a product (yet).

[SLW210]

ReMark said it all, most are using Vanilla AutoCAD do to the fact that is what the company will provide. Many older companies have an investment into AutoCAD and just do not want to change.

 

I myself use Vanilla AutoCAD for 3D work, civil, arch, mechanical, P&ID etc.., cause that's what they give me to use.

[ReMark]

My old boss used to ask me, "Can you do the job I ask you to do with the software you have?" My answer, always thruthful, was "Yes, I can." His reply was, "Then you don't need any new software." And that ended the discussion right there. We've used nothing but plain old vanilla AutoCAD the entire time and I have done a number of drawings in different disciplines. If I had a program for each specific type I'd have a shelf full of software and a software budget that would make the beancounters weep and nash their teeth.

 

AutoCAD is like a mechanical penicl; you don't need a new one to draw something different.

[Jack_O'neill]

I've worked for a number of companies over the years doing both mechanical and architectural drafting that used AutoCAD because it was seen by the management as the industry standard. I have not used any of the other packages out there like Solidworks or Catia so when I went out on my own, I bought Autocad because that's what I knew how to use, and simply because I couldn't afford Inventor right away. Since the bulk of my current business is architectural, I did spring for Revit a few months ago because I felt it would be a good investment both in time and money since a lot of the big companies seem to be trending that way. I have not sold any Revit work yet, but I haven't offered it to very many. Still on the learning curve.

 

Much of the decision making process is done by perception. Unfortunately in the corporate world, these decisions are made by people who have no idea how the stuff works or why they need it. They see a req for an $8000 software package, and another for a $4000 package that to the casual observer seems to do much the same thing. He's a bean counter, not a designer or engineer, so he sees terms like "3d modeling" and "parametric design" and "compatiblity" and that both are from the same company so the $4000 one looks much better on his bottom line. He gets to brag to his superiors (who know even less about it than he does) that he saved "$4000 per seat" on design software and for a few minutes he gets to be a hero.

 

Another factor that influences those decisions is history. One of my employers who had used autocad for many years decided to move to a real 3d package. We made all of our own tooling and many of our own machines and had recently acquired our first CNC milling machine (keep in mind, this was long ago). One of the engineers who had some familiarity with Solidworks pushed really hard for that and we did seriously consider it. Had the salesman come in and demo it and thier CNC package...worked great. The package the Autodesk salesman had to offer (Mechanical Desktop, an Inventor ancestor) was great drawing-wise, but thier CNC package was cumbersome to use. The decision was made when the Solidworks guy tried to import some of the Autocad drawings and was somewhat less than successful, especially with the 3d stuff we already had. We had almost 30,000 legacy drawings with probably 15% being 3d, which none of us were keen on redrawing in Solidworks so even with the difficulties in the CNC package, we opted for Mechanical Desktop.

 

When you have to weigh all those factors, the package you wind up with is not always the one you would prefer.

[43st]

Why are you using 2011 ReMark? With that logic you should be using AutoCad r14.

 

Conversely our company get's us the latest software, based on our input. We have the Inventor package on the subscription plan currently. Even with all the choices within this package Vanilla AutoCad is used the most. It works the best with our client's files, allows us to communicate with our client, and is fast and open enough for us to design with it. Mechanical and Inventor are fairly niche oriented and have never quite fit the bill.

[ReMark]

I slipped a Subscription by the boss and beancounters by saying it was for an AutoDesk weekly magazine with tips, tricks and tutorials. They haven't caught on yet.

[Timld]

I slipped a Subscription by the boss and beancounters by saying it was for an AutoDesk weekly magazine with tips, tricks and tutorials. They haven't caught on yet.

A magazine that costs £80 an issue...

 

Some good experiences and advice here, I'm very grateful for all your advice. I've decided to buy a 3D AutoCAD book now and get myself some modelling skills. Obviously I'm not going to be in a position of advising employers which software to buy for quite a few years but hopefully I can get as good as possible in standard AutoCAD first and learn as much as possible about it to increase my employability

 

I had a short work experience at an M&E firm and they knew less about AutoCAD than I did (I'm 20). I was told to use titleblocks in model space (paper space confused them), had no standard symbol blocks (they didn't like blocks), and had to manipulate schedules made entirely out of individual lines and single line text(!). I guess I'm going to have to get used to that.

[Jack_O'neill]

 

I had a short work experience at an M&E firm and they knew less about AutoCAD than I did (I'm 20). I was told to use titleblocks in model space (paper space confused them), had no standard symbol blocks (they didn't like blocks), and had to manipulate schedules made entirely out of individual lines and single line text(!). I guess I'm going to have to get used to that.

 

You'll run into that a lot, especially in what I call "dinosaur" corporations. Much of American business is run on the premise "if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got." Drafting departments in the large companies I've worked for tend to be run by retirement age folks (and yes, i'm over 50 so I can talk about them if I want to! ). Many of these guys are excellent draftsmen, but know very little about cad. They find themselves managing a group of folks who know a lot about cad, but next to nothing about drafting. And they are not the same thing, though you may have been told otherwise. The end result of that is a situation like you just described. A set of rules handed down on stone tablets to produce drawings in a manner that the manager or department head can poke around in and mostly understand. It's not that these guys can't learn it, but in reality they don't have time. If you are managing 20 or 30 people, you don't have time to draw, and if you are counting the days till retirement, why bother? Still, certain standards have to be maintained. These guys see drawings as lines on paper, and as Remark said, computers to them are electronic pencils.

[JD Mather]

Unfortunately Inventor Fusion is not a product (yet).

 

It is now!

[swats]

If I may add my two cents in. I use Autocad 2005 at work. I taught myself how to 3d model in Autocad about five years ago. In my case I had taken some Unigraphics and Catia classes in college as it was part of my degree. I learned 2d Autocad in high school. One day at work a co-worker (who passed away a few weeks ago) showed me a little 3d modeling in Autocad. With that I was able to use some of what I learned from college as a general process on what I needed to do. I started with simple blocks with holes in them, and I built up from there. One of things I like about using Autocad for 3d modeling is that I can easily send drawings to my customers. From what I have personally seen is that Autocad is everywhere in the area that I work. I have to use the tools that I have to get the job done. Is Autocad the best? Perhaps not, but Catia, UG, Solidworks etc. all have points that they are better at. They also all have there down sides as well.

[kencaz]

I use both AutoCAD and Inventor daily, and really would not want to have to choose between them... Inventor is great for the mechanical 3D side of what I do and is superior to AutoCAD in that respect. Believe me, I have compared the two countless times and still do a lot of 3D AutoCAD because Its still a little faster for me. I also find myself having to inject, (for lack of better terms), my work into others, by drawing surrounding walls, ceilings floors and the like and other mill work that AutoCAD is truly superior.

 

I still do a lot of 3D concept work in AutoCAD since it is free form and I am a little faster at it, however, I nearly always do an Inventor model since it is much more organized and I can get exploded views for instruction manuals and even animations.

 

I would never say AutoCAD vs. Inventor! They are different and should be treated as such. AutoCAD (AND) Inventor is more like it...

 

KC

[dj722000]

I am being curious why your trying to compare modeling software such as Maya to CAD software? Modeling software has there own venue where as CAD software has its own venue. Forbid the day when you have to use modeling software to do CAD work?!?!?! Wait, what? AutoCAD, Inventor, Solideworks, ProE are drafting software. Alot of this modeling software didnt come about until game programmers and writers got big into the 3D sene which allowed alot of the modeling software to be developed such as Maya. Your almost trying to compare apples to oranges.