Drawing procedures manual.

[Glen1980]

I have been tasked with updating our very basic cad/drawing procedures manual. I have been told not to go to restrictive (I'm well known in the office for being particular about setting up drawings) but I want to make it a fairly comprehensive guide to stamp out some of the independent thinkers out there who clutter drawings with layers such as electrics, electrical, electric all on the same drawing or who have several different styles all with similar names and the same sizes!

 

Mostly I want to have a simple list of do's and don'ts. I am putting obvious ones on there like draw at one unit to one milimetre, use linetypes from the ISO.lin file and was wondering if you guys and girls had any other suggestions to add?

 

We are a UK residential developer who produces our own working drawings.

[ReMark]

Any thought about utilizing the Standards Checker feature in AutoCAD once this manual goes "live"?

 

Do you have a company template file in place already that everyone is required to use?

[Glen1980]

We have set up a template with the standard text & dimension styles and a few standard layers and the iso linetype files selected. I go onto everyones machine when they first start and set it up so they can access the tool palettes I set up and that the template file is the default one but until now I've had no authority to make people use them. I've just tried to convince them of the benefits.

 

Will the standards checker work if my colleagues are all LT users?

[steven-g]

Back up the manual with a drawing template file. Create all the different layout sheet sizes and put them in there, and have one sheet with all the different linetypes, text and dim styles drawn out, so if they need to get the standards back into a drawing that has been 'accidentally' purged the standards sheet can be copied back into the drawing. And then shoot anybody that explodes blocks or overrides anything, leave the bodies by the front door so everyone gets the message, but also share their wages between the rest (carrot and stick) you shouldn't need to shoot more than a couple.

[Glen1980]

And then shoot anybody that explodes blocks or overrides anything, leave the bodies by the front door so everyone gets the message, but also share their wages between the rest (carrot and stick) you shouldn't need to shoot more than a couple.

 

Do I get my share?

 

Thinking about it now I've "lost" the .jpg company logo and use a cad copy putting all of the title sheets in the template doesn't sound a half bad idea now.

 

Am I being too restrictive telling them to set MSLTscale and PSLTscale to 1 and not changing any properties of lines?

[steven-g]

Not only do you get your share, you also get to choose who gets shot, which is probably even more tempting than the money. Are the standards for a reason other than looking good or personal taste, If yes then apply them.

[Glen1980]

I want everybody working the same. I get chopped between teams to help out all the time and it annoys me no end that I have to work out how they have drawn to keep my drawings similar so they don't have problems later on. In my opinion anybody from any team should be able to drop onto a job and work on it only asking about construction issuses not where are your x-refs why are your building not set out on the survey etc.

[steven-g]

I totally agree, if someone is sick or too busy to drop back onto another project when there is a last minute change, then anyone should be able pick up the work with the minimum of fuss, but to do that then yes standards are vital, but so is training.

[stevsmith]

I have a whole bunch of Company drafting standards downloaded from the net.

I could send you a zip copy if you like.

[Glen1980]

I have a whole bunch of Company drafting standards downloaded from the net.

I could send you a zip copy if you like.

 

Yes please Steve.

[tzframpton]

If you incorporate Tool Palettes into your AutoCAD procedures then you automatically set "standards" for anything with a Style, Layer Control, Blocks, etc. It creates an easy way of fellow AutoCAD users to access their tools, and creates an easy way for the CAD Manager (you) to easily set standards in content and update with ease.

[Glen1980]

Way ahead of you Tannar, I have had them set up for years, I even go on all the machines and point the tool palette file in options to the network position of the xtp files and check from time to time that they still work but can I get the b*&%ers to use them!?!

 

I do all of this in lunch hours and before and after work so I can still hit my deadlines and all I get is grief! It doesn't work, I can't find what I want etc. They never ask me until I'm questioning (interogating/berating) them why they were using their own blocks, text styles etc when I've set them up. arghhhh!

 

and breathe...

 

Basically I've had all of these set up but now I seem to be getting the go ahead from my director to tell people they have to use them so I do put as much of my block library on the palettes as possible.

[Pablo Ferral]

Remember, the only reason to have standards is to help us draw faster. If your users don't see the link between your standards and their productivity you need to work harder on selling your standard.

 

Do all the drawings look the same? Does It matter? Can your (internal) customers point to an example where a different linetype has cost the company money?

 

If the answer is no, chill out and focus on the areas where your standards are helping.

 

If the answer is yes, take your proof to the offender and their line manager and explain how lack of compliance means real money.

 

A really good place to start is with the people who use the standard. Find out what their struggling with and what costs then time and standardise this. If it's not causing a problem - don't worry about it.

[stevsmith]

Hi Glen,

Please bear in mind, I predominantly work with Solidworks now, not autocad.

anyway, i hope this helps.

 

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=53795EAEB4C456F!588&authkey=!ABU_pJwwlHIwHeo&ithint=file%2c.zip

[Glen1980]

Cheers Steve!

[cadvision]

I've be electric drafting for 30+ years. I've written drafting procedures for manual & cad drafting for my own companies and several clients.

The big thing to remember is 90% of the time the drawing will be used in a paper format. The electricians and engineers will mainly work from paper copies so they are only interested in symbology and text being readable. I use blocks based on the IEC617 standards. I set drawings on A3 sheet, a horizontal ladder which follows onto next sheets where needed. Don't get hung up on exploded block, unless you are linking to some form of database. Sometimes it is just quicker and makes sense to "burst" the block and get the schematic readable for those who are using the drawing on a daily basis. If you are doing a procedure make sure you include sample drawings so people are clear on how you want drawings to appear.

[cadvision]

Remember, the only reason to have standards is to help us draw faster. If your users don't see the link between your standards and their productivity you need to work harder on selling your standard....

 

Standards are for conformably. So you and I can read the same drawing and understand the content. So we understand that the "a" symbol means "XXX" not "YYY". Drafting standards are more than "making you draw faster". The fact you use standard symbols or preferred assemblies with enable you to draw faster but the standard is for all that use the drawing.. Drafter/Engineer/Electrician/Fitter/Builder....

[Mike_Taylor]

From my experiences in the past (and it is not a whole lot ) I have found everything in drawing templates only is no the best thing to do. The issue is when unused layers/blocks in the template are purged out of the drawing and users create their own instead. I have always preferred to load layers through scripts, so it is in fact easier for the users to reload these your way instead of doing it theirs. Here we have templates set up in our separate units which are completely blank (no layers/blocks/linetypes etc) and everything is loaded through tool palettes or scripts run through custom menus. I have found this to be by far the smoothest way as I personally find it easier to manage several sets of scripts rather than several individual templates.

 

Not only that but if a custom linetype has to be made for a specific job I can quickly add one to the linetype file, they run the menu script and it loads it mid project for them.

[Glen1980]

This is what I have so far, in code tags for your convenience!

 

Basic Drafting

Setup
•	All drawings must be produced at one computer unit to one millimetre.
•	Always set both the paperspace and model space linetype scales (Command:PSLTSCALE & MSLTSCALE) to 1
•	Set the drawing linetype scale (Command:LTSCALE or LTS) an appropriate scale to the drawing e.g. one for a one to fifty GA 0.5 to one to twenty sanitary detail.  Where batting linetype is used this may need to be frozen on x-refs (e.g.bathroom and kitchen details)  and redrawn if necessary for the drawing.
•	Do not amend the individual properties of drawing elements e.g colours, linetype scales.
•	All linetypes are to be imported from acadltiso.lin or acadiso.lin as these are set up for metric drawings.
•	Turn off grids and grid snaps (Object snaps or Osnaps are encouraged.)

Blocks & References
•	All External References to be inserted on layer 0
•	All blocks are to be drawn on layer 0 with colours & linetypes set to ByBlock.
•	All blocks are to be inserted on the layer most applicable.
•	Do not nest blocks (make a block of a block)
•	Blocks that are in the tool palette are to be used in preference to your own blocks or to blocks taken from old developments.  If new blocks are created speak to CAD administrator about adding to the tool palette.
•	If repeating a standard size box or symbol however simple create a block and copy that to ensure that all are the same size and allow easy changes.
•	Pick a sensible insert point. E.g end or middle of a line.
•	Don’t explode blocks without a reason.  E.g. Electrical symbols, doors etc.  If you are unsure why a block was created ask.
•	If copying information from another drawing using paste as block rename or explode the block afterwards.

Layering
•	Nothing in model space other than X-refs to be placed on layer 0
•	Ensure when copying between drawings that layers are not replicated with spelling differences e.g. 00 Dims and 00 Dimensions.
•	If importing information using xref edit in place be sure to amend layer names or match properties with similar layers to avoid layer names such as $0$$0 Dims building up.

Annotating
•	Use only the styles that are in the toolbar or template.
•	Only use annotative text and dimensions.
•	Editing dimension text or exploding dimensions is forbidden unless removing numbers altogether i.e. replacing dimension with “equals”.
•	If adding text to dimensions always use prefix and suffix from the properties panel i.e. 45.6m² do not use overide.
•	All dimensions in a string are to be lined up.
•	Dimensions text that are moved independently of the dimension line, must be lined through with any other moved dimension text.
•	Dimension points are to be snapped to the ends of lines to ensure that when stretched or moved the dimension moves with the elements.
•	It is the responsibility of the technician to ensure that dimensions are continued from the correct end of a dimension.

Drafting
•	End snaps must be used to ensure lines touch where they are meant to.
•	Use extend or fillet with radius set to 0 (command:ex or f) to make lines longer or to join together.  Never draw small sections of lines to form one straight line.
•	To maintain economical file sizes and maintain an efficient drawing purge drawings (command:pu or -pu) prior to saving.  Frequently audit drawings (command:audit.)
•	Where appropriate use closed polylines i.e. creating areas for hatching.
•	Text is to be lined up to maintain tidy drawings. i.e. in legends, Titles to line up with left hand extremity of drawings and to vertically line through with other titles.

CAD training
If you are struggling with these standards or haven’t used any of the commands before please speak to your nearest CAD administrator for training in the areas you require.