AutoCAD users?

[Caddyman]

I saw somone mentioned using ACAD (by autodesk) and i have read some old threads here and seemed like a few more might use it or have questions about it. Anyone else do it? I have been a ACAD drafter/designer for 7 almost 8 years now, i have done work in Fire Protection and Mechanical/Industrial engineering. Very well versed in autocad with no formal training. If you have any questions or want some tips/tricks let me know, ill share my favorites.

[PrintDriver]

I have to interface with CAD drafters all the time. Can be tricky.
I especially like the million bits of line trick on curves and the blank looking pages cuz they love to draw on black screens. LOL!
Course we have workarounds.
But there is nothing sadder than a CAD draftsman who just didn't see the facets on his lettering until they've been cut on the CNC at 5' tall.

It's all good. As long as you don't send it native to me for print. :D

[Caddyman]

haha, yes the rez you get from cad just cant compare to actual GFX programs, but i use it for doing piping/tank/diagram drawings and whatnot. we use a proggy called PDMS where we have 1 model that 30+people can work on at the same time and we actually 3d render a whole plant/building/power plant from the ground up (including people for clearances). its really great im on a $500M project now and the goal for rework in the construction phase (after design) is under 2%. So 98% of what we draw gets fabbed and installed perfect (to the 1/16th of a inch), pretty amazing.......

[PrintDriver]

PDMS? I'd really like to play with SolidWorks myself but damn it's expensive and I really haven't got a use for it. Except maybe for the times they want me to put graphics on a cone or something crazy and figuring out the dynamics of the wrap really sux. They do all our rendering here usually in Vectorworks. Eh, it's all we need. I can't imagine an entire project being fabbed within a 1/16".

[Caddyman]

pdms
http://www.aveva.com/products/plant/product_list.html#vpd

its a aveva product and ridiculously in depth to learn, makes autocad look like bugdust. every piece of everything has a name,id,size,spec,wieght,etc,etc......

so for say a Nozzle welded to a tank for example it has a size (6") a length (1'-0") a name that goes to the tank (tank equip# 1001; nozzle d; so nozzle id is 1001d) piping spec, gasket type, and the list goes on and on....ill grab a screeny if i can. when its modeled you can run a macro and it will make a isometric drawing from the model that a fab shop can fab (including cuts so the pieces will fit on a flatbed)

VERY in-depth. put it this way, i have worked for this company 2 years, the job im currently on i have been on 1 1/2 years. putting the second teflon plant in the world in china, the 1st one is in VA, USA.

[Navian]

For this west coastee, I work for CEntry (http://www.centry.net), it is a subsidiary company of The Layton Construction Company. I've been doing electrical drafting since 1998, (minus 1 year), overall 4.5 years. I don’t do any of the designing, because of code issues, and I'm not licensed as per the NEC (National Electrical Code). However my previous position, I had did some basic residential electrical design work (approved by engineers), I also did some design/layout work while discussing design with an engineer (also approved after) for some commercial companies (Golds Gym, a movie theater, and quite a few ski lodges in park city Utah.)

I've worked with a power company (based in Portland Oregon, PacifiCorp), fixing up the utility maps with jobs as per what was done for field (job sites) corrections. Prior to that, I worked for another construction company a subsidiary of CH2M-HILL I.D.C. (http://www.idc-ch2m.com/idc_GIS/company_profile.asp) doing drafting for clients in the microprocessor manufacturing.

I have had a few cad jobs in between that I worked myself out of. IDC I was involved in a R.I.F. (along with 1500 other people); Pacificorp- I moved from Portland to Salt Lake City to go back to school (industrial design, that changed to graphic design), I ended up working for the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) for a year as a checked baggage security screener, I felt that I needed to serve the country some what (yeah, yeah its not the military, but I was a registered civilian federal employee), I resigned from that due to pulled back muscles and constant back spasms (doctors request).

I too have used all sorts of programs: AutoCAD (from release 12 to 2007), Microstation, Solidworks, Mechanical Desktop 4, (little) Inventor, 3DSMax, Rhino3d, Adobe (Illistrator, Photoshop, indesign, acrobat prof.), macromedia (flash, dreamweaver, and some fireworks). I've used all sorts of data base software from the basic Excel, access, and even customized software. I have an associates in CAD Drafting, I'll have another associates in Graphic Design. I have a tutoring certificate level 1, for basic college level, I've also built and maintained computers for family and friends.

I know its not much but thats my education/experience in a nutshell.

[Navian]

I'd really like to play with SolidWorks myself but damn it's expensive and I really haven't got a use for it.

pttt, Pro-E(engineering) is $15,000.00 per license, last time I checked, that was 2 years ago.