What Are the Benefits of Using Computer Aided Drafting?
Also known as CADD, computer-aided drafting has almost entirely replaced hand-drafting in many industries such as engineering and design. Faster to construct and easier to modify, computer-aided drawings are also neater and less vulnerable to being damaged.
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Simplicity
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Hand-drafting is a learned art that requires concentration, skill and a steady hand. It requires the use of a drafting table or T-square, scales, rulers, triangles, pencils, erasers and templates. It may take many hours to create one drawing. Computer-aided drafting is much faster, as lines and shapes are drawn with a simple click of the mouse.
Neatness
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When creating a drawing by hand, mistakes are more likely. Erasing heavily-drawn pencil lines such as those needed to draw an exterior wall on a floor plan will most likely leave a smudge. When drawing interior elements, the hand rests upon pencil lines and may cause smudging unless handled carefully. Conversely, when using computer-aided drafting, most mistakes are easily reversed or corrected. Since the finished product comes out of an inkjet printer, lines are bold and clear and there are no pencil smudges to worry about.
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Easy Modifications
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In a design process, drawings must be modified repeatedly to accommodate changes which may be called for by the client, contractor, engineer or architect. Hand-drafted floor plans are "red-lined," which means that all changes are marked with red ink and redrawn according to the new specifications. From start to finish, the average architectural drawing is changed about 50 times.
Computer-aided drafting allows these constant changes to be created with ease. Most drawings do not need to be redrawn--only modified, saved and reprinted.
Easy Duplication
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Drawings that are constructed by hand are vulnerable to becoming damaged, destroyed or lost before a backup copy can be created. Additionally, standard copiers may not accommodate a full-scale architectural drawing, so creating a backup set of drawings may become a hassle. Computer-aided drawings are saved safely within the program or desired location on the computer and can also be saved on a backup file to further protect them. Although a drawing can be printed at any time, there may be no need to do so until all changes are made and it looks perfect.
Maximizes Visual Capability
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Many clients may have trouble visualizing what their house will look like, simply from looking at blueprints or sketches.
Drafting in AutoCAD 3-D mode allows the drawing to come to life, as it may be viewed three-dimensionally. Drawing with AutoCAD 3-D Studio Max allows film-quality animations to be created. This program allows the designer to walk the client through the building model and look around. This makes expressing a design idea to the client much more visually effective than simply looking at blueprints or sketches.
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