On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 04:28:44 +0000, OLD-CADaver <> wrote:
>Second, you say you don't need 3D. Right now that may be true. I heard the very same about CAD 15 years ago from pencil jockeys who saw no need or use for computer-aided drafting. We kinda smirk at those dinosaurs today, just as we will smirk at the 2D drafter die-hards in a few years. 3D is coming, one can get on board now and shorten the learning curve, or wait it out and make the big jump later.
Call me a luddite, but I believe you are flat out wrong. There is simply no
correlation between moving from hand drafting to CAD, to migrating from 2D CAD
to 3D CAD.
People will only adopt 3D wholesale when the software they use thinks in 3D
natively, because that's what it is supposed to do.
In Inventor, you are in 3D because of what you are doing - designing mechanical
parts, using software that works in a true 3D context. The software allows the
designer to take the "virtual part" and create the real thing, or at least a
rapid prototype, using CNC. It can also create 2D mechanical drawings as well.
In Revit, you are designing a building using true AEC components that understand
what they are supposed to do in all dimensions (except maybe time, but that's
coming). Again, allowing you to also create 2D architectural drawings.
With AutoCAD, there's no correlation, and never will be. 3D usage in any company
is entirely industry specific. AutoCAD is not an industry specific tool - it's a
very good drafting tool that also allows you to create 3D forms, but without any
context to what you are designing whatsoever.
As a 3D tool, it's very useful to extrapolate in-progess DWG data into the Z
direction, if for no other reason than to export it to a "real" 3D package for
rendering.
But as an architectural designer, I can create a 3D model of a door, but that's
ALL that it is. It's a bunch of solids or 3DFaces. It doesn't parametrically
allow me to change the width or height, assign it a fire rating, change the
swing, etc. The best I can do with it is take it into VIZ and make it a pretty
picture for my client.
To expect an architectural designer, using AutoCAD, to do everything in 3D is
simply wrongheaded. Many AEC folks can get by just fine doing 2D orthographics
for buildings, because in the end that's what is going to be handed over to the
builder. The better one drafts and organizes the 2D information, the less chance
that there will be conflicts in the construction phase.
Aside from the pue software limitation, there's no reason why you absolutely
NEED to use 3D in ADT, either. It's a great drafting tool for Architects,
because it specifically addresses the common tasks we need to do on a daily
basic (wall cleanup, parametric doors and other objects). But I've done MANY
projects in ADT where 3D just never entered the picture.
However, I do agree that 3D usage will improve and grow over the years; but only
because the design tools we opt to use move from generic (AutoCAD) to industry
specific (Revit, ADT, Inventor) to very industry specific (e.g., Anderson
Windows publishes their catalog as 3D AEC Objects to be imported into ADT or
Revit).
Matt
mstachoni@comcast.net
mstachoni@bhhtait.com