Setting up Drawing & Layer Standards in AutoCAD

[edlee]

@john.vellek

Looking for advice and resources for setting up CAD and Layer Standards for an organization that has never had any written SOP or documented AutoCAD workflow/process.

I'm also wondering if anyone has developed a basic CAD process flow chart or other graphical workflow material.

I work in a facilities department for a large transportation company with 40-50 properties of various sizes and functions, so we probably don't follow the typical AEC design processes.  But anything that I can use as a point of reference would be helpful.

Thanks in advance...

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

HI @edlee,

Please find attached a sample file that follows the AIA layering standard.  I have also included my CTB file that will correspond with the layer colors.  If you change the color associated with a layer make sure you adjust the CTB file as well.

I will see what else I can pull together on the rest of your questions.  Obviously, each firm has its own workflow and preferences but perhaps I can get something put together that will help get you started.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[GrantsPirate · Accepted solution]

You might look here for an example.

http://home.planningoffice.harvard.edu/files/hppm/files/cad_standards.pdf

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

Hi @edlee,

Here is my table of Contents from one of the Office CAD Standards:

Each of these is a heading and contains additional sub-categories:

General CAD Practices

Standard Project Folders

Project Templates

Drawing Setup

Sheet Numbering

Titleblocks

Detail Sheet Setup

Page Layouts

Page Layout & Page Setup

Model Space - Paper Space

Layering Guideline

Drawing Stamp/Seal

Dimensioning

Text Height - LTscale - Dimscale

Door Insertion

Door Identification and Schedules

Wall & Wall-type Indication

Room Numbers

Symbol Legends & Lighting Power Budget

Pen Mapping

Printers and Plotters

BOMA Std Methods in Measuring Area in Office Buildings

Area Calculations

Area Calculations - Rules of Thumb

Master Facility Drawings

Master Facility Drawings Checklist

Marketing Plans

Menus

Regarding your workflow, if you can outline or flowchart how your facilities work process-wise I am happy to make suggestions.

Let me know if any of this helps or if you need more detail.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[edlee]

@john.vellek

Thank you for the AIA layering documents, John.  Regarding the CAD workflow or flow chart, I'm just looking for any examples that I can use as a reference. 

Thank you also for the CAD SOP outline.  It will be very helpful as a point of reference for getting started.

[edlee]

@GrantsPirate

Thank you.  This example is very helpful.

[john.vellek]

HI @edlee,

You indicated that you are in the facilities department. What kind of drawings do you maintain or develop? Do you work with consultants?  I am happy to help you with the flow chart if you can get me started with how you use your drawings and what their typical lifecycle looks like.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[melissacohen]

I see that all the inquiries about layer standards are pretty old.  I am just getting started with my own office standards after doing whatever was convenient while in school.  I should mention that I am an interior designer and do not need a thousand layers and the layers might not be exactly what I need for ID.  If I start with the AIA standards, can you help me walk through how to load them?

[edlee]

Thank you, John (a little delayed, sorry).  I appreciate your assistance.

[edlee]

Thank you, GrantsPirate.  This is a useful reference document.

[edlee]

Hello MelissaCohen.  I am an interior designer by education as well.  I am still working on setting up and documenting my organization's CAD SOP and Layer Standards, 2 years after that initial inquiry post.  I would be happy to provide you with any advice or information that I can.  We are in the same situation, because our corporate Facilities team is primarily focused on using AutoCAD for designing and managing the interior environments and furniture plans.  So the complete AIA layer package is much more than we typically need.

My main focus has been to try to implement a customized layer package that incorporates the AIA layer names with the NCS (National CAD Standards) layer guidelines.  I would be happy to share our interiors-focused layer standards, when I have them figured out.

I will see if I can attach some of the older NCS documentation that I found online (since I couldn't purchase the current NCS guidelines).

[melissacohen]

I Apologize.  I somehow missed this post.  It must have seemed so rude to not respond!  I am under deadline at the moment, but I promise I will respond shortly.  Thank you for your generous offer!

[melissacohen]

How is your progress?

[melissacohen]

I am just getting to this now!  I will take a look!

thanks!

[melissacohen]

I took a quick look.  Some of these posts are getting quite technical.  I really mean the following:

A-WALL-New

A-WALL - Existing

A-I- Furniture - Existing

Sink Fixtures, for example.  As an architect you want to have a layer for pipes, but as an interior designer, I just need to have a layer for my existing plumbing fixtures and a layer for my new plumbing fixtures.  

Is the A and I necessary?  I just want to stick to one layering system.  

[Graggs]

@melissacohen 

I think the prefix is important.

I have to work with drawings from all sorts of people and the time I waste trying to sort through layers is ridiculous.

The prefix helps enormously to give ownership of that layer to someone. It is also useful for yourself, used with Autocad's layer manager, you can quickly create filters to display only your layers or only the architect's layers for example.