*
I find CAD work tedious, boring and difficult for all sorts of reasons. I find it good for measurements of angles etc. but getting into the nitty gritty of a project such as joints and construction it seems to be more bother than it’s worth.
Perhaps it’s the program I’m using which is QuickCAD. I would appreciate feedback as to what CAD users think.
Replies
*
Here is the fundamental problem with CAD (as I see it). Until you get pretty far up on the learning curve, it's a burden to do anything. The pay-off really begins once one becomes adept at using the software. Once that happens, CAD is a VERY powerful and productive tool. Once you have reached that level you think like the software operates and the "design" or creative process is what you are truly into, the drawings are then mostly a byproduct of that.
The program does make a difference. Some require more effort to crawl up the curve than others and some have less than straightforward commands or methods of achieving and end.
Not everyone is suited for CAD nor does everyone have the time to invest in learning how to operate CAD to a level required to be productive.
I've started a "woodworking with CAD" article on my web, that might eventually be of some use to you. At least one might be able to grasp what is needed to be able to get anything done with it anyway.
PMB http://benchmark.20m.com
*I've used CAD(Minicad, now Vectorworks) for about eight years as part of my livelyhood for a range of design challenges - from architectural plans/schematics to conceptual flowcharts to furniture and casework.Here's what I do and don't do with it (others will surely differ, but this is how it's useful for this professional designer. I'll keep my comments more to woodworking than architectual detailing):1. I don't "create" with CAD. The creative process needs to be fluid and dymanic. CAD can be like trying to eat with chopsticks wearing mittens. This is always freehand sketching with prototypes and models.2. I don't figure out and detail specific joinery. That's always done full size on a vertical drafting table (8' x 8' at a 5 degree angle) with a vertical sliding T-square mounted like a by-pass door. For me more complicated joinery requires a level of finesse that only comes from drawing it. Once is a while, when required for a set of drawings, I'll go back and draw it in CAD after I've figured out the specifics.3. I do layout and dimension the overall look and feel of furniture in traditional front/side/topviews with sections when needed (esp. for critical areas as I'm not always the person who's going to build the piece or be there to supervise its fabrication.)4. I do use 3D, but usually only for presentations (as if it were a prototype or model). I've never found a point in developing 3D drawings to the point where I can "slice and dice" them into working drawings. This has been faster and more useful using traditional "projections".5. One exception to my 3D rule, I do use 3D for creating massing drawings for casework in full-blown 3D architectural plans, but this is mainly "blocking" showing the rough shape, size and location of where casework is placed in an architectural space.6. I do create difficult curves and profiles and then print them out full size for templating purposes. I've been known to printout a curve and spraymount it to a mdf blank, cut and sand the curve and use it for bent laminations.7. I don't use CAD for more than 4-5 hours a day. I'd have been straight-jacketed and drugged quite some time ago if I did!In all, I'd think I'm fairly "far up on the learning curve" as Phil calls it, but I've never felt like I think like the machine. I know the program from A to Z (except for all the database stuff and material use projection stuff), but even still it's stiff and cold compared to lead on vellum (and I'm not really even an old timer!).Hope that's useful to you.Best,Seth
*Here's a 3D rendered CAD drawing I did for a museum gallery case. Thought you'd like to see the type of drawing I've done.
*I recently came across a non-CAD CAD program, SketchUp, which looks like it would be great for developing designs. It mimics the sketching process, so you don't have much to learn about the mechanics of the program, and it has variable 3D viewing that looks easy to navigate around in. No dimensioning is necessary in developing the design, but when you are satisfied with proportions, massing, etc., you can put in a dimension for one item and it will give all other dimensions relative to that one.There are a bunch of free tutorials available at the SketchUp site that enable you to see how the program is used. The big drawback that I see is that it is awfully expensive.http://www.sketchup.com/
*Donald,I haven't used Sketchup before. Sounds interesting. From your description and their website it might have some other serious drawbacks/limitations (other than cost) for the woodworker. I read over the manufacturers website, but can't download the trail version as it's Windows only (Mac diehard here).If dimensions are created by snapping a line after the massing and proportioning are done then all the other dimensions are relative, not specific. Woodworking tools and lumber dimensions often dictate that particular elements have particular dimensions. For example, chisel mortisers, jointer bed widths, etc..As the name suggests it might be suited to "sketching", but then what's its benefit over a pencil?Another small detail, "sketching" freehand with a mouse frankly stinks. A user would need an input tablet in order to simulate real sketching.Seth
*Seth-As the name suggests it might be suited to "sketching", but then what's its benefit over a pencil?Much the same benefit that CAD has over drafting, I suppose: easy changes, no repetative drawing of the same object, use of standard objects, etc.I've not use the program, and I even outwitted myself on the download (eight hours of free use). There apparently was a calendar as well as a clock on the program. I spent so much time going through the tutorials that when I got ready to do my own sketching, the program said my time had expired.It's too bad that you can't download the tutorials (they're for Windows only. Curse Bill Gates!), because they show that it's much more than napkin sketching (shadows, surface materials and colors, object library, and the like). It's obviously geared toward the building architect, but if I were a rich man, I'd like to try it for furniture design.
*Your comment about not using CAD for design could have been the key I was missing. I went back to a sketch pad for the conceptual stuff and then drew my concepts in CAD and found that to be much better.Thanks for your input, Dave
*Dave,Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to hear that a suggestion yields useful results. Good luck with your creations.Seth
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled