DRAFTING vs. CAD

 

Explanation of computers in construction in addition to accounting/invoicing:

  • CAD (Computer-Aided Design)
  • CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing)
  • CAI (Computer-Aided Installation™)
  • CNC (Computer-Numberically Controlled)
  • HAD (Human-Aided Design)
  • HAC (Human-Aided Computers)
2-D       2-D drawings of 3-D structures are the oldest method of building documentation, and are always drawn from the interpretation of an individual draftsman the way he/she interprets a given view. Achieving a fully executable set of synchronized, hand drawn or computer aided, 2-D set of plans, is not only very time consuming and expensive, but also because the dimensioned renderings are usually drawn in 1/8" or 1/4" scale, the space a pencil line occupies represents is equivalent to 1 1/2" to 3". If one were to query the drawing for missing labeled dimensions, one would end up with a lot of 1 1/2" to 3" gaps or pieces too long in the structure...

      Usefulness of 2-D CAD is limited to the elimination of dimensioning problems and control of the scale of a drawing of a floor plan in plan view, associated with hand drawings. 2-D is not coordinated with other views and components, as is 3-D, leaving still, a lot on the table. 2-D must also interface with HAD (Human-Aided Design) and since HAD is plagued by timefactors, and a lack of random access memory due to self-configured (in most cases) emotional_config.sys. Therefore, although faster than drafting manually, 2-D is a waste of time if your goal is to produce a structure in minimum time, with minimum waste, and a minimum of cost, given the technology available and it's costs today.


3-D       The employment of a 3-D modeling environment is a powerful tool when used to track the coordinates of various points within space in relation to each other. This forms a model in a full x, y, & z format, attaching information to the various coordinates, and the space between them. The quantities module and material databases then allows the user to manipulate the data and coordinates to accommodate the requirements of specific project and then export that data in a user customizable format.

      The information is specified to the model under the direction of the applicable sub-contractors and then manipulated until all trades and materials co-exist with each other.

      This allows all pricing and construction information to be extracted from a single 3-D model, of a 3-D structure; that's not just a drawing, but a digitally resident assemblage of building components, placed within coordinate space of each other, concurrent with the ergonomic habitat and environment of human space, and then placed in a pre-adjustable site, foundation, and framework, living in digital space on a computer's hard drive. If you already own the computer and software, its presence costs nothing more than input time.

      The only real limitation of technology and it's progress, lies in the unstable human emotional system, wishing for the easy way out as far as design and specification decisions are concerned. CAD multiples, adds, subtracts, counts members, and reads surfaces...... faster, more accurate, and more concurrent than floors of departments of architects, engineers, and those calling themselves "builders", could accomplish in months and years,.....within weeks, hours, and in some applications,... seconds.

      Argued with a calculator lately? with geometry? with symmetry? with established x, y, and z coordinates placed concurrently in relational coordinate space, with a common absolute reference point? Not likely.

      The information is specified to the model under the direction of the applicable subcontractors and then manipulated until all trades and materials co-exist with each other.
This allows all information to be extracted from a single 3-D model of a 3-D structure.
CAD allows the structure, to be pre-built, as a model, organized, analyzed, manipulated, and documented with the decimal carried out to whatever place desired by the user, and then taken out in the field and implemented.

Then, CAD assists in executing a "plan" that maximizes:

1) Minimum, efficient and predictable construction time
2) Dramatic savings in interest accrued
3) Highest level of fit and finish
4) Least amount needed to pay labor to do each phase
5) Decreased weathering of building components
6) Least amount of confusion and chaos between all parties involved
7) Synchronization of subcontractors
8) Installation/reinforcement of positive attitudes between all parties involved