AUGIWorld Magazine - November/December 2008 - (Page 9) interpret drawings and are particularly useful in collaborative environments, where you have many individuals contributing to the creation of a drawing. Productivity will improve because standards will streamline common operations in your work area and also help to bring new employees up to speed faster. As new technology emerges, CAD standards must be reviewed and revised accordingly. When CAD standards are not followed, this can create chaos in an office. Another challenge that often occurs is having short deadlines times and not enough employees to fill the void. When this occurs, the quality of the drawings often suffers. In not understanding fully what constitutes a “good-quality” drawing, human resources can often unknowingly create tough situations. Imagine that you have 350 floor plans to update within three months and each floor plan must be visited and a walk-through of that space completed before updating. Now, combine this with many other projects and day-to-day activities. Yes, been there, done that and going through it now (and I am sure you are going through it, too)! ing as before (or even better). So never forget to use your peers as a resource! In addition, researching new Visual Basic and/or AutoLISP programs to shorten key strokes can be helpful as well. You will get the hang of it after writing a few of them yourself and will find the knowledge invaluable in your work. For those who are not familiar with the programming languages, there are options for you as well. Training classes are available in or near your area, as well as websites where others are willing to share programs they have written. AUGI is an excellent source for sharing programs. The AUGI Forums, accessible from www.AUGI.com, are a great source when you have a question on a particular ACA feature. Non-Autodesk supplemental applications Action items There are a few action items involved when new technology emerges, and training is one of the biggest. With each software upgrade, new features need to be learned and evaluated for relevant application to current processes and procedures. When this is complete, processes and procedures need to be rewritten and training meetings set up to teach these changes. Without the proper training, it is easy to get behind on learning and understanding new procedures. Productivity can suffer as a result. In addition to conventional methods such as instructor-led, classroom style, training can also take place via webcast, Autodesk e-learning, and so on. However it is accomplished, good training is essential to high productivity and must be completed sooner rather than later. It is also important to remember that training is ongoing. There is always more to learn! Another action item is researching new and better ways to complete everyday tasks. For this research, other industry leaders are a valuable resource. One can learn a lot from networking and asking others for the different ways they use the software. Through conversations with peers, I have found many shortcuts that have increased my productivity tremendously and have also produced the same quality drawNov/Dec 2008 One non-Autodesk supplemental application that I sometimes use is Google SketchUp. SketchUp is an excellent tool that is used for creating, editing, and sharing 3D models. SketchUp drawings can be exported to AutoCAD Architecture very easily. You can also import a drawing file from AutoCAD Architecture to SketchUp and further manipulate the drawing using colors, textures, and shadows to give the work a whole new perspective. SketchUp is part of the same product family as Google Earth. What does this mean for your project? You can import a scaled aerial photograph from Google Earth to SketchUp with the click of a button. This can include topographical information as well. This is a very useful tool when putting together professional 2D presentations or 3D models for upper management and executive members. I have used this as a visual aid to present which buildings were to be demolished and where new buildings were to be built, including new landscaping and parking areas. There is nothing like a highly detailed visual aid to show rather than tell what will happen throughout a project. This has proved to be a valuable resource for me. them gain real-world experience in the industry. This is also a great opportunity to network and see what’s out there before making important career decisions. After initial education is complete, many AutoCAD users continue to seek further training as new versions emerge. Autodesk offers e-learning for subscription customers, which is a great hands-on way to learn new software features. Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATC), are located throughout the world, offering excellent instructor-led classes on many Autodesk applications. Also, your local Autodesk reseller may offer great classes, some of which can be tailored to your specific company needs. Webcasts are also an option and tend to be more schedule friendly, especially as far as travel is concerned. And, of course, there’s Autodesk University, the greatest of all educational opportunities, as well as a great resource for networking with your peers in other areas! Hardware requirements AutoCAD Architecture is compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP, in both 32- and 64-bit systems. A minimum of 2GB of RAM is required to operate the software; however 3GB or more is helpful. A minimum 128MB video card is specified. A full software installation requires a minimum of 2.5 GB hard disk space. I recommend using at least 3GB of RAM and at least a 512MB video card for optimum performance with AutoCAD Architecture. This will allow for faster computer performance and enhanced graphics display. I have run the software using only the minimum requirements and it is extremely slow. As you can imagine, a slow computer will not yield a productive environment (and will annoy the user greatly!). Conclusion Education The education required for drafting with AutoCAD Architecture is an Associates Degree. With this degree, newcomers can be expected to have skills in producing drawings and diagrams, understanding perspective in drawing, and producing renderings. On top of all this, they should also have skills in communications, math, and measurements. For additional education, some may decide to complete an internship to help Autodesk Architecture takes AutoCAD to a much greater level—2D 3D, BIM, no problem! This software substantially increases productivity and allows the user to generate top-quality drawings and renderings. To top it all off, each release gets better and better. This is one architectural design solution that’s hard to beat! Melinda Heavrin is a CAD Coordinator for Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky. She can be reached for comments and questions at melindaheavrin@alltel.net. 9 http://www.AUGI.com
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