If CAD is your main activity, the question arises more and more: Do we start emphasising 2D or start moving across to 3D?
I have some data from an international survey conducted 5 Years ago:
- 90% of all CAD companies (international survey) created 2D drawings exclusively. Architects would just create/construct 2D representations of elevations.
- 5% mixed 2D and 3D
- only 5% were doing more than 50% of their work in 3D
Contrast this with the most recent survey data (worldwide in the AEC fields) that I have read (2010) which indicate that :
- 10% of CAD companies only draw on 2D
- 40% of CAD companies draw mainly on 2D with a few jobs being converted to 3D or drawn in 3D from scratch.
- 40% of CAD companies draw partially on 3D while simple plan drawings are still done in 2D.
- 10% of CAD companies draw everything in 3D as a matter of course even if the client only requires a 2D plan at this stage.
Interesting, eh? The trend seems to be one of assuming that the customer will come back for further work and that if it was already done in 3D from the start, the basic 3D drawing structure is there, thereby avoiding a redraw.
I will add the following comment:
It is important to realise that the international trend is moving toward 3D. It is time to start learning 3D skills instead of honing 2D skills. 3D software and training is a waste of money if you’re using old machines and slow networks. It’s an absolute joy with the right computer equipment.
Need I state the obvious? - The choice of the optimal CAD workstation is not something to be left to the chain-store computer salesman.
Please feel free to call me and let me advise you on hardware, software, systems, standards and the optimization of the drawing office.
