ASCENT Blog

I Was a Colonial Hand-Drafter

By Martha Hollowell

I was a Colonial Hand-drafter

…but now I’ve moved to BIM (Building Information Modeling). It is totally amazing how things have changed in the years since I got out of Architecture school. We won’t talk too much about the exact date but it was in the same decade that AutoCAD came out on the PC.

My first job out of college was in the Architecture and Engineering department of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (CWF) slaving over a drafting board.

  
            "No, I didn't wear this outfit to work."

My biggest struggle was getting my lettering straight. Does anyone remember lettering guides? But, CWF was forward looking for a history focused place and before I left we were experimenting with mainframe CAD programs.

After a couple of years writing grad school papers on a double floppy – no hard drive computer I headed back to the world of CAD. By this time a few firms were using AutoCAD on the PC and I was hired to learn it and help move the firm away from hand drafting only. At this time the speed of the computers and the power of AutoCAD (2.4) were minimal - Type LINE <Enter>, pick first point…wait… pick second point. But even at this speed it was still faster in the long run and I was even able to turn around the grumpiest old architect to the usefulness of CAD when I gave him a printout of three or four solutions for a site layout in about 15 minutes. My favorite was the TEXT command. Single-line, no formatting but all I had to do was type it in and it looked beautiful – at least as beautiful and the old TXT font could be at the time.

 
                    Very early AutoCAD

Modeling in 3D was a thing of the future – but the very near future. In just a few years we moved from total 2D plain AutoCAD to an architectural add-on with at least some 3D massing and rendering capabilities. It also had some much nicer fonts.

 
                Hooray for hand-lettering fonts

About that time I got into training and my knowledge of CAD moved into overdrive. Every 18 months something new came out. Then it started moving to every year. Plain AutoCAD – AutoCAD 3D – AutoCAD Architecture and then came Revit…

                But that is a topic for another time.

Get to the Point

By Elvis Sverko

I’ve had colleague’s review and perform additional design work to my AutoCAD models before. I’ve even had to review and add design work to their AutoCAD models. And anytime someone gets another person’s model for the first time, it takes a short while to get a good feel for the models nuances, such as how parts are supposed to fit together, or how they’re lined up with one another, or even how the final product will ultimately look. 2D drawings can be difficult enough. But add in that third dimension, in the Z direction, and the hill becomes a mountain that you need to ascend to get to its understanding. Zooming in on different areas, orbiting around the model, turning layers on or off, it all helps in grasping the models intent. But you still need to tackle the issue of HOW the model was built. Did they use lines, polylines, splines, arcs, circles, solid objects, surfaces, blocks, or even something else? That’s pretty simple, just select an object and check out its properties. But now you need to modify the model, add new objects, change it in some way, shape, or form. You need to know exactly where objects are located.

So let me get to the point. How do you specifically find out where objects are located? What are the exact coordinates of a point on the model? How would you communicate that specific point to someone? How would you identify it?

Sure, you can use the status bar to see where the cursor is. But it isn’t exact.

And if you use Object Snap or 3D Object Snap you have to be in a command and actually snap to the point you’re looking for, and then remember the coordinates from the status bar, and finally cancel the command (or continue the command if that’s what you need to do anyway.)

You can even use the List command, but that opens up the AutoCAD Text Window, and gives a whole bunch of information that you would need to filter through to get the information you’re after.

You can even use the Properties palette. If it’s not open, you’d have to open it first. And if you wanted the midpoint of a line, it’s not there, you’d have to calculate it, or try something else.

So let me really get to the point now. Simply use the ID command to get the coordinates of a specific point:

-Type ID at the command prompt and hit <Enter>.

-Using Object Snaps, click the point you need.

-Done.

It’s that easy. The result (the X, Y, and Z, coordinates) displays at the Dynamic Input and the Command Line.

ID. It’s that easy.

ID.

Point taken.

“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time – a tremendous whack.” – Winston Churchill

 

Ascend a Staircase

By Elvis Sverko

Good morning, and welcome to a new dawn. Welcome to a world of digital product development. And get ready to ascend to new heights. 

Design has always been an analog part of our first life, but in our second one, we’ve been able to develop products digitally. One tool that has enabled us to make this leap is CAD (Computer Aided Design). But what’s the best way to utilize it? What’s the best way to educate others to utilize it?

We’ll explore many paths to elevate your knowledge in these areas. From “how-to’s” of commands, features, concepts, and methods, to training solutions of these same techniques and procedures. We’ll investigate many CAD programs including AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit, stretching across manufacturing, engineering, and architectural platforms.

Sometimes it takes a simple yet unique perspective to clarify a complex solution. Sometimes it simply takes to just begin.

So let’s begin.

Suppose you’re drawing the elevation view of a staircase in AutoCAD. In order to draw the entire staircase, you must start with the first step. From a marked point on the floor, the first step needs to be placed 9 units to the right, and 8 units up. There’s plenty of ways to get there. You can do the math and calculate angle and length, or even draw objects to delete later. But that’s too many steps. Even Object Snap Tracking alone doesn’t get you there. So what’s the best way? The answer is to use the Temporary Track Point.

First, toggle on both Object Snap and Object Snap Tracking in the Status Bar. Next, start the line command, and when prompted for a first point, start the Temporary Tracking by typing TT at the Command Line, or right-clicking the mouse and selecting it under the Snap Overrides selection. Use the Object Snap and Tracking of the initial point by hovering the mouse over it until it is marked with a small cross, and move the mouse to the right tracking the point, and typing in the distance, in this case 9. You now have a temporary point 9 units to the right that you can track from to go 8 units up to start the first point of the line representing the first step. All done simply in one step.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao-tzu