Projects made in autocad on. Architecture and construction AutoCAD - features of application in construction design

True professionals in any field are distinguished by sometimes insignificant details in which you can immediately discern the “face” of the author of the work. Most importantly, such people understand that others may also work with the fruits of their professional creativity. Who knows - after all, in any project over time, something may need to be completed or changes made. And it doesn’t matter whether we are talking about an electrical wiring panel, water pipes, or a drawing in .dwg format(and this is what we will talk about in this article). If you want to call yourself professional, do your work in such a way that those who come after you will find it pleasant, easy and convenient to work with your projects.

Below I tried to formulate several recommendations that, based on my experience, I consider to be “rules of good manners” when working with the AutoCAD program. They will be useful both to customers (send this article to your contractors) and to those who carry out various projects related to the production of drawings in AutoCAD. You can improve the quality of your work, or once again make sure that you are already a high-level professional (which is also quite nice) if you follow these recommendations.

I. Units of measurement:

If you are in Russia, then do not forget that in our country (and in many other countries) the standard unit of measurement of length in drawings is the millimeter (also known as mm), so everything that you draw in AutoCAD, it is advisable to draw exactly in mm and on a scale of 1:1. Those. if you need to draw a segment 1 m long, draw a segment 1000 (mm) long. In this regard, when creating a new drawing, be careful when choosing a template:

• sample acadiso.dwt is set to mm (which is what we need), while
• sample acad.dwt set to inches.

Be careful. If you got someone else's drawing to work with or you just want to make sure that you did everything correctly, you can check the units of measurement of the current drawing here:

II. Use layers. More precisely, use them correctly:

1. Layer names should contain meaningful words or abbreviations that are easy to understand their contents.
2. Use separate layers for different (in terms of content) drawing objects, for the convenience of subsequent management and editing of these objects. For example, for outlines use the “Outline” layer, for dimensions “Dimensions”, etc. If your project is quite complex, then you can use prefixes in the names of the layers, for example, dim_walls_1 - the dimensions of the walls of the room on the first floor. Using a prefix system will also simplify working with “Layer Filters,” which can be convenient when there are a large number of them (layers) in a document.
3. If you want to change the color, thickness or type of line, do it through layers, instead of simply changing these properties on a specific object. Because editing a drawing containing many objects with properties other than “by layer” is very difficult. Those. For each type of line, you should create a separate layer. The only exceptions here are hatches, fills and gradients - each of these objects can have its own specific “coloring” and there is no need to create many layers for hatches if this does not seem justified to you. But it is advisable to have at least one “Fill” or, for example, “Hatch” layer so that you can quickly turn them off if necessary.
4. To make your drawing easier to read, use unique colors for each layer or at least a group of layers. This will allow you to avoid mistakes at the stage of creating the drawing and will significantly simplify its reading in the future. If you need to print everything in color, but with a limited number of these same colors, then you can always override the color, type and thickness of the layer lines inside a sheet viewport. And black and white printing is completely organized by one single setting - monochrome style sheet in the print settings.
5. Do not use the Defpoints layer in principle - this is a service layer that appears in the drawing at the time of setting the first dimension and contains the defining points of dimensions. The presence of any other objects in it can lead to malfunctions of the program (freezes, crashes, errors).
6. Create blocks by first placing all the objects of the future block in layer 0 - this is very convenient, the objects in these blocks will change their properties in accordance with the settings of the layer to which they will be moved later. This allows you to avoid mistakes (you can immediately see if a block is in the wrong layer) and does not litter the drawing with unnecessary layers (after all, if you copy a block into your drawing, it will drag along with it all the layers used in it). If the block should contain objects with different thickness, type or color of lines, assign specific properties to these objects through the block editor, instead of the “by layer” value, but save them in layer 0. And only then move the finished block to the desired layer and enjoy the result .
7. If you plan to use your file in conjunction with 3ds Max, the layer names should not contain Cyrillic characters - write everything in Latin.

Typical mistakes:

• everything is drawn in layer 0
• the drawing contains layers named qweqwe, aaaa, 1111, 123, etc.
• all layers are black (it is impossible to determine what is drawn in which layer)
• non-printing objects and viewports are placed in the Defpoints layer, instead of creating a separate layer with no printing allowed

III. Working with annotation styles (text, dimensions, callouts, and tables):

Typical mistakes:

• the file contains 10-15 text (or dimensional) styles, and half of them have almost the same settings, it’s just that each new “editor” of the drawing added new styles (so as not to understand the existing ones) or they got into the file when copying annotations from others files
• the file contains lost fonts (a notification appears when opened)

IV. Design and preparation for printing:

1. All project graphics must be located in model space.
2. Paper space contains a sheet that is configured for printing and has a border. The main rule is 1 tab with sheet – 1 drawing(not 2 or 5).
3. Don't forget to rename sheets to make it easier to navigate your projects.
4. If you do not know which printer the project will be printed on (for example, when working with a remote customer), it is advisable to configure all sheets to the printer DWG to PDF.
5. Scaling of drawing views is achieved by using sheet viewports, and not by changing the size of objects with the “Scale” command or increasing the frame to gigantic sizes and then fitting (reducing) everything when printing.

Typical mistakes:

• everything, including frames, is drawn in model space
• everything, including drawing views, is drawn in paper space (the most exotic option, but it does occur)
• drawing in model space at a scale other than 1:1
• placing several drawings at once on one tab with a sheet (the strangest thing I have ever seen) - because this technique does not lend itself to any logic - after all, you lose all the convenience of printing from sheet space

V. Preparing the file for sending:

1. Clean the drawing from all unnecessary things (garbage, blocks, unused styles and layers) before sending it to the customer. For this there is Clear utility(team _purge).
2. It is also worth clearing the file from overlapping (duplicate) lines, because It's most likely trash. For this purpose use the command _overkill(in order for the cleaning to be “painless”, you should spend time studying the settings of this command). There is especially a lot of garbage in the files when using any “vectorizers” or importing information from third-party programs (CorelDraw, Illustrator, etc.).
3. Periodically check the file for errors - command _audit(in the options we agree to correct detected errors). While working on a project, errors in the drawing appear on their own, especially when copying large amounts of information via the clipboard. This check reduces the number and frequency of program crashes and freezes, which is good news.
4. If you use external links and they must be present in the final file, use “Relative paths” for external links, store them in project subfolders and transfer them along with the final .dwg file, otherwise the customer will see empty rectangles and notifications about lost external drawing links instead .

If external links are used only at the project creation stage, absolute paths can also be used, but do not forget that simply by deleting a picture from the working area of ​​the screen, you do not delete the external link from the file (this must be done in the “External Link Manager”). Quite often you can see the following funny picture inside the file:

1. Try to minimize the use of OLE and PROXY objects in drawings. OLE technology embeds information into the file and the drawing will be very heavy and will begin to freeze even on powerful computers, so it is better to use external links to insert graphics, diagrams, etc. And PROXY are objects created using third-party add-ons for AutoCAD, for example, MechaniCS or SPDS from CSoft - the apparent convenience of using these modules backfires when you try to open such a file on a computer where this add-on is not installed or another version is installed.

Summary.

Each person is unique, and therefore projects completed by different people will always have some differences in terms of design and tools used. You must find your own unique style that is convenient for you and suits the quality of the people with whom you work. Not everything described above are strict rules; rather, these are recommendations that are worth listening to, especially if you are just starting your acquaintance with the program. Good luck!

Comments are welcome! It's already 10 :)

Good afternoon

One more question, if you don't mind.

If I set all sheets in AutoCAD in the Sheet Options Manager to a DWG to PDF printer, and then I need to print the project on a regular printer, can I immediately change the printer for all sheets, or will I have to change the printer for each sheet?

• There are two ways:

  1) Save as PDF, send for actual printing from PDF. I like it this way most of all - I first “proofread” the PDF, and when I see that there are no errors, I just print it. Again, if you print not at home, but somewhere, it is much easier to give the PDF than to bring the DWG.

  2) Printing from AutoCAD is also quite simple. Create a named set of sheet parameters that specifies the actual printer. When batch printing (Publication), you can set any set of parameters for any sheet from those available in the document. There are so many different formats, so many of these sets you need. You can also instantly assign a set to all sheets at once, while nothing will happen to the already configured sheets - the replacement will only take place during printing, and then everything will return - that is, they will remain with DWG to PDF, but you can print on any printer in a couple of clicks .

  In Publication, set “Print to: plotter with the name specified in the set of parameters”, and in the list of sheets, assign the desired set to each sheet. It’s convenient because you can make different sets with different characteristics, send them to different printers, etc.

  To answer all your questions, you can take advantage of an individual consultation. Duration: from 30 minutes. There I will not only tell you, but also show you how and what is done (via screen sharing).

Good afternoon

Tell me how best to work in AutoCAD. I'm electric. I design several types of networks on one plan - a floor plan. Plan to scale model.

It is better to draw various utility networks (lighting, sockets, trays, etc.) on sheets (then you will have to draw not on a scale of 1:1, but, for example, on a scale of 1:100 - which is not convenient) or in a model on the same plan, but in different layers?

I’m trying the second option - everything is in the model, on one plane there are different networks in different layers. I display the required network on sheets through the viewport. But the problem is that all layers must be turned on in the model in order for them to be displayed on the sheets (each on its own, the rest that are not needed here on the sheet are frozen), and therefore the model is a real mess with all the layers turned on. Is this how it should be? Or it’s better to make several plans in the model (copy them) - each for its own type of network.

Please advise how to work culturally.

• Hello.

  It is most convenient to draw a plan in a 1:1 model. Different networks - in different layers. Here you are doing everything right. We design on sheets, turning off unnecessary layers in specific viewports. Yes, the model is a mess - and that’s normal. Copying is many times worse - God forbid the plan changes slightly - you get tired of editing it in copies, or, what is more likely, you correct it in some places, but not in others - there will be mistakes.

  To make it easy to edit, go to the sheet and click the “Expand VE” button on the bottom right - we get all the advantages of working in the model, but we see only the layers needed for this sheet.

  I use this method, it has proven to be the most successful. I had a hard time with copies of plans in the model.

  It is incorrect to draw anything in the sheets (except the frame). All useful information is in the model. The sheets have frames and sometimes text/tables. Well, I make purely text sheets of the project directly on the sheet - it’s convenient.

  • Good afternoon

    Thanks for the answer, it means I'm doing the right thing.

    You write in the article that only one drawing should be placed on one sheet, otherwise all the advantages of printing from a sheet are lost. Please tell us more about this advantage.

    I place several drawings (sheets) on one sheet - logically combined, most often this is when there are several sheets in one drawing. Also, each specification most often consists of several sheets; I place all these sheets on one sheet of AutoCAD - it’s just more convenient to work; you can see several sheets of one drawing at once.

    Sheets allow you to print your entire project or save it to PDF with one click, since customized sheets do not require you to specify a print area. Output tab - Export to PDF or Publish for actual printing.

    If you have several drawings on 1 sheet of AutoCAD, then in order to print them, you must indicate each time what exactly you are printing. In essence, it is like printing from a model with the boundaries of the print indicated by a frame. In my opinion, this is very long and terribly inconvenient. And what’s more, the structure of the project becomes confusing - looking at the file you can’t immediately understand how many sheets there really are in the project - in each tab with this method there can be many of them, and printing such a project entirely is a headache and a repetition of routine actions.

    I don’t see any real advantages to such a practice, but if you like it, then why not – it’s a matter of taste.

What a joy it is to find a like-minded person! I have been working in a design company (engineering networks) for 20 years.

I wrote instructions that described almost word for word what was written in this article. But! The management still does not agree to introduce the enterprise standard. As a result, so much time is wasted on drawing up drawings, preparing for printing, etc. And this is in a private company. This is where “time is money” is lost. And there’s no need to talk about the architecture received from customers. There are no words, only interjections. Every time you have to spend time preparing a decent foundation for the networks.

• Thanks for your feedback! Enterprise standards truly optimize operations, especially if they are followed. It is a pity that your instructions were not accepted.

  For some reason, such a mess in files is found precisely in architectural and construction drawings. Perhaps because there are always several people working on one file... In mechanical engineering, AutoCAD is no longer very common (almost everyone has switched to more advanced CAD), but what I come across is usually very well and neatly done. But if they send you some kind of general plan, then at least hang yourself... :)

  • You, Mikhail, definitely noticed this about the bad thoughts about the soap loop. And our compatriot, Ivan Andreevich Krylov, pointed out to us the reason for this disgrace, oh how long ago, in his immortal fable about the Swan, Cancer and Pike. Just like in it, it turns out that everyone who is involved in joint work on this or that project, starting from topographers with geologists, coupled with general planners and architects, does not think about how others will then work with their material , who will subsequently develop subsequent sections of the project.

    Why be surprised, then, when in the end it suddenly turns out that “Woz is still there”?

    But as soon as these people agree on common rules, the first point of which instructs not to work without contacting the Sheet Set Manager, then they will immediately see that everything, as if by magic, will miraculously change. After all, thanks to this universal tool, people have feedback that allows them to coordinate their decisions, both with each other and with the customer. Here, not to mention anything else, the eTransmit function alone is worth it.

You can’t even imagine, Nina (I don’t know how to say Father), how much I understand you.

After all, at one time I had to plunge headlong, one might say, into the topic you raised. And this happened at the very time when I was lucky enough to work, excuse me, as a manager for CAD standards in the Department of Standardization and Design Support of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization “Organizing Committee “Sochi 2014”. As you probably already guessed, my duty there was to monitor compliance with those same enterprise standards that you mentioned in your comment. So, based on the experience gained, I will inform you that you would not have been able to deal with this matter with a liberal approach under any circumstances, even if your superiors agreed to introduce an enterprise standard. So, In order to really maintain order, I, a person with a rather mild character, had to resort to truly dictatorial methods in order to force the performers to adhere to the approved rules.I dare to suggest that thanks to this, we were largely able to prepare, organize and carry out Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2010. Well, after that, how can one not remember that every State Standard of the Soviet era was provided with a mandatory reminder of everyone’s responsibility before the law for neglecting it?

After thinking about all this, I came to the conclusion that it is impossible to convince someone to comply with standards before that someone is convinced that this is directly related to the productivity of his work. But how can this be achieved under constant time pressure? I am afraid that the solution I propose to this problem cannot be considered original. Its essence is a template. Yes, yes, the same notorious template that you yourself have used countless times. Just remember the same Svetoscope, which is always popular among Soviet students. Usually, it was a rectangular piece of window glass of a suitable format, resting its edges on a pair of stools, and a sufficiently bright light source installed between them. To build such a structure, as you probably know, did not require much time. But what an effect! One or two and the drawing is ready! But this is to forget that it took at least hours of meticulous work to produce the original.

And here lies precisely the reason that prevents us from using the template. If someone had already worked on it - we reason - then yes, it would be a sin not to use it. In the absence of one, everyone is forced to solve the task assigned to him independently, guided, as a rule, exclusively by the random method. Well, if that’s the case, then why don’t we once again remember our student years, when we were preparing together to pass our coursework. Remember how each of us did for everyone that part of the tasks that we were especially strong at. Essentially, each of us did the work for the whole group based on our own template. Consequently, if any error crept into this pattern, then it would later appear in everyone, compromising the entire group in front of the teacher. But, characteristically, such mistakes never led to those who were burned by plagiarism abandoning the established methodology, because they allowed them to save a lot of time.

You may ask, why am I saying all this? Moreover, if one day you spare no time, and at your own peril and risk, take on the development of drawing templates with ready-made libraries of blocks, a standard set of groups of layers, sheets, viewports and other named objects, and then carefully consider the folder structure, organizing based on it, a template for filing, then it will certainly be received with a bang by your colleagues. After all, in essence, by shifting the responsibility for performing routine operations onto the shoulders of machines and thereby freeing up a lot of time for the creative process, you will de facto contribute to the work of your colleagues in a unified manner.

It starts with changing the workspace and setting the working view (isometry). After which you can proceed directly to creating volumetric objects.

3d modeling in AutoCAD. Object Types

In AutoCAD 3d models there can be three different types: solids, mesh objects, surfaces.

Solids

In AutoCAD, preference is given to solid modeling. These are volumetric bodies that have properties inherent in ordinary objects in our lives: mass, center of gravity, etc.

Using Boolean operations such as union, subtraction, and intersection, you can create solid objects of varying complexity.

Network objects

This type of three-dimensional models uses a polygonal representation. The main elements of mesh objects are vertices, edges, and faces.

The main tools are located on the corresponding "Networks" tab. Standard commands are identical in type to solid primitives: parallelipid, cone, cylinder, etc.

These 3d models do not have mass properties. Networks allow you to flexibly work with the shape of objects in AutoCAD. In addition, they can be smoothed, which is an undeniable advantage.

Surfaces

A surface in AutoCAD is a thin shell that has no volume or mass. There are two types of surfaces in AutoCAD:

NURBS surfaces;

Procedural surfaces.

Procedural surface modeling allows you to take advantage of associative modeling, and NURBS surfaces take advantage of control vertex relief generation.

Construction of 3d models in AutoCAD. General principles

There are two fundamentally different approaches to creating three-dimensional objects:

Using standard 3d primitives (box, sphere, cone, etc.);

Converting a flat drawing (2d objects) into three-dimensional ones by using the appropriate commands (“Extrude”, “Shift”, etc.)

Converting a drawing from 2d to 3d AutoCAD is not difficult. It is enough to follow a clear algorithm.

Before drawing a house plan in AutoCAD, you need to decide on the type of future structure:

• number of floors and rooms;
• area and shape of the house (rectangular, square).

Project and drawing of a two-story cottage created in Autocad

Then you will need it yourself.

Experts identify several construction technologies for building houses:

• stone (use of brick, foam block);
• permanent formwork;
• frame-panel;
• wooden (using beams or logs).

The technologies described above are used for private construction. To create a house project yourself, experts advise using paid or. If possible, you can buy a licensed version of the software. Home design is a branch of architecture and design.

House layout created in AutoCAD

To correctly carry out such a task, a multifunctional special program is used. With its help you can:

• calculate consumables;
• draw a building;
• model a house in 3D.

- difficult task. Therefore, in the absence of experience in this field of activity, consultation with specialists will be required. Otherwise, it is recommended to use simple online programs. They are designed for economical construction and the creation of standard house designs. More complex programs are used to create an original idea.

If you want, then software for designing wooden houses is used. It allows you to create a three-dimensional model of a wooden house based on data on the dimensions of the logs. In this case, the user independently specifies the location of the transverse cuts.

Three-dimensional model of a two-story house made in AutoCAD

In other cases, online 3D modeling programs are used. Such software performs building design in a semi-automatic mode.

Using the given dimensions, the program will independently draw a house plan. If necessary, the user can make his own adjustments. You can draw a house plan in AutoCAD and KOMPAS-3D.

These programs are first downloaded and installed on a PC.

Read also

Foundation design and calculation program

List of software

The Arcon program is often used to design houses. It allows you to see the future structure in three dimensions. This program is designed to solve issues related to the preliminary design of a house of any complexity. Arcon is an online software with a clear and simple interface that is used for . If necessary, the user can work on putting the necessary inscriptions and dimensions on the plan. The finished project can be printed.

Designing a house in the Arcon program

To simplify the process of creating a house plan in Arkona, different textures are provided. The program library consists of more than 1,300 textures and 3,000 interior objects. If necessary, the user can upload his elements in 3ds format. The Arcon program also provides functions of different shapes. This software can be used for remodeling premises. Experts include the main tools of such software:

• door and window designer;
• calculation of shadow, lighting, light;
• module for editing or creating 3D elements.

To design a house in three dimensions, you can use the free program FloorPlan3D. With its help, you can also plan the design of each room and make the necessary calculations.

Introduction to AutoCAD

You can draw a future building in AutoCAD.
This program provides the ability to view 8 project creation slides, each of which consists of several sub-items. If necessary, the user can view it at any time from different sides in 3D mode. The next step is to become familiar with the building design requirements. At this stage it is necessary:

1. Determining the main dimensions of the house.
2. Layout.
3. Construction zone.
4. Calculation of consumables.

We draw a house plan in AutoCAD, using transfer tools, segments, copying (mirror), and shifting lines to the required distance. Therefore, it is recommended to first study the software tools.

To build walls use:

• standard primitive “Box” and subsequent union;
• extrusion of a closed contour;
• team "Polytelo".

Experts advise beginners to draw a house plan in AutoCAD using the latter method.


The “Polysolid” command is an analogue of 2D, with which the user can:

• create arc-shaped segments;
• convert flat primitives (circle, rectangle);
• quickly erect partitions.

I won’t go into detail about what AutoCAD is, since what is stated below is addressed specifically to those who are familiar with this program at least at a basic level. I will only note that, unlike many software products for solving design problems, AutoCAD as such is not an automation tool, but only an extremely powerful tool for manual drawing in an electronic environment. Some of its capabilities allow limited automation of some local tasks at the user level. There is a big field of activity for application developers here, but that’s not what we’re talking about now.

I proceed from the fact that you can effectively use any application only if you know at least a little more about it than lies on the surface - in order to deceive it when necessary. When working with specialized applications that use the AutoCAD graphical environment, it makes sense to understand what the environment is like. This knowledge also allows you to intelligently select project automation software. Otherwise, you have to rely on bare intuition and what is called “Russian maybe.”

We'll talk about AutoCAD 2000, the latest standard incarnation of the program. The recently released version of AutoCAD 2000i did not add anything to the graphic tools, which will be discussed primarily in the proposed material. Development in this version was mainly achieved by means of interaction between participants in the work process via the Web and the attraction of resources available there. For most firms and independent designers in our country, this is not yet a necessity, especially considering the data exchange speeds that domestic providers and telephone lines are able to provide. Therefore, we will not talk about the specific features of this latest sub-version of the product here.

Autodesk has also released the AutoCAD Architectural Desktop product, which is a means of automating the architectural design process. This is not about him either. AutoCAD Architectural Desktop specific tools are an add-on to the original AutoCAD environment, and the same applies to them as said about other applications.

The description of the “manual” technique may highlight for some the advantages and disadvantages of software products for similar purposes for various graphic environments. I foresee an objection that there is no need to spend so much effort and time in AutoCAD on things that ArchiCAD or Allplan, for example, solve with a bang. Some, on the contrary, will find it convenient to have complete control over the technology and will prefer the versatility of AutoCAD to the comfort of limited freedom offered by some products, including those mentioned above.

My attitude to this is: “let a hundred flowers bloom.” There is no program that completely satisfies the needs of the designer. Each of them has some advantages over competitors; following the same logic, it inevitably lags behind them in some way. Cross-borrowing of ideas and fierce competition in a limited market ensure the dynamic development of professional tools for designers, which ultimately benefits the end user, that is, you and me.

Since many AutoCAD users have not yet left the environment of the previous, version 14, I would like to say a few words for them. The transition to version 2000 is justified. Almost without adding any fundamentally new tools and capabilities to the designers' arsenal, AutoCAD 2000 brought a superbly thought-out and implemented working environment that can significantly reduce design time. With intensive work, the economic effect is clearly visible. And it is useful for immediate users to take note that the new version is very comfortable and helps reduce fatigue. In presenting the material, I will focus primarily on AutoCAD 2000, making separate reservations for R14 users. Most of the actions described here can also be done in AutoCAD R14, but in a less convenient way.

To solve most of the graphical tasks in construction design, the cheaper AutoCAD LT 2000 can also be effectively used, which is greatly reduced in terms of functions for volumetric modeling and visualization, but is significantly less resource-intensive and allows you to work effectively on, let’s say, not the latest technology. If AutoCAD LT is not applicable for certain procedures, this will be specifically stated; in other cases, what is said about AutoCAD 2000 will apply to it.

Features of the construction theme

Construction drawing and modeling, using mainly the capabilities and methods inherent in any area of ​​design activity, has some features that should be taken into account when choosing a specific set of tools from the general palette.

Scale

Building designers deal primarily with very large objects, measured in tens or even hundreds of meters in each direction, while millimeters are used as units for measuring distances. Although working in the AutoCAD environment, like most CAD programs, involves the use of a real scale, that is, 1:1, and the scale for displaying images on solid media is assigned only when setting up printing options, nevertheless, during the work process, the expected scale can be completely ignored it won't work. In addition to the designed geometry, drawings, as a rule, contain many design elements: inscriptions, callouts, dimension designations, shading, broken lines. All of them, being displayed on solid media, must be presented correctly on them. Thus, it is necessary to think in advance about the size of such elements both in relation to the geometry contained in the drawing and in relation to the paper sheet itself. Along with the fact that each of the listed elements has its own way of adjusting the scale, various methods for generating finished drawings are also possible, suggesting different ways of taking into account the scale of the displayed image.

Workspace

When starting a drawing, it is necessary to have at hand and before your eyes an area of ​​the drawing sufficient to accommodate all parts of the designed object. By default, when starting a program or creating a new drawing, the visible area of ​​its space is much smaller than what a construction designer might need. The maximum area that can be quickly visually accessed by AutoCAD screen operations is user-configurable and is called drawing limits. The assigned limits should slightly exceed the total overall dimensions of the designed object - so that in the maximum visible area of ​​the drawing there is room for the previously mentioned design tools.

A large number of objects in drawings

When designing construction projects, as a rule, simple geometry is used for each individual building element, but any simple drawing or model contains a lot of such elements.

On the one hand, the simplicity of geometry eliminates the need to describe complex shapes (which, for example, automobile designers have to do). On the other hand, the high saturation of drawings forces us to take care of cost-effective solutions for system resources. This here means the correct choice of primitive types on the basis of which a logical object is formed, and the optimal method for creating them. The selected primitives must be as economical as possible in terms of the required system resources and optimally editable from the point of view of the context of their application.

Repeating objects

The multitude of objects contained in a construction drawing or model, as a rule, can be attributed only to a limited number of standard sizes, within which the objects themselves are repeated absolutely identical copies.

In this regard, functions that allow you to create copies of objects and their arrays are becoming very popular. In addition, some objects, once created, can then be reused not only in the current, but also in subsequent drawings. AutoCAD provides tools that allow you to create, store, and easily access these objects for reuse. Due to this need, due attention should be paid to named groups of primitives, internal and external blocks, and external references.

Identically mutable objects

Being identical, repeated objects, as a rule, must change synchronously. When you use blocks and xrefs, changes you make to one object apply to multiple identical objects in the drawing. Such global editing is one of the most important means of increasing the productivity of the performer.

Extracting quantitative information

As a rule, objects of the same type require taking into account the number of their occurrences in the drawing. This is necessary to determine the consumption of construction products, building materials and funds. For the same purpose, it is necessary to determine the length, area and volume of objects or areas formed by them. AutoCAD contains commands for automatically measuring geometric objects, displaying the results on the screen for review. To count occurrences of blocks, special objects called attributes are used that are embedded in them. Block attributes store editable text or numeric information, which can then be retrieved and processed in external programs to generate reporting documents.

Connectivity of information in different documents

During the design process, local changes in individual drawings are made constantly; they must be promptly taken into account and, if necessary, reflected in all other drawings of the project. Ideally, this transfer of information should be done automatically. This is achievable with proper organization of work both on each individual drawing and globally, within the entire working group. Various drawing documents are generated based on common initial graphic information. As a rule, these are basic general construction drawings: plans, facades, sections. The formation of the remaining drawings consists solely of filtering the original graphic information (leaving walls and openings, excluding filling of openings) and adding special information to it, but not at all in revising the basic geometry. You can eliminate multiple duplication of master data by providing access to it from various drawings using external links. This method allows all project documents to use updated master graphics data as soon as changes are made to them. The same purpose is served by the rational organization of a set of layers, which allows, if necessary, to create in one file many different drawing documents that immediately reflect changes made in any of them.

Parallel work of a group of performers on a common document

Sometimes it is necessary to ensure the collaboration of several executors on one document. This may be necessary, for example, if, in parallel with the start of design work, clarifying field measurements are carried out. In the standard case, after creating a refined construction basis, the developed drawings will have to be adjusted, mechanically duplicating the desk part of the measurements. If the construction base exists as a separate source drawing, to which external references are made from parallel project drawings, they can be updated automatically and immediately as changes are made to such a base. In a similar way, by means of references to models of individual floors of a building carried out by various performers, it is possible to assemble its complete model and, on its basis, form other projections and sections.

Formation of types of flat projections of three-dimensional models

AutoCAD allows for a different approach to the formation of facades and sections of designed buildings. They can be formed manually from flat base primitives in a similar way to what happens with paper drawing, which cannot be considered the optimal method, but is sometimes necessary. In addition, vertical projections can be obtained by setting up appropriate views of the volumetric model in paper space viewports, which can significantly reduce workload and provide dynamic associative feedback of such projections to the original model. And yet, automatically generated projections do not always provide a completely correct image: for example, they may contain extra lines along the joints of parts of the walls. Therefore, a method is often used to automatically obtain, based on a model, flat editable images of its projections, which can then be modified using conventional AutoCAD tools. This is especially justified when the building being designed must have complex decor, which is impractical to reproduce in a three-dimensional model, but must be reflected in the drawings. In other cases, on the contrary, even if the task of creating a three-dimensional model is not set, it may be technologically easier to create it in all details to form facades or parts thereof, rather than trying to capture the visual reduction of decor along walls curved in plan using flat drawing.

Frequent output of intermediate drawings

In the process of working on a project, it is necessary to produce intermediate drawings very often - including for issuing assignments, coordination with the customer and subcontractors. This makes it relevant to print drawing documents from layouts pre-formed in sheet space. This setup requires no more time than preparing a one-time print from model space, but eliminates the need to do it again. Many such layouts can be created in any file for different printing conditions. The customized layout is sent to an external device instantly and does not require additional control when printing, which saves time when performing routine auxiliary operations, which can be used to solve creative problems. In some cases, it may be useful to replace the output of drawings on hard media by generating compact files of a special format that allow you to view their contents and make printouts without launching AutoCAD. Since these files cannot be edited, you can be sure that your design materials will not be used by competitors when you hand over your drawings to the customer in this form.

Speed ​​of change

Current market conditions and the frequent parallelization of the design and construction processes (albeit contrary to the legal order) impose strict requirements on design deadlines and the efficiency of taking into account the customer’s wishes during the work process. Additional productivity tools are of great help here, including those included in the additional Express menu group in AutoCAD 2000. Some of the tools presented here allow you to reduce the time spent on individual operations by several times, and even tens of times. For example, masked blocks, simultaneous cropping of multiple contour objects along a selected edge, layer management operations, and some others deserve close attention.

Presentation visualization

Presentation visualization is an extremely important part of construction design. It is performed both in the early stages to attract the customer, and at the end of work on the project in order to obtain its approval. Most often, special visualization programs are used for this type of work. However, AutoCAD contains a fairly powerful module for preparing photorealistic images, allowing you to flexibly adjust the point of view and lighting, assign visual properties of real materials to parts of buildings, apply special effects that simulate natural observation conditions, and fit buildings into a photographic background that reproduces the real environment. In most cases, these capabilities are sufficient for working with construction projects.

Agreements

With this opus I begin a series of articles devoted to the methodological aspects of using AutoCAD in construction design. You have already become acquainted with the approximate list of topics that I would like to touch upon above, although I am not inclined to regard this list as dogma when presenting the material in more detail.

What will be described is what I use and has proven itself in practice. However, the choice of tools is a purely individual matter. Therefore, I want to make it clear in advance that you, the reader, are responsible to yourself and your employers for the decision to follow these recommendations or not.

Your questions related to the topics covered can be directed to the editorial office.