New guy - Where to focus effor

PbsFinest · 发表于 2022-7-7 18:30:42

I just stumbled across this website while trying to find information on autodesk training. I have to say, I am glad I did! There seems to be an abundance of useful information.

My background: I work for a light commercial/residential construction company. Last year, I graduated with a degree in construction management. Through the course of the program, there were several cad classes. My first semester was basic Autocad, but every class after that dealt with Revit Architecture. I haven't had any formal training with Autocad Architecture.

My dilema: I finally conivinced my boss to step up and buy some real software. We now have the Building Design Suite Premium 2012 which contains all of the Autocad programs, all of the Revit Programs, as well as a few others. I really don't know where to focus my efforts in learning the software. I am far more comfortable with Revit than Autocad, but every contractor/engineer/architect I work with uses autocad.

Would I be better off learning the program that they use, or should I just stick with Revit? How does that affect the communication between the two systems? If I design a project with Revit, how will it translate to the programs they use? Vice-Versa?

Thanks guys!

Jack_O'nei · 发表于 2022-7-7 18:38:45

Back in the old days we never turned over our original drawing (board work) - always a copy.
Somewhere along the line too many people turned over the original Intellectual Property (IP) in the form of editable dwg files.
Now everyone expects native files (usually dwg).

If you can get away with it - I would only release pdf files or printed paper and if the customer requires dwg then tell them it will be extra cost (then figure out what you need to do to get the design into dwg). If that requires learning AutoCAD, well, good luck!

Tiger · 发表于 2022-7-7 18:47:33

I am from Missouri, USA.

My boss suggested that we use AutoCAD, so we can send and receive the project information easier. He really doesn't care either way, as long as the job gets done. I am far more confident with Revit that AutoCAD. There seems to be quite a bit more newer information available with Revit than with AutoCAD.

The software package came with several hours free classroom-training. There are a number of courses available. I wasn't sure if I should spend this in AutoCAD training, or if I should further my knowledge of Revit. I agree that Revit is the future, but I don't know how long it will be before the people around me embrace this idea.

tzframpton · 发表于 2022-7-7 18:59:29

That doesn't matter. Like I said before, if they want a DWG file, then send them one. To them, it doesn't matter what program you use just so as long as they can get the DWG file they want. But you'll still use AutoCAD for some things. Instead of signing up for courses, just stick with this site. Post up questions when you need it, and just provide what you're doing and what your goal is, and let the community guide you along.
And your boss suggested that you use AutoCAD because he doesn't understand the benefits of Revit. Any Revit user will tell you to drop AutoCAD for most things. Not all things, but most.

JD Mather · 发表于 2022-7-7 19:06:34

Depending on what it is, I disagree. If a company hires me to create curtainwall, window and door details and shop drawings based on the product they've chosen to put in their building, why should I pay them for the dwg files? When they do that, it's costs them a considerable hourly rate for me to redraw from the paper drawings or pdfs, when they could save that money by sending me the dwg. I don't pay people to let me work for them. They can either furnish it, or pay me to redraw stuff they've already drawn.

If I'm going to do any "value added" work to someone's drawings, they are going to pay me to do it, not the other way round.

PbsFinest · 发表于 2022-7-7 19:09:16

I would echo Tanner's suggestion to stick with Revit for one significant reason: You will likely become far more efficient and productive with Revit than AutoCAD. I believe Revit will provide with a lot more tools to encompass the whole spectrum of design and construction documents. That plus the fact you are more familiar with it.

Jack_O'nei · 发表于 2022-7-7 19:30:09

That I agree with. It's the suggestion of charging for doing so with which I take issue. If you are going to pay someone else to do more or subsequent work on a drawing, why send a pdf or paper drawing and pay them even more to redraw what you've already done? Or charge them for asking for it so they can save you time and money? I just hate to see someone else get that silly idea planted in his head. If you look at my very first post, I said then that if a Revit user is working with AutoCAD users, the Revit person would have to export to dwg, did I not?

Now if this is a set of say, house plans that will be sold to multiple customers, I can see trying to protect the work you did. But if someone has the ability to take your dwg file and harm your business in some way, he probably has the ability to do that from a pdf or paper copy too. The idea of protecting "intellectual property" looks great on paper and you can get up and tell the suits that run the company that you "never send out computer information" and they will congratulate you for being resourceful and looking out for the company, but when you give that set of plans to someone else outside your walls, be it on paper, in a pdf, or any other form, you have exposed your intellectual property. You can only hope that you are dealing with someone honest enough to not take that and run with it. Non-disclosure agreements help with that, but think about it for a minute....the only thing you've protected by sending someone a paper drawing is your layering scheme, printer settings, and layout tab management. Everything else about your product is printed on the page! Who cares about layers (or that other stuff)? You can name them anything you want, why would anyone care what someone else does? Modern PDF software even preserves the layers, so if you send them that, you give that away too. If you are worried that there's some super secret block that might get out, open the drawing, do a saveas, then hit explode, type in "all" and purge. Takes all of a half a minute. The idea of never giving out the electronic drawing file, be it dwg or otherwise is based on flawed logic.

Patrick Hughes · 发表于 2022-7-7 19:38:00

If a company tried to charge us for CAD files then we will simply drop that company from our lists when contracting out to disciplines and won't do business with them again.

I'm still a beginner user in Revit although I don't like it. At the end of the day though, if I want a CAD file from someone I don't care how it was done so long as it comes into AutoCad/Civil 3D in a compatible format and is not a million short lines or all on layer 0 etc.

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