Why learn CAD?

In many different disciplines, the advent of CAD has radically changed the way professionals work. The aim of this set of notes is to provide some 'in-depth' guidance if you are are working in the shop fitting/kitchen manufacturing area and are considering the purchase of CAD software and training.

The software tool to use - a cautionary note

There are many different generic CAD programs on the market – AutoCAD, IntelliCAD, Caddsman, Design Cad 3D, TurboCAD, Qikdraw, Catia, Solidworks, IronCAD, MicroStation, MiniCAD, Foresight, LisCAD, WESCOM, TiCAD, SketchUp to name but a few. There are also 'stand alone' and 'add-on' software tools which are specific to the shop fitting and kitchen design disciplines. They all have various strengths and weaknesses and vary considerably in cost.

Perhaps the most important thing to note is that they mostly save their drawing file in different file formats, variously called .DWG, .DGN, .CTA, .VEC etc. Because the file formats differ, moving data from one CAD program to another is not necessarily a trivial task, so you need to 'get it right' when making the choice of software for you, especially if you need to accept work from others and pass your work on to associates.

The safe choice is AutoCAD (or its clone IntelliCAD). One estimate is that 90% of all CAD drawing in Australia are draw with these tools.

Charting a way forward

Stage 1:

By far the majority of drafting is straightforward 2D drafting. The figure below shows several rather typical shop layout drawings.

2D Layout for a supermarket.

2D layout for kitchen.

Another 2D layout for a simple kitchen.

IntelliCAD, the AutoCAD compatible clone offers the most cost effective method of producing drawings such as this - $AUD350.00. Here is a link to a specification sheet for the software.

Learning to use IntelliCAD (or AutoCAD for that matter) requires persistence. The most cost effective way to do this is by ELearning. Here is a link to our eLearning web site - http://www.softwaretutor.net

For $AUD250.00 you can take the course 'QuickStart CAD'. For many people, that is enough to get you started and produce drawings such as those above. Thus your investment to this stage is a modest $600.00 [There are 2D other courses at http://www.softwaretutor.net should you require them. [Basic CAD 1, Basic CAD 2 and Using Model Space & Space]

Stage 1 is then complete.

** Do not progress past this point until you can confidently produce drawings such as those shown above.

Stage 2:

IntelliCAD (and of course the much more expensive AutoCAD) can be used to produce 3D design work. You simply learn to extrude 2D entities.

Bench seat model by Tom Kerin. Images taken from IntelliCAD 6.

Entities are simply extruded to create 3D geometry.

Extruding rectangles to form items for a shop fit out.

Quite complex 3D shapes can be formed (as wire frame models) using command such as RULESURF, EDGESURF and REVSURF.

The models can be rendered.

Store layout in wireframe view.

Perspective viewing can be turned on

And rendered in perspective mode (no materials have yet been selected).

Our course on 3D Cad at http://www.softwarertutor.net can teach you how to constrict 3D models (cost $AUD250.00)

Stage 2 is now complete. Again, do not move on to the next stage till you can build 3D models in IntelliCAD.

Stage 3:

We move the model into SketchUp for some simple rendering.

Our course Using SketchUp at http://www.softwaretutor.net teaches you how to do this. It is possible to cast shadows, set the location, turn on XRay views etc.

Stage 4

If more sophisticated rendering is required, you move your CAD model to specialist ray tracing software.

Here we select materials for walls and furnishings, set up light sources and apply ray tracing rendering.

Stage 4 is now complete.

Our distance program

We have spent many years developing a learning system which mimics a personal one-on-one approach. Our distance students tell us that it nice to know that there is someone on the other side of the computer screen, no matter how far away they are from a major centre. We also support you by email, a support section on this web site and if broadband eLearning is chosen, by Q&A forums associated with the individual course.

We have successfully taught students in remote areas of all Australian states (and Christmas Island) in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, South Africa, New Zealand, Dubai, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Determining your training needs

You first step in determining a suitable training program for your needs should be to make sure that you understand what it is that you want to achieve i.e. you need at the outset to define your aims. 

There are many possible scenarios:

• You may simply want to know what CAD programs can do for your own interest. If that is the case, then read some of the more general articles on CAD in the support section of this web site. We have for example, published articles on choosing the correct CAD software, working in 3D, sending CAD drawings to laser cutting firms etc. You can also get a feel for what CAD entails by playing some of the movies from the syllabus pages of our CAD courses on our broadband learning site. As mentioned, we have developed an AutoCAD clone and you can certainly get a feel for how CAD works by visiting http://www.gardencad.net, download a copy of our GardenCAD software, install it and try it out. We provide some sample drawings for you to 'play with' and have also set up a free course on the use of GardenCAD CAD software.

• Alternatively, you might be interested in CAD because you have been asked to manage a team of drafting staff involved in a major project, but do not necessarily want become CAD proficient yourself. If this is the case, we suggest that you enrol for our QuickStart CAD course ($250.00 by broadband learning). This course, 'QuickStart CAD - An Introduction to Computer Aided Design', focuses on the overall process of taking a design idea to a CAD drawing (model) in the computer and finally to print of that design on paper. Please note that the course does not go into any detail about the mechanism of performing each step in the process. Thus QuickStart CAD is suitable for those who want to know what CAD is all about, i.e. architectural, engineering and other managers and professionals who want to understand what the CAD process entails and what they can expect from CAD drafting by their staff and consultants. It is also suitable for those who might be contemplating a career in CAD drafting, or apprentices who must complete a certain amount of exposure to CAD as part of their training. It is a low cost first step to 'put your toe in the water' and sample our materials. QuickStart CAD can be taken as a broadband course costs ($AUD250.00) and requires about 20-30 hours of your time, (and more if you take advantage of the Q&A and submit exercises forums). Experience shows us that many students do better with this form of training than they do with group or one-on-one training as they can take their time and there is no sense of competition. Finally, if you do not have fast broadband access, QuickStart CAD can also be taken by CD-ROM which we post to you. Special pricing applies.

• Finally, you may have decided that you want to acquire professional CAD drafting skills and earn at least part of your income by producing CAD design work. If this is the case, you will need to do more study. We suggest that you take the QuickStart CAD course first, perhaps by broadband learning to keep your learning costs low, confirm that you like our learning system and then enrol in three more courses which follow one after the other. These courses are: Basic CAD 1, Basic CAD 2  plus Paper Space & Model Space - courses which will take > 100 hours of study and lead to CAD competency. You can certainly take these course by distance learning but might prefer to take some or all of these latter courses in our design studio in Adelaide or Canberra. The cost is $AUD 750.00 for a day's training (one day per course), but if you can get two colleagues to take the course with you, the cost can be shared among the three of you.

• We then offer discipline specific workshops and for those for which it is appropriate, a course in how to produce design work in 3D.

This latter step - enrolling in full scale CAD learning requires a major commitment of your time and effort and should not be entered into lightly.

The sequence of courses leading to a professional drafting standard

Enrol in our QuickStart CAD plus  Basic CAD 1, Basic CAD 2  plus Paper Space & Model Space courses which lead to CAD competency.

This series of courses will cost $AUD3000.00 ($AUD750.00 per course) when taken one-on-one in-house for up to three students at a time ($1000 per student, $3000 if you are on your own) and $AUD1000.00 when taken as a broadband distance student).

Please note that you do need to allocate considerable time if you choose this option (>100 hours practicing skills that we have taught you) in addition to the formal course instruction (approx 20 -30 hours per course). The figure below shows a schematic outline of the course sequence.

When you have completed these and begun creating a reasonable number of working drawings, it's time to take some more courses, particularly the CAD workshops.

The CAD software to use

The most commonly used CAD software in Australia (and in many other parts of the world) is AutoCAD. It is general purpose software and is used by professionals in fields as diverse as surveying, landscape architecture, circuit board design, mechanical engineering, architecture, electrical engineering, boatbuilding, monumental masonry and so on. There is really no limit to the use to which the software can be put; it is even used by some graphic designers to create logos.

AutoCAD is quite expensive (approx $AUD6,500.00), and the company that makes it (Autodesk) encourages you to pay an annual maintenance/upgrade fee to them. This annual fee can be as high as $AUD750.00).

Even though our company owns several AutoCAD licenses, we sell and support IntelliCAD, a much cheaper alternative to AutoCAD which we sell for ($AUD350.00). We can do this because the commands that you use in AutoCAD to produce drawings are replicated in IntelliCAD.

Note that there are different versions of AutoCAD and IntelliCAD and also other CAD software, so obtain some expert advice before 'putting your money down'.

As mentioned, we produce out own CAD software and you can certainly use it to get a feel for Computer Aided Design. Please visit http://www.gardencad.net for more details.

If you would like more information on your choice of CAD software, click here to visit our support pages where the topic is discussed.

Learning to use CAD software - word of warning!

Although the user interfaces in modern CAD software are very intuitive, learning to use CAD software to produce professional drawings is not a trivial exercise; it is not difficult, but you need to commit to CAD and allocate sufficient time to 'come up to speed'.  Producing CAD drawings using CAD software is certainly not as simple as using Microsoft Word where with minimal instruction, raw beginners can 'knock out' an acceptable piece of work, such as a letter or report, in a very short space of time.