Drafting Etiquette: What's your favorite?

[architech]

With AutoCAD do's & don'ts... there's do's & don'ts for drafting:

Like.....

Fonts! One size for all notes! Titles may vary to TWO diferent sizes but always the same font style.

The leader when on the left side should begin at the end of the sentence NOT the top line as in if it were on the right side.

All the notes should align for details.

In fact on a detail sheet when the detals stack on each other.... all the notes should align to each other ... even though each detail is in its own box.

:cup:

[VERYCIVILDRAFTER]

I don't know why it gets to me but, 90degree text should be readable from the RIGHT!!!

[csiarch]

VCD: Agree with you 100% but if you want to read some strong opinions, go to the Autodesk forum and read the posts on this subject. A lot of it falls into the category of: "...on all MY projects....".

Archtech: Don't quite understand your comments on leaders and locations w/respect to text. I define notes w/leaders as a dimension style then use Qleader>Settings to set their location in relation to text. This is in 2002. I don't know how many people do this but from reading about the difficulties people have with leaders on the Autodesk forum, I have to assume they're just clicking on quickleader and struggling with the results. Defiining them as a dimension style allows for certain control and positioning features that make adding notes w/leaders a LOT simpler.

My gripe about etiquette: NOT making layer 0 current and NOT zooming extents before saving a drawing to be sent to consultants.

Perennial Gripe: People who redefine "Standard" text style.

Cheers......

[civiltech1680]

I know this is an old thread, but I just joined, and skimming through the postings came across this thread... God yes. I agree with you all. And the worst offenders are the bosses.

[Eddie]

Welcome to the forum civiltech1680

[tinsmith]

I don't know why it gets to me but, 90degree text should be readable from the RIGHT!!!

It's supposed to be....like a bound set of drawings.

[civiltech1680]

Welcome to the forum civiltech1680

Thanks Eddie. I've been looking for something a little more centered around the design/drafter as opposed to the licensed engineer, and it looks like this is the spot.

[civiltech1680]

You guys know I just started at a new firm. To say the least it's been a little difficult. I come from a pretty laid back firm, without any real daily pressures. I'm only into this new job 6 days now, and it seems everything they give me is a hassle.

Yesterday, 'to keep me busy' I was give three profiles to revise. The sanitary pipes needed some revisions, additions and updating. Well, it took me well almost two hours just to figure out the plan view runs, re-import them, and import the alignments. The plan view basemap was so cluttered I couldn't even locate the run locations on the site until I froze like two million layers.

Once I had identified and located the runs and re-imported them, I noticed that they were not what was drawn in the plan view. So I went looking for the profiles, which took me another half hour. Then, when I went to what I thought was the right profile, when I tried to set it current, it wasn't recognized. (The profiles had been moved/disassociated from their alignments. Great.) Then I noticed that the locations and pipes were different than what was on the plan view currently, not including the revisions I was asked to make. (The profiles had been revised manually, by hand, and the data did not match the pipe run editor.) So, here we are three hours in to when I go to the head drafting guy and inform him of the problem, and that the runs will have to be edited, but that since they've already been disassociated and changed manually at least twice already, it would be easier to just do the same thing. (Which I very much don't like, but for these revisions would be easier than editing the locations of the pipe nodes and re-associating the runs with their alignments and rerunning all of the profiles. (The profiles have numerous hand drawn elements which would have to be blocked out and then replaced.)

This makes me look so bad. I don't like it. I think the one who make the manual revisions was the engineer's daughter, home from college. I'm also starting to have additional jobs placed on me, and it's always "How long do you think this will take?" and I just can't say because of the poor organization of these drawings, and that simple edits are now redraws. I'm really kinda pissed off about this, and that most of the engineers don't realize what goes into these drawings/models. I'm worried that due to poor cadd on someone else's part will really make me look inefficient and incapable when I'm trying to prove myself.

[mad@cad]

Yikes Civil, it sucks to be the new kid in school. Especially with the bosses daughter messing things up. I've seen that movie and the ending blew. You may want to find a polite way to mention why you are slower than normal, before it snowballs, maybe after you get a project of you own and amaze them with your quickness ? I'm sure you'll be fine.. Good luck!!

You are not the only one surrounded by idiots.

[civiltech1680]

Well, it's not nice "drafting etiquette!!" I dealt with one of the 'bosses daughter' at my last job, and this girl is nothing like the old bosses' daughter! This one tries, and works while she's there... that's better than looking at fingernails and cell phone texting.

Actually, out of all the people in the bullpen, it's probably me and the lead draftsman that talk the most... but it's all about the jobs, and cadd, and processes and procedures. He was very in tune with me on the disassocated pipe runs and profiles, and he told me he knew the drill, and not to worry about it. I never used to be the worrying kind, but man, this place needs to emplace some draconian rules to enforce the standards. Considering the knowledge of the lead drafter and the "IT Guy" I would think they would be using all the tools available in autodesk to enforce that.

[jimithing]

I love exploding dimensions!! that's my fave!! hehe

[deke01]

I love exploding dimensions!! that's my fave!! hehe

and forcing colors!

[VERYCIVILDRAFTER]

Could you file this under; "Dumb little things that make me angry but shouldn't."

Small frequently used Blocks that have embedded entities with forced colors, linetypes and any layer other 0.

When I find a block with forced colors and lintypes I think "The person that made this is:
A) Inexperienced and needs some serious training
B) must have had a very specific reason to do this and I should ask around
C) May have had a serious brain injury

When I find a block with entities on anything other than Layer Zero I think "The person that did this is:
A) A lazy #$!^@
B) in need of a serious brain injury!

[tinsmith]

We have a guy that draws on layer 0 & text....I love it!

[NukeCad]

When I find a block with entities on anything other than Layer Zero I think "The person that did this is:
A) A lazy #$!^@
B) in need of a serious brain injury!


Forgive me but;

In all the official AutoCAD manuals and literature that I have ever read, it clearly states that layer Zero (and defpoints) should NOT be used for drawing / dimensions / text / etc. and only by AutoCAD itself.

Has this changed with later revisions??

[VERYCIVILDRAFTER]

Layer zero is actually really handy when used as the one and only layer in an small uncomplicated block.

Doing so can prevent confusion with multiple copies of a block and then grouped (organized) by various layers. Like separating a pile of M&M's by color. (The M&M's being blocks and the color being a drawing layer)

When dozens of different blocks are inserted into a drawing having their base layer as Zero avoids excess layers being added to a drawing.

[Cad_Monkey]

My Favorites


Circular referencing within Xrefs
Random layers and Layer Names
Titleblock or border in Model Space
Exploded Hatchs
Corrupting Drawings by copying from one drawing to the net to the next to the next and so on
north arrow pointing down the page
Unlocked Viewports
leaders "Doubling Back" on themselves instead of changing which end of the text the leader comes out of or shifting the text
drafters plotting and throwing plans back to me without "looking" over them
Users not opening read only when just "Checking which layer that line was in"
Rotated & Scaled Xrefs


That is my little whinge. along with users not "Maintaining" Drawings and then whinging about corruptions caused by that.