Plans & Dimensions - CAD

[aczeller]

hey folks, just thought i'd offer my services. if anyone has noticed my intro thread, i explain that I am VERY new to welding, however, i have a lot of experience with drafting, designing, and engineering. if anyone would like to talk to me, I am more than willing to draw up some stuff in 2D plan format, 3D renderings, cut sheets, material lists, & what not. i know it can be easier to just free-Ball... i mean free-hand things:laugh: , but if you would like a nice set of prints, let me know. i draft for a living, so you can be assured that I can give you professional grade plans and drawings. just let me know.

Later,
Andy

[DetailerDave]

Hey Andy- What do you normally draw? And with what? My handle should give you a hint as to what I do. ;) Anywho, welcome to the forum, if you haven't heard it elsewhere.

[aczeller]

I normally draw anything I can think of. I have done things very VERY intricate, all the way to structural blueprints for a school. I once took a transmission pump from an Astro van and measured it all up with a micrometer and calipers and drew it in 3d and rendered it for a school competition. it took me a few (6-8) weeks, but now that i've been drafting for a living for about 4 or 5 years now, i could probably do it a little faster. not to mention that i was only able to measure and draw it up for 2-3 hours a week. right now i design wastewater treatment plant machinery. www.vulcanindustries.com. it's pretty interesting. we make most of our stuff out of 304 or 316 (~95%) and the rest is usually some form of carbon steel. anyway, i use AutoCAD 2000 LT at work and AutoCAD 2008 at home. also, i noticed your picture... VERY NICE!!!! i love the V10 Triton. my parents have a 2003 Excursion. it sucks gas, but it'll haul darn near anything you put behind it. so anyway, what do you do/use?

[Steve.Carson]

How did you get 2008 at home? I've been wanting to get Autocad for home for awhile now. I used to have it back in the day from competitions in college, but that was so long ago that my computer is too new to run it! I use 07 at work (I design Ports and Harbors). Our licenses are on a network, so it's not like I could just bring the disk home like the old days.

[aczeller]

he he he... well... i used to work for a general contractor a few months ago who knew absolutly nothing about CAD. i talked him into getting 08 full edition so he could get renderings and 3D stuff and then he stopped sending me work. i don't know why. i thought everything was going great and we had a good working relationship, but now he won't return any of my calls or e-mails. so i've given up on him and figured i know have a free version of 08. i don't know why, but i get lucky like that pretty often.

[Steve.Carson]

Thats awesome! Do you feel limited at all with LT? It's just 2D instead of 3D right? Are any of the other functions missing from it?

[aczeller]

personally, i hate LT. most of the stuff i do at work is large mechanical stuff (machinery) that is set at angles. it'd be a lot easier to make cut sheets if i had a full-blown version. A LOT easier. other than that, yeah, LT is pretty much the same as full, except for there is no 3D in LT, there's a few missing commands (SKETCH is one), and i think some of the plotting options are a little different, but i've never had any problems. LT is able to be run on a MUCH slower computer too, which sucks. it's much much harder to justify why i need a super-computer... ;P. hehehehe.

[aczeller]

i almost forgot to mention... you can still do 3D wireframes, but you have to do the coordinate method to lay out your points. (type in your x,y,z points individually). this leaves no room for error, and unless you are making a "3-4-5" triangle, it's kind of difficult to make most of your angles correct. you can also move your UCS around and you can still get the 3D viewpoints, but it still won't render or create extusions/solids. in order to shell something, (i've never done it) you can go in and change your UCS to match the face you are trying to modify, then hatch it using the solid fill (or whatever you want), then switch to the next face of the object, etc. that only owkrs for flat faces. you're on your own trying to figure out how to fill in a fillet or round. i don't know how to take screen shots, or else i'd post a few pictures explaining what i'm talking about. in short, if you're going to buy AutoCAD, buy the whole thing. LT is pointless unless you are just trying to make basic 2D pictures. other than thet, you'll jsut be sitting there wishing you would have bought the full version to save yourself hours of time. you can download a trial version at www.autodesk.com. it only works for 30 days and the full version (depending on the software pack) can be anywhere from 1000 to over 4000 bucks (i think that's what it is anymore. i havn't checked lately.)

[Steve.Carson]

Yeah it's expensive. When I looked it was around 3800. I was thinking of buying a laptop and use that for work, then have the IT guys do their magic to let me get a license from home. It's funny that it's cheaper to buy the computer than to buy the software.

[DetailerDave]

I use a true 3D modeling program for structural stuff. It does piping and pretty much whatever you want. Any non-standard parts, I can make up, and save to use anywhere, like flanges, etc. The program allows me to see from any viewpoint, whether there will be an interference, etc on unusual stuff. I also have AutoCad 2005 LT here at work, but am in the "dark ages" at home with AutoCad R14, lol.

[wannabe_welder]

but now that i've been drafting for a living for about 4 or 5 years now,

Your profile says you're 20, yet you've been doing this for 4 or 5 years? What's your charge out rate per hour? What kind of equipment do you have to put together drawing packages? Can you get drawings stamped? Always in the market for detailers and designers.

[Josh705]

Are you still doing the CAD things? I need some help with a part, and the machinist needs a CAD drawing to do the work.

[aczeller]

Are you still doing the CAD things?


Always... just let me know what you need and i can get it done... I sent you an AIM message about it.

Later,
Andy

[Stuckwldr]

I need to learn how do do the 3d end of CAD. I have been using CAD, self taught for awhile, but I only use it in 2d. How well does Al's steel mill work in 3d?

[aczeller]

I need to learn how do do the 3d end of CAD. I have been using CAD, self taught for awhile, but I only use it in 2d. How well does Al's steel mill work in 3d?
i have never used Al's steel mill... never had a need for it... what program do you use? maybe i can help.

Later,
Andy

[Josh705]

And as a reference, Aczeller does great drawings.

[Stuckwldr]

i have never used Al's steel mill... never had a need for it... what program do you use? maybe i can help.

Later,
Andy

Do you have an add on program that instantly draws all of your steel shapes, other than Als? Al's is just a .lsp program that has the shapes already drawn for you(you probably already knew that).

[aczeller]

Do you have an add on program that instantly draws all of your steel shapes, other than Als? Al's is just a .lsp program that has the shapes already drawn for you(you probably already knew that).

Stuck... no i don't have any other programs/lisp routines. i do not have a need for one since i do not use very many standard shapes since most of our stuff is custom-bent/formed shapes from S steel. usually 10 GA or 1/4" plate. when i worked for Northern Natural gas as a draftsman for their underground pipeline system, we had a guy in the office write up our own lisp routines. they came in very handy as they included only the pipe sizes that we used and/or cared about drawing in our projects (2"-36" nominal diameters). they included the elbows, pipes, valves (multiple types), tees, flanges, etc. however, as far as currently, i do not use any. i have heard no bad things about Al's Steel Mill, but i also have not heard much about it at all.

Later,
Andy

[aczeller]

And as a reference, Aczeller does great drawings.

Thanks Josh.

Later,
Andy

[juice]

Hey Andy. Im looking at building a deck for my back yard. Ive been playing round with a few designs on scrap pieces of paper. a little help would be great. How much are you charging??

[aczeller]

Hey Andy. Im looking at building a deck for my back yard. Ive been playing round with a few designs on scrap pieces of paper. a little help would be great. How much are you charging??


check your PM's.

Later,
Andy