But that efficiency takes skill and practice. CAD modifications are a lot cleaner, too.Įfficiency: Creating many kinds of drawings is faster with a CAD program - especially drawings that involve repetition, such as floor plans in a multistory building.

Modifiability: Drawings are much easier to modify on the computer screen than on paper. Precision: Creating lines, circles, and other shapes of the exactly correct dimensions is easier with AutoCAD than with pencils. Why bother? The key reasons for using AutoCAD rather than pencil and paper are The up-front investment to use AutoCAD is certainly more expensive than the investment needed to use pencil and paper, and the learning curve is much steeper, too.

The drawings you create with AutoCAD must adhere to standards established long ago for handdrafted drawings. AutoCAD ushered in the transition from really expensive mainframe and minicomputer CAD systems costing tens of thousands of dollars to merely expensive microcomputer CAD programs costing a few thousand dollars.ĪutoCAD is, first and foremost, a program to create technical drawings drawings in which measurements and precision are important, because these kinds of drawings often get used to build something. This book guides you around the bumps and minimizes the bruises.ĪutoCAD has been around a long time - since 1982. AutoCAD is pretty well integrated into the Windows environment now, but you still bump into some vestiges of its MS-DOS legacy - especially the command line (that text area lurking at the bottom of the AutoCAD screen - see Chapter 2 for details). And Windows 2000.) Because of AutoCAD’s MS-DOS heritage and its emphasis on efficiency for production drafters, it’s not the easiest program to master, but it’s gotten easier and more consistent.

Autodesk autocad lt 2005