Basics of Design

[MESC1]

I have a designer who is self-taught AutoCad. In that respect, he is not bad, but he was never taught the basics of design. Simple rules like eliminating doglegs, text size, hidden lines, scaling, and the like, are beyond his comprehension. My attempts to teach him these concepts have not been embraced. I have a dozen textbooks that describe these concepts, but this man is not going to read a book. He also will not simply comply because I say it is so; he insists upon seeing why it is correct and necessary. This has proven a difficult challenge since, as I mentioned, he will not read a book.
Can anyone recommend some smaller texts where these guidelines might be complied with explanations of why this is proper practice?


Thanks
SC

 

[borgunit]

Old drafting books (from the vellum days) have information that is still useful today (I have a couple but I doubt you could find them easily - might try half.com). We also use (may not be an alternative for you) AutoCAD Mechanical which enforces many layer, text, and standards within AutoCAD itself. We get very consistent drawings whether they come from us or our plants in Brazil or Germany.

"Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects." — Will Rogers

 

[smcadman]

Fundamentals of Graphic Communication by Gary Bertoline is one that I have purchased and recommend.

I hate to ask this question, but if he is not willing to put forth the effort to follow company standards, or attempt to learn the basics, why do you keep him around? If cost is an issue, hire someone fresh out of school who is eager to find a job in CAD.

Flores

 

[MESC1]

My company does not dismiss anyone. We will be hiring someone fresh out of school in the near future, but they will be my replacement. This explains my urgency in getting this guy retrained. My greatest fear is the new hire seeking him out for advice after I leave.

Thanks
SC

 

[JStephen]

The reason for doing it right is to avoid problems that you don't seem to be having, if that makes sense.

You can start in on CAD and just use it to draw a picture- not to scale, nothing orthogonal, lines not connected, etc. And if all you need is that one picture, and the guy is content to draw it that way, and his bosses accept it that way, he won't have much motivation to change.

If he's sharing drawings with anyone, or using drawings for manufacture, or needs to make higher quality drawings, etc., then some of those improvements will be forced upon him. And if not, you might as well just leave him be.

If he tries to swap drawings with someone, then has to redraw them because they're a bunch of crap, that might furnish some motivation to change.

You might consider implementing drafting standards in your company. The problem is, if the guy's work is acceptable as is, no one will have any motivation to adhere to the standards, either.

You might consider sending him off to some sort of continuing-Ed CAD class. It might be an eye-opener for him to deal with some other CAD people.