Design and AutoCAD 2011 - Introduction to AutoCAD 2011: 2D and 3D Design - page 413

Ten reasons for using AutoCAD

1. A CAD software package such as AutoCAD 2011 can be used to

produce any form of technical drawing.

2. Technical drawings can be produced much more speedily using

AutoCAD than when working manually - probably as much as
10 times as quickly when used by skilled AutoCAD operators.

3. Drawing with AutoCAD is less tedious than drawing by hand -

features such as hatching, lettering and adding notes are easier,
quicker and indeed more accurate to construct.

4. Drawings or parts of drawings can be moved, copied, scaled, rotated,

mirrored and inserted into other drawings without having to redraw.

5. AutoCAD drawings can be saved to a fi le system without necessarily

having to print the drawing. This can save the need for large paper
drawing storage areas.

6. The same drawing or part of a drawing need never be drawn twice,

because it can be copied or inserted into other drawings with ease. A basic
rule when working with AutoCAD is Never draw the same feature twice .

7. New details can be added to drawings or be changed within drawings

without having to mechanical erase the old detail.

8. Dimensions can be added to drawings with accuracy reducing the

possibility of making errors.

9. Drawings can be plotted or printed to any scale without having to redraw.

10. Drawings can be exchanged between computers and/or emailed

around the world without having to physically send the drawing.

The place of AutoCAD 2011 in designing

The contents of this topic are only designed to help those who have a
limited (or no) knowledge and skills of the construction of technical
drawings using AutoCAD 2011. However it needs to be recognised that
the impact of modern computing on the methods of designing in industry
has been immense. Such features such as analysis of stresses, shear forces,
bending forces and the like can be carried out more quickly and accurately
using computing methods. The storage of data connected with a design and
the ability to recover the data speedily are carried out much more easily
using computing methods than prior to the introduction of computing.
AutoCAD 2011 can play an important part in the design process, because
technical drawings of all types are necessary for achieving well designed
artefacts whether it be an engineering component, a machine, a building,
an electronics circuit or any other design project.