The Advantages of Autocad for Your Engineering Prototype
AutoCAD is one of the most widely-used pieces of design software, generating a huge revenue every year.
It has been a pioneer of the 3D design industry, having been around for more than 30 years. During that time, it has evolved to become one of the most sophisticated design tools on the market.
AutoCAD’s versatile tools and brilliant consumer strategy make it one of the most valuable tools and engineer can have. That’s why you should use it to create your prototypes.
In this article, we’ll go over the many advantages of Autocad for designers and engineers.
8 Advantages of AutoCAD
If you’re not already using AutoCAD, you should be. Here are just some of the ways it can make your design process easier.
1. Draw to Scale
One of the main benefits of AutoCAD is that it allows you to draw to scale.
You start by choosing the appropriate units of measurement. Then, you can draw your model at 1:1 scale.
This allows you to easily determine the actual size of the product you’re drawing. You can also adjust the scale to see how it would look in different sizes without having to adjust the drawing itself.
2. Easy Layout and Viewing
When you’re using AutoCAD, it’s easy to zoom in and out and pan to other areas of the drawing. This is particularly useful when you’re working on large or complicated designs.
The interface is easy to navigate, with various tools enabling you to view your drawing from different distances and perspectives.
3. Draw Accurately
AutoCAD makes it easy to draw objects accurately, with various options to set the exact size and alignment that you need.
On your screen, there’s a rectangular grid. You can click on any interval on the grid to locate the point that you need. If this isn’t accurate enough for you, you can use your keyboard to enter the exact coordinates of the location at which you want to start drawing.
The object snap tool allows you to snap to any location on your drawing. It will automatically locate points such as the center of a circle or the end or center point of a line. This means that you don’t have to measure the lines yourself to find these points.
4. Make Changes Easily and Reduce Risk of Error
In AutoCAD, you don’t have to go through a long process just to adjust your drawing.
You can create designs quickly and easily, using the software’s easy tools to complete tasks in a fraction of the time it would take via manual drafting.
It’s also very easy to make changes and adjustments. When you’re designing a prototype, you’re likely to go through multiple drafts or phases. This will require you to constantly tweak your drawing until you get the desired product.
Having to re-draw it every time you make a change takes far too much time. With AutoCAD, you don’t have to. You can simply adjust the original drawing instead, revisiting it to make modifications at any stage during the design or production process.
The software’s various editing tools mean you never have to redraw an object if you don’t want to. Instead, you can duplicate, stretch, trim, rotate, scale and move what you’ve already drawn.
When you’re using this software, your margin for error is greatly reduced. If you make a mistake, all you have to do is click the ‘undo’ button and start again. It’s that easy!
The interface is easy to navigate, which reduces the likelihood of errors. This speeds up the design process even further.
5. Identify Design Problems
With CAD, you can see a 3D image of your drawing. You can rotate it to examine it from all angles, as well as changing colors and line weight to get the appearance you’re looking for.
Visualizing your product in this way allows you to identify and solve any problems with the design before the production process starts.
6. Calculate Material Quantities for Production
When you draw a design in AutoCAD, you can use a scanning tool to measure the quantity of each material you’ll need to use in production.
As well as taking a job off your hands, this also means that you can control and manage the production process more easily. This is because you can get an accurate specification of what you’ll need and use it to calculate how much production will cost.
7. Store and Transfer Data Safely
If you have a large design team, you may need to have multiple people working on one project or file at the same time. AutoCAD allows you to do this.
The software creates a database of everything you draw, tracking every single change that is made to each drawing. Everything is stored securely, so you don’t need to worry about data loss or corruption.
You can also upload files online and share them between different parties with the click of a mouse.
8. Save Time and Money
One of the main benefits of computer-aided design is that it’s incredibly efficient.
All of the above factors contribute to a much quicky and easier design process. This allows you to finish a project as quickly as possible, saving you time and money.
Our Prototyping Services
Now that you know the advantages of AutoCAD, the next step is to implement it in your prototype design process.
However, you don’t have to do this yourself.
If you don’t have the time, manpower or facilities to do your own prototyping, we can help you.
At SOS Engineering, we have decades of experience in design and engineering. Our team is well-equipped with the knowledge and tools required to design and manufacture the prototype you need.
All you have to do is provide us with your specifications. Then, we’ll use CAD software to design your prototype. Before sending it to production, you’ll be able to review and modify it to suit your needs.
To find out more about what we can do for you, get in touch to arrange a consultation.