The Right Tools for the Job
Do you use AutoCAD to Draw Everything?
Huh? Of course! For many designers, architects, and engineers, AutoCAD® is the go-to software for drawing up their designs, except, of course, for fellow Revit® users. Sometimes the drawings we are tasked with may not be best suited for AutoCAD. What other software tools do you have in your toolbox and what do you recommend to others?
Because of what I do for a living, I often get questioned from people through church, associations, or just within my circle of friends if I would be willing to create a drawing of something they need for a personal interest, a side project, or for work in a field unrelated to my own.
Occasionally I will agree to help, but as years go by and time is more precious and, therefore, more valuable, I pick and choose the project based on my desire to get involved. These projects vary in size and scope and have included business signs, logos, home renovation plans, deck or landscape plans, furniture plans, control diagrams, and even the occasional entire set of house plans.
Some of the projects I've turned down will look for referrals to someone else or a recommendation about what software they should get to do it themselves. When it comes to making software recommendations, my answer will depend on what is being drawn and whether it is a one-off item or is something they plan to draw up regularly.
I have used AutoCAD for 30 years, so it is definitely high on my list of recommended products, but there are multiple factors to consider when recommending drawing software. Learning curve, features, flexibility, and cost all come into play.
There are hundreds of options available to users depending on the type of needed, so it could take a fair amount of time to figure it. To minimize the choices, four mainstream players in the drawing arena come to mind, each with their own advantages. The four products are Visio, SmartDraw, SketchUp, and AutoCAD.
Now, many would jump to point out that these are not in the same arena, and I agree, but not all drawing tasks are the same, either. Two of the above products started out primarily as diagramming tools, one as a 3D drafting and modeling tool, and one as an all-around 2D/3D electronic drafting tool. These tools have matured greatly since their creation and continue to evolve with more advanced features in each release.
Starting backward alphabetically, we have Visio. Visio is one of the early diagramming products that came out in 1992 by a company called Shapeware Corporation. In my former technology-focused years, I used Visio to create networking diagrams and process flow diagrams. Visio was purchased by Microsoft in 2000 and since then, the product has continued to evolve into much more than a diagramming tool. In the latest version (2016), you can do flowcharting and diagramming as you would expect, but you can also do various plan layouts for sites, floor plans, electrical layouts, and office layouts. Except for the office layout planning, the other plan drawing tools will require the Professional version.
Visio comes in three flavors: Standard, Professional, and Pro for Office 365. The standard version focuses primarily on business type diagramming functions, while the professional versions have the most features and template options. There are various templates available in the pro versions that cover Business, Education, Engineering, and Flowcharting. Business flowcharting is included in the Standard version. Visio Professional will even import AutoCAD DWGs (up through the 2010 format).
Figure 1: Visio
Next on the list is SmartDraw, another early diagramming software that was created in 1994+/-. This is probably one of the most versatile diagramming software products I have seen of late. Like Visio, SmartDraw uses templates to help get you going. The current version can do a wide variety of drawings, including a variety of plans for office layouts, site plans, home floor plans, desk designs, closet and storage design, and more. SmartDraw comes in three versions as well: Standard, Business, and Enterprise.
Figure 2: SmartDraw
Breaking away from software whose roots are in the diagramming world is SketchUp. Created in 2000 by @Last Software, SketchUp started out as a 3D modeling tool for architects and the like and is, to this day, still widely used in many architectural firms for doing building renderings and modeling objects for client presentations. SketchUp was purchased by Google in 2006 and then again by Trimble, Inc. in 2012, its current owner and developer.
Figure 3: SketchUp
SketchUp has a variety of offerings, including mobile versions for IOS and Android.
With SketchUp, you can build 3D models, geo-locate models in Google Earth, import CAD files, export CAD and PDF files, and much more. There is a huge 3D warehouse online with a nearly endless selection of models you can use in your work and you yourself can contribute to.
You can buy SketchUp Pro online or the Commercial and Educational/Student version through local resellers.
Finally, we have AutoCAD, a 2D/3D drafting package created in 1982 by Autodesk, its original and current owner. AutoCAD has a variety of offerings from basic AutoCAD® LT to vertical versions that are industry specific. These products include Architecture, Civil 3D, Electrical, MEP, Map 3D, Mechanical, and Plant 3D.
Figure 4: AutoCAD
Right off, I can tell you that AutoCAD will be the most expensive option, but also the most powerful. AutoCAD uses a subscription model so you pay as you go, which is becoming more and more common these days.
If you do not have a big budget, AutoCAD LT is a great option and the entry level version on pricing. Don’t be mistaken—AutoCAD LT is very powerful and for most work, short of 3D modeling and rendering, it is an excellent choice in terms of features and pricing. Unlike the other diagramming products mentioned earlier that can do plan layouts, AutoCAD is a full-fledged drafting program that has the ability to draw nearly anything.
AutoCAD comes with some basic templates and symbols (blocks) in both metric and imperial versions that can be used for a variety of plans, diagrams, schematics, etc., but to be honest, what is provided is more of a sample of what is possible.
Figure 5: AutoCAD
To really be productive with AutoCAD, you need to get third-party blocks or create your own. Fortunately, this is pretty easy to accomplish as there are tons of resources on the web from which to acquire them—both free and paid. Making your own blocks grants you complete control and flexibility of your designs.
In my opinion, it would be great for beginners if Autodesk had a symbol library offering that included blocks for various industries that could be purchased as an add-on.
Of the four product offerings here, what would I recommend? If the goal is to draw flow diagrams, metwork topology, mind maps, or a business organizational chart, Visio or SmartDraw would be my first choices, with SmartDraw being #1.
If you are going be doing office planning layouts for a renovation or new office, a deck or landscape plan, which are typical one-off projects, I would recommend the Business version of SmartDraw.
If you are going to draw dimensionally accurate floor plans on a regular basis in a business setting, AutoCAD or SketchUp would be the way to go, with AutoCAD being my first choice. As I said previously, it is not uncommon to see both of these products used side by side in many professional design firms.
For miscellaneous projects such as furniture, cabinetry, or equipment drawings you could use either AutoCAD or SketchUp, with AutoCAD being my first choice.
With the exception of creating diagrams and charts, which is possible with any of these software products, or one-off projects, the product I would lean to most would be AutoCAD, partly due to familiarity and partly to flexibility and power. If you can dream it, you can draw it in AutoCAD.
As this is an opinion based on personal experience and product exposure, there will be others who feel differently. What other software tools do you have in your toolbox and what do you recommend to others? Feel free to email me: walt@functionsense.com.
