AutoCAD: Not Just Software, a Way of Life
A Little History
Let me preface this article with a clarification; my experience at a drafting board cannot be underestimated. I firmly believe that basic drafting board skills teach practices that last a lifetime of design.
This is my forty fourth year of working with AutoCAD. At the time of my introduction to the software, I did not know much about Autodesk, let alone thought about the potential for changing my life.
Early Experience
I had just graduated high school, where I started Board based design and drafting classes my senior year. As I got better (in my mind anyway) at the board drafting in class, I saw that the design / drafting field would be my guiding path from then on. It has been a fantastic trip and a lifetime of learning and following the evolving CAD design field.
While attending community college in the evenings to learn AutoCAD, I worked on a drafting board every day. The ability to see the unmatched productivity of CAD software while doing board work was eye opening.
My first few CAD classes were on a dinosaur computer, which, as the classes were during fall and winter, worked to my advantage. The first computer I started on kept the room quite warm, and the CRT tube had a nice radiating warmth to it. The ambience in the room was cozy, especially with the touch screen and light pen setup. You could really feel the energy radiating from that CRT (an early version of fake tanners).
As CAD classes progressed, we got into “newer” technology, incorporating the digitizer pad, which was a great (?) leap in technology. One thing about attending a community college, instead of a well-known university that I soon learned, is that some of the equipment was a *bit* outdated.
Evolving Technology
As I advanced in my classes, I got the knack for CAD design, and it seemed to come to me naturally. I would finish my assigned work very early in the semester and took to teaching some of the other students that needed help. I enjoyed showing other people solutions to their challenges, as I got to meet many diverse people that way.
At that time, Autodesk had their tablets serially linked to the software on the host machine. As some of the equipment was failing with age and constant use, students would swap out the failing tablets for another. This was a major lesson learned about AutoCAD as I had just started using the tablet myself. It was just the start of my CAD management and troubleshooting path, which ran parallel to CAD design.
As luck (or fate) would have it, Autodesk stopped linking the tablet serially to the software with a new release. My knack for finding issues and working to solve them was something that I took and ran with. I can honestly say that even though there was a teacher in the classroom, the software was self-taught as was the troubleshooting skill that I developed. I credit those early years of having to learn by the “trial by fire” method with my drive to succeed in CAD design and to solve challenges that CAD users would find and present.
Beneficial Experience
There is nothing more rewarding than watching someone with a challenge, work through it and find that they are more capable than they thought. My drive to succeed and get others to do so, was on.
A side effect of having others come to me with issues they found was that I could learn many more challenges about AutoCAD than if I just studied it myself. Every issue that I helped another with was an issue that I knew how to avoid in my own work. This may seem a minimal point, however, I learned early on to note the root cause of CAD issues, and find workarounds for them, making me think outside the box as a normal routine.
The mindset of approaching a challenge from a unique angle, rather than head on when working in AutoCAD became the normal routine for me. I learned that working with AutoCAD in the real world was a bit different than what the books taught you.
CAD in the Real World
In the real world of AutoCAD, there are many paths to a common goal. I found that as users would prefer a certain path, that path would have its pros and cons. Having navigated these good and bad points made me realize that AutoCAD, for all the published benefits, had a few hidden solutions that were never taught, only learned from experience.
I worked in several places doing CAD design, each of which provided a new window into the world of AutoCAD. When interacting with new CAD designers, I found it a learning experience quite frequently. Some users were cowboys that would do their own thing and experiment with the software, while others stuck to the Autodesk training guides. This has helped me develop the mindset (which I still follow today) that any opportunity can be met with a solution if one is flexible in their approach.
I learned not subscribe to the mindset that just because Autodesk frames a function in a certain way, it must be applied as such. I have been able to apply this to many aspects of my CAD work. I began trying out new ways of using existing commands and functions of the software as I found new challenges during my career. What I found is that there is practically anything that AutoCAD can do, if you think about the end goal of your journey, not the road you are taking.
Tackle Challenges Head On
During my many years with Autodesk, I have been active in their research and testing activity. I have seen some excellent features, and some, not so much. The research and testing I have done with Autodesk has contributed to my “there must be a better way” mindset. The result has been that there is almost always a solution to any task I take on, even outside of CAD work. In approaching things with an open mind, one can see several paths to the same destination, rather than taking the longest or most troublesome road.
The overall impact that working with Autodesk, and AutoCAD in particular, has had on me is one of understanding a challenge as an opportunity, and creating the goal of finding the best solution to that challenge. This means looking at all (even the deeply buried) options, not just what the books call for.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, I wish to leave you with this thought; the discipline and attention to detail developed in my years of CAD design have been beneficial in all aspects of my life and led me to develop certain protocols in everyday life. It is always good to be spontaneous and enjoy your time. When there is a challenge presented to me, I credit my years of working in the Autodesk culture with showing me a clear path to take.
