Detail Management
Detail Management
(OP)
Hi Engineers!
After getting through a huge residential project that had 120+ details, I am wondering if there is a better way for managing a drawing with a large number of details and section cuts. Inevitably drawing sheets will be added/removed, details will be renumbered and shifted around, or changes will occur that will mess up your section cuts. I feel that for a big project, detail management sucks up the majority of my time.
If you are using traditional CAD software (AutoCAD), are there any available plugins that will streamline the whole experience? Perhaps automatically link section cuts with a detail. If you move a detail to another sheet the section cut will update automagically. What do the big players in large firms do to streamline the process? Do you have any personal tips or tricks? Or is this one of those "do it right the first time" situations? It really sucks to have to manually check that every section cut matches the detail and sheet number. It is really time consuming and is prone to error.
I know there will be some of you that will say just do the project in Revit. It is my opinion that Revit plain sucks for producing structural drawings, most especially for wood design.
After getting through a huge residential project that had 120+ details, I am wondering if there is a better way for managing a drawing with a large number of details and section cuts. Inevitably drawing sheets will be added/removed, details will be renumbered and shifted around, or changes will occur that will mess up your section cuts. I feel that for a big project, detail management sucks up the majority of my time.
If you are using traditional CAD software (AutoCAD), are there any available plugins that will streamline the whole experience? Perhaps automatically link section cuts with a detail. If you move a detail to another sheet the section cut will update automagically. What do the big players in large firms do to streamline the process? Do you have any personal tips or tricks? Or is this one of those "do it right the first time" situations? It really sucks to have to manually check that every section cut matches the detail and sheet number. It is really time consuming and is prone to error.
I know there will be some of you that will say just do the project in Revit. It is my opinion that Revit plain sucks for producing structural drawings, most especially for wood design.






RE: Detail Management
There are also add-ons/extensions that make it even more powerful.
RE: Detail Management
RE: Detail Management
I model the walls and use the scheduling features to manage wall types and tags.
90% of the details are drafting views though. I hardly use live cuts for wood projects.
RE: Detail Management
It may take a little time... but will save you big time in future.
Dik
RE: Detail Management
If you feel this way, it's likely because you and/or your team aren't good enough at Revit. I know, that sounds a bit confrontational. And, while I don't wish to offend, I feel that it's important for you to hear this in a non-watered down fashion.
I shared your opinion for a very long time. Then my wife's firm, which specializes in wood buildings, decided to adopt Revit for all projects, regardless of whether or not the architect was working in CAD. Everyone thought the productivity sky would fall and Christmas bonuses would be a thing of past. Several of her drafters are also my drafters at times and, to a man, not one of them wants to go back to CAD for anything. They'd rather draw entirely in 2D in Revit rather than have to go back to CAD.
Lately, I've actually been doing some of my own Revit. And I can see how the strong Revit preference comes about. The learning curve is rough but it really does seem to be just a matter of commitment. I do precast fabrication drawings sometimes. At first blush, these would appear to be ridiculous as Revit projects. I'm actually considering it though. Much of the effort involved goes into QC on scheduling the components. As goofy as it sounds, being able to draw a precast plank with just enough intelligence that it's aware of its own width and length, is a huge time saver. HUGE!
So, in summary: suck it up buttercup.
I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.
RE: Detail Management
RE: Detail Management
I like to debate structural engineering theory -- a lot. If I challenge you on something, know that I'm doing so because I respect your opinion enough to either change it or adopt it.