A robust drawing system helps produce quality drawings every time with minimal hassle. Time invested in setting up a robust system now will save you money in the future, because you can produce better quality work, faster.
Here are some tips for setting up a professional drawing system:
- Procedures: Setup a ‘procedures document’ so that drawing files are setup in a consistent way. Keep your procedures up to date, encourage your team to add to them, and insist that everyone in your team to use them!
- Templates: Invest some time in setting up a solid drawing template and you’ll save yourself time and energy on every job, and reduce the chance of mistakes sneaking in!
- File structure: Create a file naming structure that makes sense for your workplace and your workflow. Document it and stick to it.
- Checking: A well thought out review procedure ensures that every drawing gets checked thoroughly every time. Print and check your drawings thoroughly. Have someone else check your drawings.
- Revisions: Develop a clear and efficient system for keeping track of what’s changing and why it changed. Without one, changes may be lost and items manufactured to old drawings!
- BACKUPS: Files get lost, computer systems break down. So, keep hard copy records of your work, save revisions, and backup your backups.
- IP protection: Your intellectual property is a valuable asset. Don’t distribute your CAD files unnecessarily—PDFs often suffice. Use the security settings within your PDF writer to your advantage.
- Macros: Use your software’s capabilities to the max and you’ll save time and money. Macros can be setup to do boring repetitive tasks in an instant.
Drop us a line if you’d like more help with drawing systems and procedures.