Why are CAD Services still important in the construction industry?

Why are CAD Services still important in the construction industry?

The construction sector is currently in the midst of a digital revolution. AEC firms today are gradually migrating from CAD to BIM due to its various advantages like accurate clash detection, enhanced collaboration etc. BIM can also be easily used along with other modern technological advancements like virtual reality, augmented reality, drones, robotics etc. Its benefits in terms of speed and monetary gains are undeniable but the construction industry must also remember that they have relied on Drafting Services for a long period of time. Just because BIM has come to the market it doesn’t mean that CAD is no longer important. CAD still holds certain advantages which make it extremely valuable in the construction industry.

In the current article we will be looking at the three reasons why CAD is still being prominently used in the construction sector.

CAD is better for beginners:

The construction professionals who are just entering the industry may find it easier to work on CAD software than they would on BIM. They would obviously have all the domain specific knowledge in their respective sectors like civil engineering, architecture etc. and with a little practice they can get a grip on CAD. Its many tools are quite similar to what one would find on a computer like cut, copy, delete etc. It doesn’t mean that that CAD is easy. It just means that they can start with CAD and once they gain a certain level of expertise in designing and planning, they can move on to BIM.

CAD is not just for new professionals. Since there is less initial monetary investment in terms of hardware and software requirements, a company just starting its operations may find it easier to begin with CAD. Their success and experience from CAD would make a good base to further develop themselves. Since CAD is in no ways inaccurate it would allow them to gradually make enough profits that they can also make better investments.

CAD could be Cost-effective in small projects:

Not all projects are large in scale and require a lot collaboration between different stakeholders involved in the project. In this case using CAD could be simpler and cost-effective. It holds especially true for professionals who have been using CAD for a long period of time and have speed and expertise in it. For them their skill and experience in CAD would translate to less errors and faster turnaround time. Today, with Scan to CAD it is also possible to create accurate CAD files form point cloud data for small scale reconstruction, renovation or reconstruction project.

CAD for conceptual planning

CAD can be used to create accurate 2D drawings or 3D models in the very beginning of the project during its conceptual stage. It can give the stakeholders a basic idea about the scale of the project. Since, it is an initial stage there will be a lot of factors which are undecided and creating a comprehensive BIM model would be difficult and time consuming. Using CAD to quickly draft 2D drawings or create 3D models for preliminary meetings could be easier. 3D rendering can be used with CAD to create photorealistic visualization, renders etc.

Thus, with BIM gradually becoming important in the construction sector it is important to remember that there are still some reasons why CAD is still prominent. Tesla CAD AU is a leading Drafting Company providing comprehensive BIM, CAD and Visualization solutions across Australia. We have 10+ years of experience, the domain specific knowledge and a skilled multi-disciplinary team of architects, engineers and designers who can help you optimize your preconstruction process.

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