There are many products available to support your design and documentation workflows, but how do you know which one is best for you? This blog post will examine the variety of products and specialties that AutoCAD has to offer. Although using AutoCAD has many advantages, this blog’s main goal is to assist you in selecting the AutoCAD that is best for you. If looking for the best Electrical CAD Course in Chennai, then consider CADD Centre which gains trust among students and working professionals by offering the best CAD Courses.
First and foremost, Autodesk has abandoned the separate “vertical” cad program subscriptions (i.e., architecture, electrical, mechanical, MEP, etc.) with the launch of AutoCAD 2019, also known as “One AutoCAD,” and now offers access to “specialized toolsets” for each discipline within the same AutoCAD subscription. In other words, you no longer need to buy various AutoCAD products based on your sector; instead, you now receive an AutoCAD subscription. You can obtain specialist toolkits for different industries in addition to the “vanilla” edition of AutoCAD.
Best AutoCAD Versions
In order to automate and streamline the design and documentation process, whether it be 2D sketching or 3D modeling, these industry-specific toolsets offer features and libraries tailored to particular trades or specialties.
The new AutoCAD delivers more functionality flexibility in the dynamic BIM environment by offering automated processes and libraries of intelligent parts, symbols, and building objects. So that you can choose the best toolset for you, let’s look at a quick summary of the available possibilities.
The following items are included in the “AutoCAD incorporating specialized toolsets” bundle and are available to you:
AutoCAD (Windows & Mac)
- utilized by designers across all industries and specialties.
- Commonly referred to as the “vanilla” or “basic” version of AutoCAD, upon which everything following is built.
- Provides drawing and annotation tools, modeling and visualization tools, and 3D model creation capabilities for 2D documentation.
- Can be altered to fit each user’s or office’s particular routines.
Architecture using AutoCAD
- Used by designers and architects.
- Think of AutoCAD Architecture as the bridge between standard AutoCAD and Autodesk Revit’s parametric modeling.
- Gives resources for automating the process of creating 2D drawings, timetables, and other tasks including documentation.
- More than 8000 intelligent architectural elements and designs.
AutoCAD Mechanical
- Professionals in production, product design, and mechanical engineering use it.
- Gives resources and AutoCAD mechanical training for automating mechanical engineering and jobs like generating Machine parts, dimensioning, and making a bill of materials.
- Over 70,000 clever things.
Featured/Key Tools:
- Layer management includes the ability to isolate, restore, and set line types and line weights for layer groups.
- Hidden Lines: Minimize rework by updating geometry automatically whenever a change happens.
- Shaft, spring, belt, and cam generator designs can be efficiently analyzed using machinery generators and calculators.
Electrical in AutoCAD
- Used by people who are involved in documenting electrical control systems, such as electrical engineers.
- Provides the resources necessary to produce panel layouts, schematics, and other electrical drawings.
- More than 65,000 clever symbols
Featured/New Tools:
- Creating and updating customized reports automatically.
- Collaboration between buyers and sellers: Quickly distribute DWG drawings to interested parties.
- Project Management Made Simple: For electrical drafting needs, use folders to arrange drawings and reorganize files.
3D AutoCAD Map
- Intended for users who must use and maintain CAD and GIS data for data management, planning, and design.
- Gives users the means to produce, maintain, and share GIS and mapping data inside the AutoCAD drawing environment.
- Manages GIS data and combines it with design data using task-based tools.
Featured/New Tools:
- Making use of feature data objects (FDO) technology Work with spatial data that comes in a range of coordinate systems and CAD data formats.
- Join with ArcGIS: Streamline the data transfer between ArcGIS and Map 3D and maintain the accuracy of the feature information.
- Converting DWG data to GIS data Convert data with excellent accuracy by utilizing MapImport and MapExport.
MEP AutoCAD
- Professionals in the fields of fire prevention, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical use this.
- Provides 2D and 3D CAD tools to plan, design, and document MEP building systems.
- 10,500 or more MEP intelligent objects.
Featured/Key Tools:
- Workspace settings for MEP feature personalized palettes and ribbons with specialized functionality.
- Convert blocks and symbols in bulk with the AutoCAD block conversion tool.
- Styles Browser: Add folders to the Content Library and obtain new MEP components.
Plant 3D in AutoCAD
- Utilized for plant model 3D creation.
- Offers resources for creating and disseminating isometric, orthographic, and materials reports.
- Additionally offers resources for producing the schematic diagrams, plant layouts, and other drawings required for plant design.
- 400+ plant things with intelligence.
Collaboration for Plant 3D: Maintain compliance standards while working on plant models with other project teams in a cloud-based environment.
Drafting a P&ID quickly: AutoCAD context-sensitive commands make P&ID drafting simpler.
Data validation: Check P&IDs for data consistency using user-defined rules to quickly spot any issues.
Design for AutoCAD Raster
Aimed at assisting users in editing scanned drawings and raster to DWG object conversion.
Featured/Key Tools:
- Despeckle, bias, mirror, and touch up your photographs using image editing and cleanup.
- Use normal AutoCAD commands on raster areas and primitives while using raster entity manipulation (REM).
- Tools for vectorization: Raster images can be transformed into vector drawings by adding lines and polylines.
- Image Transformation Functionality: Use the AutoCAD Map 3D toolkit and Civil 3D engineering software to display and analyze geo pictures.
SUMMARY
The best AutoCAD software selection can be challenging. With Autodesk’s all-in-one option for AutoCAD launching in 2019, making that choice has gotten a little simpler.
The choice of using AutoCAD going forward or possibly switching to a solution that leans more toward full BIM, like Revit, may still be up to you. You might also be considering other 3D modeling applications like Revit, Solidworks, Sketchup, Rhino, or Solidworks.
