Expert Training

Aretha Franklin once sang, “Thank you, I’ll do it myself.” This is a typical and very human attitude, but one you usually should avoid in your CAD work. Using an existing drawing as a starting point is one form of re-use. Blocks and xrefs, described in Chapter 13, are another. When you sit down to draw, take a minute to consider which elements of your drawing are repeated from other drawings, or within the drawing. Grab pieces from elsewhere and create block definitions. By taking advantage of existing work, you’ll probably get a big jump on your new project. And, assuming that the existing work was done with reasonable care, you’ll reap the advantage of starting out with stuff that conforms to the CAD standards and practices in your office.

Warning On the other hand, know when to start over, too. Recycling is a great idea unless what you’re recycling is garbage! If that earlier drawing wasn’t done right or doesn’t quite fit your current situation, you’ll get better results and may even save time by starting over.

Tip Build up a pool of well-executed drawings you can confidently reuse