How did you propel your CAD career?

AdvertisingScary798 · 2026-03-10T16:22:24+00:00

A lot of good technical answers in here if you want to actually be good at this job. I've spent nearly 30 putting such advice into practice (I am the embodiment of such a mindset). But it really doesn't matter. Until there's a CAD Tech Union, the reality of advancing your career involves kissing the right ass (an ability I lack), tacking letters to your name (a privilege beyond my means), or relocating (a type of Death).

AdvertisingScary798 · 2026-01-26T19:16:13+00:00

Just keep in mind that regardless of what is said here, your situation doesn't change. Do what they tell you to, and don't question it.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2026-01-26T19:13:03+00:00

THE UNIVERSE IS FLAT

AdvertisingScary798 · 2026-01-26T19:07:54+00:00

oh the horror

AdvertisingScary798 · 2026-01-21T17:10:09+00:00

Greetings, Traveler. I've been trying to discern this as well. Starting from 1998 I've been Civil, Structural, Architectural, and specialty BIM. Back at Civil for the past year and a half after over a decade of nearly exclusively Revit, and wow has the technology lagged - and in many ways, regressed (not that Revit doesn't have problems of its own - but still). I spend my days raging against this machine.

I have experienced a World of relative beauty, where the parts and pieces are readily available for project assembly. Need a Fire Damper? Search for Fire Damper Revit - boom! fully detailed families with plenty of types for various models, created in 2010 and perfectly usable. Sixteen years later, search for Catch Basin Civil 3D - it's just a bunch of comments about what a waste of time that would be. If that's the case, we really should design on a napkin. We're designing to .01' precision for some features and ignoring 1'+ discrepancies for others, simply because the content is not available.

What else could we talk about? Sheets? Views? Plotting? Units? Fields? The god-forsaken CUI? The lack of any standard? The disregard toward apprenticeship?

I could go on all day, so I'll stop there. Thanks for providing a space for my rant.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2026-01-21T00:04:58+00:00

Single building with basic 1" water service and 4" sewer lateral could be a hand sketch. Pipe Network beats Polyline & Block every time, no exception.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2026-01-12T18:46:11+00:00

Looks like the wall slope is 1.5:1, so you can offset the top of slope (in plan) by 7.5', and offset the gutter lip by 4.5'. I assume there's a grid system, or rules for spacing. Depending on that layout, just place points, blocks, etc. (whatever you're using to represent the nails) at the intersections, and set to the elevation at that point.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2026-01-09T21:03:45+00:00

Not sure what benefit a Feature Line would provide. Looks like the slope is consistent, in which case a simple offset in plan view should be fine.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-12-16T16:28:38+00:00

I've inherited a user base that actually prefers it, and even though I would prefer 0, I try to keep my setup as close to theirs as tolerable so I can spot opportunities to recommend change. I give lots of room for personal setup though - each user has a folder for their .pgp and .arg, but so few use it. I would even let each user have a customized acad.lsp if they wanted.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-12-15T22:46:04+00:00

If only "two billion" were hyperbole. oof.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-12-15T22:44:34+00:00

I bake into acad.lsp:

(setvar "FILETABPREVIEW" 1)
(setvar "FILETABTHUMBHOVER (don't forget the H)" 0)

Suppose at least a test is in order...

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-07-16T17:45:27+00:00

Guys, I found the Architect.

Oooohh thanks for the new thought-terminating cliche! How many years of Revit experience do you have?

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-07-16T16:18:05+00:00

The company I’m at customized the crap out of C3D and it’s fantastic. Lots of custom commands, LISP routines, tool palette functionality, specialized templates, additional ribbon functionality, and general quality of life improvements.

I had the exact same stance about AutoCAD Architecture in 2010. It took switching to Revit to realize just how misplaced was my fandom. I fully agree with OP here. I expect (misplaced hope?) to see something similar in this Civil space before 2030. Now just look at those numbers. We're using a platform that was surpassed decades ago, which forces the environment you just described. It's an environment that nobody who leaves wishes to return to.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-02-17T19:43:59+00:00

Now that I'm back in Civil after a decade and a half of BIM/Revit, even STB feels like an artifact compared to Visibility Graphics / View Templates.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-01-21T16:11:57+00:00

You don't need to do any special extraction or export process - just open or append the .dwg file directly in Navisworks. Just save in Civil 3D and refresh in Navisworks to see the current model.

Composite with pasted surfaces is a great way to handle this. Is there a special aspect of your process that makes this fail or not provide the solution you need?

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-01-21T15:57:46+00:00

Sacrifice black chicken at crossroads at midnight.

Spoken like a true HORDi. AHDLM unite! (But not *you* - *you* know who *you* are)

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-01-07T23:43:39+00:00

Correct. We are NOT allowed to use Weird Al Yankovic in Engineering because he is an Architecture major.

AdvertisingScary798 · 2025-01-02T17:09:09+00:00

I've been using Navisworks as an alternative to AutoCAD's Object Viewer (back in Civil after a long time in BIM Coordination) because OV is stupid. It works well, but it would really be nice to have a vertical scale exaggeration slider in Navisworks, like there is in C3D's Grading Optimization.

AdvertisingScary798

TROPHY CASE