Once you receive the necessary education from either a good technical school or from apprenticeship under a professional designer, drafter, architect, or engineer, many people venture out to open their own drafting office. You need to make sure that you have enough training and expertise to go out on your own. Technical drawing is a highly specialized field, and if practiced poorly can injure your reputation as a professional and your personal credibility.
With science and technology the way it is today, very few people complete drawings using a drafting or drawing board, thanks to the advent of computer generated drawings using a CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) program. A well designed CAD program not only makes it easier to open an office but also makes it much less expensive because of their ease of use and accuracy. Most drafting offices can be run out of your living room or den with nothing more than a laptop or desktop computer and a professional CAD program. There are however certain other considerations before going into this type of business.
One of these would be the needed library of reference books that are not available online. This would be books like "Architectural Graphic Standards" or "ANSI Standards for Mechanical Drawing", although certain portions of both of these books are available on line on the Internet. If you are doing architecture, a good selection of plan books would be a handy resource. Not to copy from however, that would be a bad thing, but as a fresh source of ideas you can suggest to your clients.
A good electronic symbols library for your CAD would be great too. This saves time, which is precious by the way, to not have to re-draw the same thing over and over. There are several websites offering them for sale and a few free download sites also.
Another thing would be a web site presence where you can advertise your services and also display drawings at certain stages to your client from the comfort of their home. I've been using this process for at least ten years and the clients love it. They have access to their drawings any time of day or night. And instead of waiting on the mail, the changes you make to their drawings can be reviewed almost instantly after you upload them.
You might also consider talking to your local insurance agent about some sort of malpractice insurance. Better safe than sorry. And with any new businesses it is always good to hire a bookkeeper to help you keep up with your taxes.
If you want to learn to draw mechanical drawings, including survey, and architectural, go to http://maginvent.com and learn online.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
The Nature and Uses of Mechanical Drafting.
Mechanical drafting or mechanical drawing is the art of making the conventional pictures representing something that has to be constructed which is used by engineers, architects, and inventors in working out and recording the details of their constructive designs, and the means by which ideas of the exact form or shape, dimension, and arrangement of parts in objects of a structural character are universally expressed and made easier to be understood by others.
Mechanical drafting aids constructive work of any kind to be carried on with accuracy and the least amount of time and material, and takes the place of a lengthy verbal description which would fail to express with clearness and exactness the definite information required by the workman.
Certain general peculiarities of the form and structure of an object may be understood from an ordinary pictorial representation, but that it cannot show the exact form, size, and relation of all the lines and surfaces; so the necessity for mechanical drawings which show all hidden as well as visible parts of an object as they are and not as they would appear to the eye.
So then mechanical drafting is the graphic language of the constructive or mechanic arts, and the ability to read and comprehend mechanical drawings is of as great importance to the workman, builder, and manufacturer as the ability to make such representations is to the designer or drafter; and a knowledge of general drafting principles is of value to almost all people irrespective of their vocations.
Because of the exact nature of the facts which it is intended to record or convey the drawing is generally executed with the aid of drafting instruments or a Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) program. The mechanical character of the representation, together with its purpose and the usual means of execution, gives mechanical drafting its name. Machine drafting, architectural drafting, and engineering drafting are specific applications of mechanical drafting. A mechanical drawing properly dimensioned in figures and prepared as a guide in constructing the object is called a working drawing.
If you want to learn to draw mechanical drawings, including survey and architectural, go to http://101info.org and learn online.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Would You Like To Design Your Own House Plan
Very good idea, it saves the money. Also eliminates the middle man. Architects and designers can be expensive. I heard that some designers can load up to ten dollars per square foot for simple drawings containing a floor plan and exterior elevations. Now that's a chunk of change. If you want to do it yourself, you need to know how. Here are some things that need to know to draw a simple ranch style.
What you need to know to make your house plan?
First, you should know how to get your floor plan. The floor plan is the model for all drawings. Since the floor plan shows how we want our electricity, tells how the rooms are large, shows our window and door sizes, etc., so that's where we begin. Of course, you can start with the view outside, but it would limit how our home looks like outside. Not a good idea! The house must be functional first and look pretty second out of necessity.
Second, You need to understand the workings of a well-designed kitchen. The kitchen is the place where the owner spends most of his time. Beautiful, but functional. This area consists of sink area, kitchenette, and storage. The best kitchen layout is one in which at least steps to reach each unit. This is called the work area or working triangle. A good up working triangle to 12-14 feet all around.
Third, a home builder would definitely like to know where the walls, windows and doors are located exactly. They would also like to know the door and the window sizes, not to mention something specific that's special to the plan. Here, the dimensions and notes are useful. You need to to create a dimensional string and groups of notes that are not confusing to the reader.
Fourth, The Electric plan is very important because it gives you the opportunity to show where you need electrical service. On the other hand, is not always necessary. An experienced electrical contractor will know where to place everything as required by code. Chances are, they have already set up quite a few residences and barring any special needs or preferences can do the job without this plan.
Some States and municipalities require that you have a licensed Architect or Electrical Engineer to do Electrical plans. Check with your local building codes to see what the limitations are! This will definitely save you some headaches on the road.
Fifth, standard foundation construction, at least in the southeastern United States, the houses built on masonry foundations and basements. A foundation is the part of the house we anchor to in order to prevented the house from settling in the soil.
What about the 6th how the outside will look? It is not easy, if you want to convey the idea of what the finished product will look like when construction is complete. What it looks like when built? How to determine the best roof, we use the brick, siding or rock?
Seventh, I don't believe in mind reading! Neither does the normal contractor! If there is anything specific you want to build into your new house, how is the builder going to know unless you show them on the drawings? You can make all kinds of notes on your plans and elevations but the message of how you want the house constructed may not always be clear. You'll need to understand how to draw details.
Then there is the eighth task of finishing your drawings and not let errors get out the door. You should understand the most common errors committed by people who draw house plans so you can keep an eye out for them!
And ninth, Last but not least in preparing your house plans is how to print them and in what format and size.
My name is Tim Davis and I draw architectural plans for a living. I also teach others how to draw house plans and other types of drafting in a virtual classroom on the internet called 101 Info Dot Org at http://101info.org
What you need to know to make your house plan?
First, you should know how to get your floor plan. The floor plan is the model for all drawings. Since the floor plan shows how we want our electricity, tells how the rooms are large, shows our window and door sizes, etc., so that's where we begin. Of course, you can start with the view outside, but it would limit how our home looks like outside. Not a good idea! The house must be functional first and look pretty second out of necessity.
Second, You need to understand the workings of a well-designed kitchen. The kitchen is the place where the owner spends most of his time. Beautiful, but functional. This area consists of sink area, kitchenette, and storage. The best kitchen layout is one in which at least steps to reach each unit. This is called the work area or working triangle. A good up working triangle to 12-14 feet all around.
Third, a home builder would definitely like to know where the walls, windows and doors are located exactly. They would also like to know the door and the window sizes, not to mention something specific that's special to the plan. Here, the dimensions and notes are useful. You need to to create a dimensional string and groups of notes that are not confusing to the reader.
Fourth, The Electric plan is very important because it gives you the opportunity to show where you need electrical service. On the other hand, is not always necessary. An experienced electrical contractor will know where to place everything as required by code. Chances are, they have already set up quite a few residences and barring any special needs or preferences can do the job without this plan.
Some States and municipalities require that you have a licensed Architect or Electrical Engineer to do Electrical plans. Check with your local building codes to see what the limitations are! This will definitely save you some headaches on the road.
Fifth, standard foundation construction, at least in the southeastern United States, the houses built on masonry foundations and basements. A foundation is the part of the house we anchor to in order to prevented the house from settling in the soil.
What about the 6th how the outside will look? It is not easy, if you want to convey the idea of what the finished product will look like when construction is complete. What it looks like when built? How to determine the best roof, we use the brick, siding or rock?
Seventh, I don't believe in mind reading! Neither does the normal contractor! If there is anything specific you want to build into your new house, how is the builder going to know unless you show them on the drawings? You can make all kinds of notes on your plans and elevations but the message of how you want the house constructed may not always be clear. You'll need to understand how to draw details.
Then there is the eighth task of finishing your drawings and not let errors get out the door. You should understand the most common errors committed by people who draw house plans so you can keep an eye out for them!
And ninth, Last but not least in preparing your house plans is how to print them and in what format and size.
My name is Tim Davis and I draw architectural plans for a living. I also teach others how to draw house plans and other types of drafting in a virtual classroom on the internet called 101 Info Dot Org at http://101info.org
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