On April 10, 2014 at 08:17, highfigh said...
I would recommend some drafting education, for anyone who hasn't done this in the past. Previous experience may have been in high school and this may amount to just a refresher, but in the time it takes to look for a software package, someone could learn to do an isometric drawing with correct dimensions. A small-ish board, some triangles, a t-square, some vellum and pencils are cheap and it's a good skill to know, anyway. Plus, if the software turns out to be a PITA, stops working, takes too long to learn or can't save in formats used by others, paper still works fine.
This is all true. It just requires either planning your scheduling, purchasing, and record-keeping desk so that you have space to do drawings at the drop of a hat, or a totally different drafting board, even if small.
The last few times, I have sketched something out and discussed it briefly with the sheet metal guy who's making it. That has the added benefit that we find here when we ask
how to do something before we've decided on some nutcase approach: the sheet metal guy can point out simpler ways to accomplish the same thing.
It's not just you and Ernie- I would bet that most CI could use something like this, but lack of time, drafting experience or the program's learning curve may be a problem.
Mostly the time, in my case.
Has anyone asked a cabinetmaker what they use?
Good idea. I'll ask a couple.
