AutoCAD – a Drafting Tool

SCIRT integrated standardised software systems and developed macro tools to maximise design and drawing efficiencies. One of these systems was AutoCAD, used for construction and as-built drawing preparation.

Throughout its five and a half year programme, SCIRT designers produced more than 30,000 wastewater, storm water, water supply, and roadway drawings. These included lift stations, pump stations, pipe replacement, manhole replacement, pipe linings, patch repairs, and segment repairs for wastewater and storm water networks. The water supply network required replacement pipes, hydrants, valves, and thrust blocks. Roadways required repairs to grading, kerbs, footpaths, and berms.

AutoCAD was compatible with 12d design software, and helped automate many repetitive tasks, making the design process faster.

Specific AutoCAD tools were created in-house and maintained consistency across the team. Time and cost savings were achieved by automating plotting, file naming, and titleblock updating of drawings.

Training was provided for people who had not previously used AutoCAD, and ongoing support was provided to users for the duration of the SCIRT programme.

Across all members of the design team, more than 24,000 hours were estimated to be saved with development and implementation of integrated, automatic AutoCAD and 12d tools.

The attachments below include three AutoCAD manuals and two zip files containing SCIRT CAD customisation tools.

Glossary terms

• CAD (Computer-Aided Design)