DRAWING SETUP

1. Accuracy

a. For all drawing entities, all lines meet at intersections, straight lines are straight, blocks are inserted properly and only once per each insert point, and all entities coexist without overlap (for example, without duplicate lines on different layers).
b. The minimum standard for building measurement accuracy is 3 mm or 1/8”. When using electronic equipment, the error tolerance is very small, therefore, the tolerance should be the smallest allowed by the equipment use.

2. Drawing Organization and Assembly

a. Model and sheet files are two types of files used in Computer Aided Designing and Drafting. Model files contain a drawing (or model) of the building or site, which is drawn full scale (1:1). Sheet files organize information for plotting. They consist of views of the model file(s), title-block, border, and other information to appear on the printed sheet. In Autodesk AutoCAD, there are two types of workspaces: model space and paper space.
b. Assemble drawings as shown below. The base model file is xrefed into the discipline specific model file at full size in model space. The reference must be placed in the World Coordinate System at 0,0,0 with 0 degrees rotation. The discipline specific model is xrefed into the sheet file at full size in model space. Viewports are drawn in paper space. The drawing content is scaled through the viewports and plotted at 1:1. The title-block may reside in an xref or in the sheet file. The title-block shall reside on Layer TITLE_BLK, INCLUDING the title-block text.
c. Sheet Type Designators
i. 0 General (symbols, legends, notes, etc.)
ii. 1 Plans (horizontal views)
iii. 2 Elevations (vertical views)
iv. 3 Sections (sectional views)
v. 4 Details
vi. 5 3D Representations (isometrics, perspectives, photographs)

3. Layer Naming Format
There should be TWO Separate categories for Graphical and NON-Graphical objects.

a. For Graphical objects like Geometry with Lines, Arcs, Circles and Hatches –
Total no. of letters in the Layer Name should not exceed 12 characters including spaces.
Sample Layer Name - AR_PLN_WALLS

The First TWO letters would tell about the Discipline (Principle Group)
1. AR - Architectural
2. CV - Civil
3. EL - Electrical
4. EN - Solar and other energy than EL
5. FP - Facility Planning
6. FR - Fire Fighting
7. GN - General and Other
8. IF - Infrastructural
9. IN - Interior
10. LD - Landscaping
11. ME - Mechanical
12. PL - Plumbing
13. ST - Structural
14. SV - Surveying
15. ZS - Contractor / Workshop

The Second part of THREE letters would be for the type / specification of drawing (Major Group)
1. PLN - Plan
2. ELE - Elevation
3. SEC - Section
4. DTL - Detail
5. ISO - Isometric View

The last part of maximum 5 letters would indicate the Design element / Material object in the drawing (Minor Group)
1. Walls OR Brick
2. RCC OR Steel
3. Doors OR Wood
4. Wins OR Glass
5. Stair OR Handrail
6. Clad OR Gypsum
7. Dado OR Tile
8. Panel OR MDF
9. Frame OR SS
10. Misc OR Refer

b. For NON-Graphical objects like Text, Dimensions, Annotations, etc. –
Total no. of letters in the Layer Name should not exceed 12 characters including spaces.

1. GEN_TEXT - Common Text
2. ANN_TEXT - Annotative Text (M-Leaders)
3. PS_TEXT - Paper-Space Text
4. GEN_DIM - Common Annotative Dimensions
5. SP_DIM - Special Dimensions

Tomorrow we will look at some Other Drawing Requirements, stay tuned...!