Anybody here do any work as a CAD drafter or the like... Im looking to switch over

RezNik

I've pretty much hit a dry spell in terms of employment and since I started in CAD drafting I'm starting to look into other fields. My coding skills aren't up to par yet with my end goal, so being as to how I'm pretty close to the oil industry (which is currently booming) I've been into looking to picking CAD back up. I know it will take a little time but considering my background I should (theoretically) be able to pick it back up.

My main hurdle is that I did CAD 15 years ago and the whole game has changed.:poly122:

Anybody here converted over? Any advice? Warnings?

InvertedVantage

I do CAD. Learn SolidWorks and get good at surfacing. If you're working in the oil industry you might need to learn some other software like CATIA instead.

Your questions are kind of vague so I don't really know what else to tell you. What did you used to do? Did you do 3D or 2D? Do you have engineering background? What was the last software you used?

RezNik

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

I'm a 3D environmental/prop artist, I know my way around a few 3d apps. Not an engineer, CAD drafter using autoCad would be my background. Though I as never had a chance to be hired because I went to on to do other jobs. Back then we used AutoCAD and ProE.

I guess my main questions would be:
What are the basics I need to know to get hired as a junior/intern using Solidworks?
Do I need to brush-up on my math skills?
How is the industry for Solidworks guys.
What is a good forum for Solidworks draftsmen that you have used?

Sam Hatami

In Sweden you seldom have CAD drafters just doing modelling, if I'm thinking of the same thing (Usually called mechanical designer). You probably need to have a know how of drawing (putting out dimensions, list of materials, know your ISO views). If you are going to draft sheet designs, you need to know thing such as bending radius vs thickness. Different type of welding (buttweld, v joints, t-joints etc) and have a somewhat understanding of how the weld is placed (no overlapping etc).

Your drawings/drafts are usually examined by senior engineers, so you don't screw up to much stuff .

Basic knowledge of manufacturing is good to have (just theoretical would be sufficient). And then depending on the industry you are going end up in, sometimes (or most of the time if it's safety involved), you have certain design codes to consider (usually application specific). In the US you have ASME for instance that handle anything to with boiler and pressure vessel. Although, I don't think knowledge of such things are mandatory for a drafter, since the CAE engineers takes over to do structural verification.

InvertedVantage

You can find pure CAD modeling positions in the US as well.

I would really recommend learning 3D CAD - SolidWorks/Inventor/CATIA (given your artistic background, the first two would probably be easiest). Parametrics are where the industry is now; it allows you to make a model, then go back and edit a feature and have the entire part update. It's a bit like modeling in time as well as form.

So I would recommend knowing how to make basic CAD models, aware of draft for molding, tolerances, etc.

For extra credit, learn how to do surfacing. It'll push you past the standard college grad who can make blocky extrusions in the software.

I wouldn't really worry too much about your math skills, unless you're going for an engineering position.

The industry is "good" - I put that in quotes because the job market is tough for everyone. But the software is widely used, if that's what you're asking.

I don't know of a good forum - if you find one, let me know! The SolidWorks forum on their site is a good place to start though.