I was in split minds as of where to put this post. Either ‘The Technical Forum’ or ‘The Lounge’. I chose the technical forum as the answers I seek would probably in this category. I’ll put it across without any more delay. Some part I’m guessing and some part I know from hands on experience.

In the good old days, all the drafting would be done on board and by hand. Those hands were skillful hands and they knew exactly what they would create on the empty sheet. The mind of draftsman would think long and hard before touching the sheet. There would be a lot of thought as to what he’d prepare as the Rework would mean lots of hard work would be wasted. So they got into the habit of thinking soundly first and then preparing it. The model would be in their minds. The plan would be prepared and where necessary, details & isometrics would be sketched.

Then came, softwares such as ACAD, Microstation which started replacing the drafting board. The rework part became easier and perhaps, the men working on it became a little careless as it’d simply meant: ERASE, REDRAW and UNDO. What a wonderful command! We can UNDO and REDO everything except reality. Still, the designer had to keep visualizing the actual model in his mind. That meant he’d look over and over his design and will worry about the smallest dimension.

At last came 3D softwares. You no longer had to imagine about reality. Here was your chance at virtual reality. Then came specialized jobs:
Administrator (software needs one).
CATS and SPECS guy who would know the specification and materials.
Designer did not have to worry about dimensions. The parts were ready to be assembled.
3D Coordinator who maintained status and communicated.
Clash manager (Funny enough, 3D should have circumvented this problem. Thats what they’re for)
Reviewers who used new reviewing softwares. These are other than modeling softwares.
Still we are not better off as we continue to have problems.

Perhaps, it has got to do with: less imagination, less thinking (you can always rework) as we got a chance to UNDO and REDO. Perhaps, all the softwares are taking us away from the human part: involvement. Of course, I’m not blaming software. But, where does it go wrong?