Discover How CAD Designs Have Impacted on the Construction Industry.

Anyone who works in the building and construction industry will tell you that many projects today would be impossible without CAD and information technology. Both architects and engineers realise that information technology, such as CAD and CAM, are incredibly valuable when it comes to modernising the construction process and making it more efficient. Just taking a quick look at some of the recent award-winning building projects that have been undertaken will show you that there is a general move towards bigger and better buildings, which makes it easier to understand why 3D design software is growing in popularity, and why CAD Designs have had such an impact on the industry.

The most obvious benefit that comes with the use of CAD is that it allows us to easily build complex structures. This has freed architects up to conceptualise more complicated and advanced designs, with more and more intricate structures being brought to life. That is not to say that these sorts of structures haven’t been attempted in the past, but rather that with the improvements in 3D design software over recent years, there is now a more confident feeling amongst designers that they may actually see them through to completion.

CAD enables architects and designers to easily see things from a different perspective which is virtually impossible when using cardboard models or even hand drawings. On top of this, it has also aided the exploration complicated structures and helped to improve the design process. Not only can unusually shaped buildings be more easily visualised, but the built-in clash detection checks have reduced the number of errors on site by allowing the design team to know how the structure will behave in a 3D environment before it is built.

Some evangelists are also stating that using CAD designs is allowing the construction industry to be more environmentally friendly because designs are now more accurate and so there is less waste of materials. Structural engineers particularly benefit from the use of CAD designs as it allows them to analyse the force in every frame enabling them to make lighter steel frames which mean less steel is used.

It might seem a bit odd to say that a piece of software has revolutionised the construction industry, but it really has. At the end of the day, it is still all about nuts and bolts, but the advance of IT now means that everyone within this industry works in a different way, which is not only faster but more accurate and collaborative as well. The recent advent of the use of BIM will only change things further and take the industry to an entirely new level, especially with advances in 4D drawings which can be updated in real time and easily shared between consultants.

CAD and BIM will only continue to bring changes to the construction industry in the future, as more and more innovations in software and technology are made. If you want more information about CAD designs or BIM, then please give our expert team a call on 0161 427 0348 or send us an email to office@thecadroom.com.