boysha

My only intension is to try and explain what is involved in making Shop Drawings for Woodworking and Millwork Industries using several software, one being AutoCAD - my main tool. There is allot to plan, prepare and think about in order to make the best solution for yourself. There is no one way of doing this. In my 9 years of working for several companies that were making anything from Kitchen cabinets to entire kitchens, bathroom cabinets and all sorts of custom cabinets and millwork items, I used mostly AutoCAD but also SolidWorks, Cabinetware, SketchUp, Micrografx and a little of Microvellum. All of them are fine and can do the job, but none are capable of satisfying all the aspects that are needed in the production and fabrication. Except maybe Microvellum, a fairly new software solution for cabinet building companies. Microvellum is based on AutoCAD and uses spreadsheet to edit and modify library items making them specific to certain requirements. It's a good and intelligent way of dealing with complicated tasks in a simple fashion.
Early enough I learnt that 3D AutoCAD is the way to go for me and that is the way I will talk about the most. If one does 3D drawings, in my opinion, it is not different then actually building those cabinets in the shop. One has to make sure to first understand the process and techniques involved in such production. Then one has to learn all the aspects of wood, veneer, hardware and other components of the trade and then, just then, one can start to think about Shop Drawings and what those drawings should tell the production people, hopefully making their life much easier with it. Everything after this point will be my own opinion and experience in such procedures and techniques. I would like to believe that these pages will help not only a young person who is thinking about becoming a woodwork/ millwork draughter but even the veteran of the trade who will like to learn about AutoCAD and/or other software to maybe better their work and procedures. I would like to believe that my knowledge and experience can save time and get those end results just a little faster for someone in the "driving seat" in front of the computer trying their best to achieve some nice, meaningful drawings. Stay with me. Read all you can. Ask questions. Give suggestions and I am sure we'll all benefit from it.
To learn that - visit http://www.millworkdrawing.com and spend some time there. Read about all the different approaches. Watch many tutorial videos and see what other people think about this subject. I am sure, if you take your time and digest many of these pages that you will be way closer to creating good, strong shop drawings. What is left to do is - practise. Every drafter that I met had his/her own way of doing things but they all follow similar practises and come up with the same solution and end product. These pages are going to help you get there easier and faster.
So, happy learning and great drafting!