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  1. #1
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    Apr 2009
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    Default Cert IV Residential Drafting

    Hi everyone,
    I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but I thought I'd give it a go.

    I have just started module one of the Cert IV Residential Drafting course and am keen to know if there are any other members who have done it or are doing it.

    I'm just looking for some insights into what I can expect during the course and any tips on presentation of assesments.

    I'm also hoping if anyone else is doing it, maybe some moral support can be passed around.

    I currently work for a company that designs and builds custom furniture, high end kitchens and complete unit and house renovations on the Gold Coast and want to gain qualifications for my future which I see out on my own and not with this company.

    I use Turbocad for most of my working drawings and use Sketchup for all my 3D modeling.



    cheers...Wayne
    A man who asks is a fool for five minutes. A man who never asks is a fool for life. - Chinese Proverb
    www.wayneranson.com

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Western Sydney
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    Default

    Hey im sorry i cant help you with the course at all.
    Could you give me a bit more information about your job as it is what I hope to do after I finish school.
    Thanks

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Victoria
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    Default

    I'd start to learn Autocad if you're not already and after that a 3D package like Revit Architecture or ArchiCAD. I know of one architect that uses Google sketchup for preliminary sketches but I dont know how common that is.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
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    Longreach
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    Default

    I have looked into doing the same thing. I started working with a drafting company to get a start. I seems that the industry standard is autodesk revit architecture coupled with autocad. I have bought the product and have learned how to use it, it is very steep learning curve is revit. Autocad is really quite easy to use in 2d with a few short lessons.

    I bought my copy from Karelcad in brisbane. It valuable to see if there is any deals going. I was able to trade an old copy of turbocad and it knocked about 40% off the total price.

    If you are able to get in with a couple of builders that don't worry about the fact that you don't have a licence it is a good earner. All registered builders are able to draw and submit plans in their own behalf, All you need to know is how to draw and not put your name on them

    If you need any more information, you can pm me.

    Robert
    Check my facebook:rhbtimber

  6. #5
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    Apr 2009
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    Canungra Qld
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    Default

    Thanks for your input Robert.

    Do you now work for yourself or still with a drafting company using your own software?

    We had Karelcad call on us and demo'd Revit but we decided to stay with Turbocad and Sketchup at this stage as we are a very small company and didn'tsee the benefit of Revit just yet.

    I would be very interested how someone like yourself (obviously and experienced drafty) would go with this course. I am still on the first module which starts out quite easy but gets harder with each assessment.

    cheers...Wayne
    A man who asks is a fool for five minutes. A man who never asks is a fool for life. - Chinese Proverb
    www.wayneranson.com

  7. #6
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    Default

    It helps that I love drawing. I did really well in school and then again in my trade training, it seemed natural to progress to something more complex and rewarding. I started out with a copy of turbocad 4 std just drawing simple 2d stuff for myself and have progressed from there. I wouldn't call myself experienced, I just did a couple of autocad tafe courses to get 2d drawing going and with the subscription from autodesk, they allow me to download training from the autodesk university as part of the subscription. I also downloaded a pile of videos for revit from the internet to allow me to get started with the basics.

    I have looked over the modules and thought that they would be relatively easy to do, that being said, some parts of the course would have been hard because of the distance from instructors. A couple of the modules require that one has to be on site for a number of days. And the only place that that could be done for me is in Brisbane, time and money make that prohibitive.

    I decided that for me personally, completing the course wasn't in my best interest.

    Because of my wifes illness and lack of communication with said company, I am now drawing for myself. I still work full time as a boilermaker and use the drawing as a supplemental income. I also do some engineering drawing using autocad for the company that I work for also.

    I work closely with the builder that uses me to draw what he wants. I draw the plan, he submits it in his name, thus releasing me from liablilty and when it comes to supplying the member sizes he works with the building inspector to get the sizes and I just amend the plans to suit. I am not able to charge what a qualified draftsman does, but I still get around $800 to a $1000 a plan in the pocket. People are paying 4 or 5 times that price for a registered draftsman locally and it is probably just under half what the company I was working with would charge. I had to outlay around 10 000 dollars for the computer and program, so I really need to get something back for it.

    I know that revit is complex and you need a more than average computer to run it, but it does all that is required for a plan. The fact that while drawing in 2d, the 3d views are drawn in the background. The learning curve is HUGE, but the rewards are very satisfying.

    This is a sample of what I supply.
    sample drawing1.pdf


    Hope this helps

    Robert
    Check my facebook:rhbtimber

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Mt Crosby, Brisbane
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    Default

    I'm working as a mechanical draftsman these days as I'm semi retired. Autodesk own the market.

    Their stuff is awful like microsoft but their salespeople are really effective.

    Search cad and graphics. They sell on ebay. I got turbocad pro platinum 14 for about $300 delivered with full training bundle a while back. It's probably cheaper now. Nicer to use than autocad and of course much cheaper but you may need autodesk stuff for your course and they do good deals for students.

    If you do an associate diploma or whatever it is nowdays you'll have options. You can go into drafting but you can also pick up lab work and other stuff if you get bored or can't find drawing work. I believe the cert 4 cross accredits to the diploma.

    I've done all sorts of stuff over the years from research with csiro, product development, in process testing, field work, design whatever took my fancy. Remember you'll probably be working for 40 years and a change is as good as a holiday

    Engineering is a good field to get into. Well paid, satisfying, variable, less BS than some other fields. I've tried everything from accounts clerk to chef to unix sys admin. Engineering is good.

    If your more interested in architectural stuff do mech or civil. Unlikely you'll regret it.
    I'm just a startled bunny in the headlights of life. L.J. Young.
    We live in a free country. We have freedom of choice. You can choose to agree with me, or you can choose to be wrong.
    Wait! No one told you your government was a sitcom?

  9. #8
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    Jan 2004
    Location
    Melbourne
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    Default

    Like most CAD packages...if you go for the easy to get packages..ie Autodesk you are going to be at the lower hourly rate of every knew guy who comes on the market who just wants a start.
    The packages which command the higher hourly rates are the more expensive packages. And quite frankly Autodesk in the mechanical field can't hold a candle to them.
    These are packages like. Pro-Engineer. Catia, Unigraphics, Ideas etc.
    then come down to Solidworks, Soliedge, Autodesks product..

    If you like the Architectural field then things like Revit i know are in demand.
    But as was stated before there is less BS in Mechanical design. But even working from home you can put yourself under a lot of stress and you have to produce the goods.

    All high end mechanical design is done with these packages.

  10. #9
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    Apr 2009
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    Canungra Qld
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    Default

    Thanks for all your input guys.

    Damian, when you say Lab work, what exactly does that mean?

    Why is there less BS in mechanical design? Sorry to sound a bit vague but I don't know what is involved in mechanical design as opposed to house drafting.

    cheers...Wayne
    A man who asks is a fool for five minutes. A man who never asks is a fool for life. - Chinese Proverb
    www.wayneranson.com

  11. #10
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gascat View Post
    Thanks for all your input guys.

    Damian, when you say Lab work, what exactly does that mean?

    Why is there less BS in mechanical design? Sorry to sound a bit vague but I don't know what is involved in mechanical design as opposed to house drafting.

    cheers...Wayne
    I'm not sure draftsmen with unigraphics etc get more $ than autocad, it really depends on the market and the role.

    Among my many jobs over the decades I have worked in various labs doing testing and also designing building and commissioning one off equipment, mostly experimental and test stuff but also automotive etc. I have a trade as well as engineering so I'm a bit of a one stop shop however even with just a diploma you can get into a wide range of work. There are lots of calibration labs around that calibrate measureing equipment, if your desperate you can pick up work running a soil test rig, you'll find work in factories doing problem solving, overseeing equipment installation, doing basic design and maybe some fabrication. At a mine you'll be sent out to oversee work in the field, sort of an intermediary between senior engineer and contractor/tradie. The possibilities are endless.

    I assume the BS statement is about the people you deal with. Mech design is industrial, people just want it to work. Architectural is less about engineering and more about ascetics, making it pretty for the customer, or (shudder) the idiot architect. You'll find engineers generally don't like architects, lots of builders don't like them either. They make life hard and the work expensive. I suppose some people must like the results, I'm not one of them.

    So your choice there is whether your a technical person or a people person. I'm not a people person, I'd like to take a chainsaw to half the people I meet but then there would be twice as many of them
    I'm just a startled bunny in the headlights of life. L.J. Young.
    We live in a free country. We have freedom of choice. You can choose to agree with me, or you can choose to be wrong.
    Wait! No one told you your government was a sitcom?

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Canungra Qld
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    Default

    I can relate to the people person thing.

    I'm a cabinet maker who now supervises manufacturing and installations.
    I also do all the drafting for Kitchens, Furniture, Renovations etc and also at times have to deal with clients.

    I have dealt with the public for about 20 years and am well and truly over them and their pedantic attitudes!.

    thanks for your advice...that gives me a bit to think about and some options.


    cheers...Wayne
    A man who asks is a fool for five minutes. A man who never asks is a fool for life. - Chinese Proverb
    www.wayneranson.com

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