5 Common CAD Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Today, let’s talk about CAD mistakes. We came up with 5 common issues that we see, and our expert advice when it comes to avoiding these issues. We’ll keep it brief.

#1: Ignoring layer management. Layer management will change how your drawings are viewed, interpreted, and manufactured. Object lines should always be thicker, and you should use different colors for different layers on your CAD program.

#2: Neglecting shortcut keys. Did you know that you can make a shape, extrude it, and add a fillet in a matter of three key presses? Keyboard shortcuts can skip a lot of time looking around your screen for the right button. Take a minute to look into different shortcuts and start practicing them.

#3: Bad file organization. Make sure you organize your drawings appropriately in the right folders with good naming conventions. Using the part’s ID number within a project folder makes it a lot easier to find the drawing later.

#4: Working with outside or non-native files. Using SolidWorks with files made outside of SolidWorks is a surefire way to lose functionality within your assemblies. Try to only use files that are native to your CAD program in order to get the most usability within each file.

#5: Using unclear annotation/dimensioning. It takes years to perfect the art of making manufacturing drawings. A well-made manufacturing drawing can save countless time and money in the machine shop, so it’s a good idea to dedicate some time and research how to make perfect drawings.

Need Help with Your CAD Projects?

Avoiding these CAD mistakes might be easier said than done. For faster and more efficient CAD completion, consider outsourcing the work to our pros at CAD/CAM Services. We can create the simplest 2D CAD model, or the most difficult 3D assembly for your engineering team.

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