Importance of CAD in Civil Engineering

Look back a couple of decades; and, you’ll find that computer-aided drafting or CAD in civil engineering industry was considered expensive technology than a necessity. But today, you won’t find any civil engineer who doesn’t have expertise or training in CAD.

Nowadays, aspiring civil engineers enrol in an Architectural and CAD program to get a better understanding of what CAD is all about.

Importance of CAD in Civil Engineering

• Well, computer-aided drafting (CAD) has replaced manual drafting, allowing engineers or architects to create 2D or 3D designs quickly. With 2D and 3D modelling, engineers can make accurate representations of things and modify them without any hassles.
• CAD allows civil engineers to plan layout sites, roads, bridges, sidewalks, etc., more accurately, saving them a lot of time. Read on to know why CAD is so important for civil engineers.
• CAD software is a wonderful tool that helps engineers and draftsmen do their job quickly and accurately. Since you can look for poor designs and inefficiencies in the designs in the initial stage, it eliminates the need for redesigns or redraws.

Below are some more points that show the importance of CAD in civil engineering:

Planning, Designing, And Managing Civil Engineering Projects

Computer-aided drafting software helps civil engineers plan, design, and manage projects effectively. These projects can be divided into three categories, i.e., land development, water, or transportation projects. They also include road engineering, dams, canals, river development, construction area development, and many more!

With good CAD software, engineers can create 3D models of water or land development features while sourcing accurate data for other components, like corridors, contours, etc. This software allows you to perform multiple analytics to find any faults in the designs before you actually present the drafting to clients. Thus, your draft will be more likely to impress the viewers.

Accurate, Quick Designs Reduce Development Cost

As already discussed, CAD helps engineers to present accurate and quick designs. Earlier it was a long process and would delay the development process. Various tools were designed to simplify the process, but most had faults. Thus, they were not accepted in the engineering industry. With the introduction of CAD, work can be done speedily and with more accuracy.

To top it, CAD software is constantly upgraded to improve the features and help civil engineers. In addition, there are tools that help them get the work wiped out more effectively. All this results in a speedy strategic site that reduces the development costs significantly. Thus, it saves both time and money.

Drawings/Plans Can Be Stored In Cloud

Another great reason why CAD is important in civil engineering is, it allows engineers, architects, and everyone on the team to access CAD drawings whenever or wherever they want. They can save files anywhere in cloud-based CAD software, travel back anytime, find or edit the location. 

Moreover, there are computer-aided drafting programs specifically for civil engineers with all the necessary tools. With this, they can design their entire site with the highest precision, keeping the public’s safety in mind. Once they are done with site planning, they can store it in the cloud. These plans are easily accessible to the contractors, sub-contractor, and the entire team. Everyone can check out the plan and make modifications. Such quick access to plans fosters collaboration and better communication.

Conclusion

These are some of the reasons why CAD has become the industry standard in civil engineering. With powerful CAD software, one can create designs, plan a site, and make necessary changes in seconds. It is one of the most widely used tools in the engineering world and will continue to enhance.