I have mentioned this to some of our customers and generally, get a good laugh out of them. When was the last time college taught proper 2D Drawing etiquette? This can result in getting a whole run of parts back in and being incorrect. That value never makes it to the model and in the next revision, it can easily be overlooked. When an incorrect drawing needs to go out it’s very easy to override the value and continue on. Fat Finger data on the Drawing that does not make it to the cad model Full specification drawings should be a thing of the past, limited/reduced dimension drawings are where we should be right now as a whole. Even if they are not creating a limited dimension drawing, manufacturers are requesting a STEP/Parasolid/IGES at a minimum. Some of our customers are already supplying the cad model to their contract manufacturer and creating a limited dimension drawing. We can all agree that the time it takes to create a drawing is more than it should be, sometimes more than the model itself. Drawing Creation time for Full Specification Reasons 1-5: Why the traditional 2D Drawing Process is Flawed and How MBD Addresses This. I will let you determine if 2D drawings will never go away. If you are not familiar with MBD the definition is: “ A 3D annotated cad model and its associated data elements that fully define the product definition in a manner that can be used effectively by all downstream customers in place of a traditional drawing”.

How about I explain why traditional 2D drawings are flawed and benefits that Model Based Definition (MBD) can bring to you? Whenever I mention to someone that 2D drawings are going away very soon I always get the same response, “They will never go away”. Now, 20 years later 2D is a thing of the past (for most) and 3D is the king when discussing CAD. Everyone worked in 2D and that was the staple of engineering programs.

When SOLIDWORKS came out in the mid to late 90’s 3D computer aided design (CAD) was considered to be just a fad.

2d drawing software