MY KNOWLEDGE & SKILLSET

ALTHOUGH MY DEGREE AND SPECIALITY IS ELECTRICAL , I HAVE FOUND MYSELF PERFORMING MECHANICAL DRAFTING AND DESIGN ON VARIOUS JOBS.

MECHANICAL DRAFTING WAS THE FIRST COURSE OF MY FRESHMAN YEAR. A REQUIREMENT FOR EVERY DISCIPLINE. I WAS TRAINED THAT DRAWING IS THE FUNDAMENTAL MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATING AN IDEA. SO I DO TAKE THE PROPER APPROACH TO DRAFTING SERIOUSLY.

PRIOR TO COMPUTERS , MEN TOOK HOURS TO DO DRAFTING TO SERIOUS SPECIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS, SO DRAFTING USED TO TAKE A LONG TIME TO DO PROPERLY.

MANY SERIOUS COMPANIES STILL KEEP THIER "MANUAL DOCUMENTS" UNTIL THEY CAN TRANFER THEM "PROPERLY" INTO CAD. IN MOST CASES STILL OPERATE HIGHLY ORGANIZED DOCUMENT STORAGE WITH EVERY DOCUMENT EVER USED IN THEIR LINE OF WORK.

PROBLEM IS, SINCE THE INVENTION OF "CAD"- MANY MANAGERS NO LONGER TAKE THE NEED FOR DOCUMENTATION AND DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AS "SERIOUS". JUST WANTING TO "CAD THINGS IN" QUICKLY. WANTING LESS SKILLED "CAD PERSONEL" TO PUMP OUT DRAWINGS "QUICKLY" SINCE THEY HAVE A COMPUTER TO DO THE WORK. MANY DO NOT PROPERLY DOCUMENT THEIR PROJECT WORK, HIRE TEENS AND UNSKILLED NON-TECHNICAL EMPLOYEES WHO CAN SIMPLY DRAW A LINE , CIRCLE AND SQUARE, BUT LITTLE ATTENTION TO PROPER TECHNIQUES, LINE WORK OR STANDARDS, LEAVING FOR "UNINTELLIGIBLE" DRAWINGS FOR LATER REFERNCE, IF ANY DRAWINGS AT ALL. TOOLS LIKE "SOLIDWORKS" HAS ONLY COMPUNDED THE ISSUE. PEOPLE DRAW PRETTY 3D IMAGES WITH NO INFORMATIVE VALUE, AS MORE "LESS TRAINED" CAD PEOPLE DESIGN FOR LOOKS, WHILE DRAWINGS ARE MISSING DIMENSIONS, VIEWS AND DETAILS NECESARY FOR A PROPER DRAWING. AS "AN ENGINEER" I TEND TO TAKE CAD SERIOUSLY AND SPEND THE TIME , BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PROPER DOCUMENTATION FROM AN "ENGINEERING POINT OF VIEW". THERE IS A "REASON", IT USED TO BE A WELL PAYING JOB THAT TOOK TIME TO DO PROPERLY FOR A "SKILLED CRAFTSMAN".

ACTUAL DESIGN PERFORMANCE:

THEY TOOK "DRAFTING" SERIOUSLY. ALL DRAWINGS NEEDED TO BE ACCURATE. PARTS TO BE MANUFACTURED TO ASSEMBLY, NEEDED CORRECT DOCUMENTATION. I WAS A ELECTRICAL/MECHANICAL DESIGNER.
RESPONSE AUTOMATION: WAS A "CAD OUTSOURCE HOUSE". THERE I ALSO DID EVERY KIND OF DISCIPLINE OF DRAFTING FOR VARIOUS COMPANIES AROUND ATLANTA THAT WANTED DRAWINGS DONE, BUT DID NOT HAVE THE STAFFING IN HOUSE. I DRAFTED MANY MECHANICAL DRAWINGS.
ER-WE-PA: WAS A MACHINE MANUFACTURER, SO I DREW MACHINE PARTS FOR FABRICATION. SO ACCURATE CAD WORK WAS NECESSARY AND PROPER TOLERANCING TO ASSURE FIT AND ASSEMBLY.
AT SIEMENS: I DESIGNED CUSTOM SWITCHGEAR THAT OFTEN NEEDED EXTRA SUPPORTS, MOUNTS AND PARTS WHICH WERE CUSTOM. IN THIS CASE I DID SOME MECHANICAL "DESIGN" OF THESE ITEMS BASED ON EXISTING PARTS.