AUTOCAD LISP PROGRAMMING
CAD
PROGRAMMING
AUTOCAD CUSTOMIZATION
TIME AND COST SAVING-ERROR REDUCITON
AUTOMATED RESPONSE- SIEMENS- BONNIER TECHNOLOGY-LOWE ENGINEERS
DATE: 1993-2018
AUTOLISP
AUTOCAD CUSTOMIZATION:
AUTOLISP PROGRAMMING IS "A TOOL", I OCCASIONALLY USE TO "ACCELERATE AND AUTOMATE" MY AUTOCAD PRODUCTION. I AM NOT AN "AUTOLISP DEVELOPER"- MEANING I HAVE NOT HAD THE JOB WHERE I SIT AND DO PROGRAMMING ALL DAY TO CREATE SOLUTIONS. I CREATE SIMPLE SOLUTIONS TO STANDARDIZE OR CHANGE TEXT, TEXT STYLES, COLORS AND LAYERING ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS IF THERE IS "TIME".
I ALSO HAVE USED "VBA", "DIESEL", "DCL" AND OTHER AUTOCAD PROGRAMMING, I OCCASIONALLY CREATE MY OWN "PERSONAL TOOLS" TO SIMPLIFY MY JOB, INCREASE SPEED, ACCURACY, STANDARDIZATION, & AUTOMATE CALCULATIONS TO THE DESIGN.
EXPERIENCE
PRACTICAL USE
I USE "AUTOLISP" WHEN THE NEED IS IDENTIFIED. I ALSO READ AND UTILIZE "FREE ROUTINES" ON THE WEB AND MODIFIED THEM FOR USE.
1993-I HAVE PERFORMED THIS FOR AN "ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING FIRM" DOING "GIS MAPPING", THAT REQUIRED AUTOMATION OF ELECTRICAL SYMBOL PLACEMENT.
1995- I WAS A LITTLE "AHEAD OF AUTODESK" , BEFORE THE INVENTION OF "AUTOCAD ELECTRICAL". I FOUND PROMIS-E ADS TO BE USING THE AUTOCAD DESIGN CODE SO I'D ENHANCE MY DESIGN BY CREATING MY ROUTINES IN 1994 FOR SCHEMATIC DESIGN. ONCE AUTODESK BOUGHT OUT PROMIS-E, AUTODESK HAD TAKEN ON THE SAME TASK.
1993-I HAVE PERFORMED THIS FOR AN "ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING FIRM" DOING "GIS MAPPING", THAT REQUIRED AUTOMATION OF ELECTRICAL SYMBOL PLACEMENT.
1995- I WAS A LITTLE "AHEAD OF AUTODESK" , BEFORE THE INVENTION OF "AUTOCAD ELECTRICAL". I FOUND PROMIS-E ADS TO BE USING THE AUTOCAD DESIGN CODE SO I'D ENHANCE MY DESIGN BY CREATING MY ROUTINES IN 1994 FOR SCHEMATIC DESIGN. ONCE AUTODESK BOUGHT OUT PROMIS-E, AUTODESK HAD TAKEN ON THE SAME TASK.
HERE IS A DIRECTORY LIST OF SOME PROGRAMS I HAVE USED, CREATED OR MODIFIED. I FOUND AUTOLISP TO BE OF GREAT HELP IN TASKS I FOUND REPETITIVE OR NEEDED A DESIGN SOLUTION.
TO SPEED THE PROCESS OF DESIGN AND NOT HAVE TO MEMORIZE AND LOAD INDIVIDUAL LISP FILES, I OFTEN ADD THEM TO THE AUTOCAD MENU SYSTEM. SO ALL MY DEVELOPMENT TENDS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR MY USE.
LISP DEVELOPMENT EXAMPLES
"SINGLE LINES"
IN ORDER TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE AND ACCURATE DESIGNING SINGLE LINES FOR MCC'S AND SWITCHBOARDS, IT OCCURRED TO ME TO EMPLOY AUTOLISP TO SIMPLIFY DRAWING THE POWER DISTRIBUTION SINGLE LINES.
CUSTOMER CHANGE REQUESTS REQUIRED REDRAWS WHICH AFFECTED MANY ASPECTS OF A DRAWING. CHANGES COULD BE EXTENSIVE ACROSS VARIOUS DRAWINGS AND VIEWS. SO I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES SIMPLY AND NOT FORGET TO CHANGE "ALL RELATED/AFFECTED ITEMS" IN A DRAWING.
CUSTOMER CHANGE REQUESTS REQUIRED REDRAWS WHICH AFFECTED MANY ASPECTS OF A DRAWING. CHANGES COULD BE EXTENSIVE ACROSS VARIOUS DRAWINGS AND VIEWS. SO I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES SIMPLY AND NOT FORGET TO CHANGE "ALL RELATED/AFFECTED ITEMS" IN A DRAWING.
TIME SAVINGS
IMPLEMENTING PROGRAMMING
THIS WAS TAKING UNWANTED TIME. SO THE IDEA "1ST", WAS TO AUTOMATE THE TEXT FOR THE CONDUCTOR AND CONDUIT SIZES THAT MUST CHANGE ANYTIME THE LOAD WAS CHANGED. TYPING ALL THIS TOOK TIME. I DIDN'T HAVE A SOLUTION FOR CONNECTING AUTOLISP DIRECTLY TO AN ACCESS DATABASE AND TO "SEARCH IT DIRECTLY", SO VISUAL BASIC HAD TO SUFFICE.
I WROTE A APPLICATION IN "VISUAL BASIC" TO SIZE CONDUCTORS BUT TO RETURN THE ANSWER IN A FORMAT I COULD SIMPLY "CUT AND PASTE" INTO AUTOCAD AND NOT ENCOUNTER LOTS OF TYPO'S AND TIME EXPENDITURE.
THIS HELPED "REDUCE TIME AND ERRORS". ALL I HAD TO DO WAS "CUT AND PASTE" TEXT, "SPELLING AND TYPO'S" BECAME A THING OF THE PAST.
MY APPLICATION WAS DESIGNED TO BE "OBJECT ORIENTED". THE APPLICATION FOLLWED THE NEC TABLE, BUT COULD ALSO CROSS REFERENCE SPECIFICATIONS FOR OTHER CABLE TYPES LIKE G, G-GC AND ISO CORD. ALL I HAD TO DO WAS ADD ANOTHER TABLE FOR ANY NEW CONDUCTOR TYPE.
THIS HELPED "REDUCE TIME AND ERRORS". ALL I HAD TO DO WAS "CUT AND PASTE" TEXT, "SPELLING AND TYPO'S" BECAME A THING OF THE PAST.
MY APPLICATION WAS DESIGNED TO BE "OBJECT ORIENTED". THE APPLICATION FOLLWED THE NEC TABLE, BUT COULD ALSO CROSS REFERENCE SPECIFICATIONS FOR OTHER CABLE TYPES LIKE G, G-GC AND ISO CORD. ALL I HAD TO DO WAS ADD ANOTHER TABLE FOR ANY NEW CONDUCTOR TYPE.
USING AUTOCAD TO MY ADVANTAGE
UPDATING THE DRAWINGS
I THEN ADDRESSED OTHER CHANGES THAT WERE TEDIOUS IF CUSTOMER CHANGES WERE REQUESTED. I FOUND THE NEED TO RESIZE PROTECTION COMPONENTS AND EDIT BUCKET ID'S AND SWAP OUT SYMBOLS.
SO I WENT TO WORK TO DO THIS WITH AUTOLISP.
I WOULD HAVE AUTONATED THE ACTUAL TYPING BUT I HAD NO DIRECT METHOD OF DATABASE COMMUNICATION WITH AUTOCAD AND MSACCESS DIRECTLY, AT THAT TIME.
SO I WENT TO WORK TO DO THIS WITH AUTOLISP.
I WOULD HAVE AUTONATED THE ACTUAL TYPING BUT I HAD NO DIRECT METHOD OF DATABASE COMMUNICATION WITH AUTOCAD AND MSACCESS DIRECTLY, AT THAT TIME.
TYPICALLY, CHANGING A LOAD, REQUIRES CHANGING THE OVERCURRENT PROTECTION DEVICE SIZES, CONTACTORS, RETYPING THE CONDUCTOR AND CONDUIT SIZES, MAYBE RESIZING A BUCKET, CHANGING THE BUCKET ID, AND SO ON. IT ALL TAKES TIME AND CREATES ROOM FOR "MISSING A STEP" DEPENDENT ON THE QUANTITY OF CHANGES.
I AT LEAST REDUCED THESE TO "1 AND 2 CLICK" CHANGES TO SAVE TIME AND ASSURE I DIDN'T MISS AN UPDATE.
I AT LEAST REDUCED THESE TO "1 AND 2 CLICK" CHANGES TO SAVE TIME AND ASSURE I DIDN'T MISS AN UPDATE.
LISP/VBA EXAMPLE
DUCT BANK
"DUCT BANK ESTIMATIONS" USING AUTOLISP? I WANTED TO GIVE "QUICKER AND BETTER" ESTIMATES ON THE AMOUNT OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS. SO I BEGAN DESIGN OF A LISP ROUTINE, TO CREATE A DUCT BANK "CROSS SECTION". I COULD SELECT THE CONDUITS BY SIZE AND HAVE THEM "AUTOPLACED" IN A DUCT BANK CONFIGURATION. WITHOUT HAVING TO DRAW EACH INDIVIUAL DUCT AND DIMENSION.
"DUCT BANK ESTIMATIONS"? I WANTED TO ALSO GIVE "QUICKER AND BETTER" DESIGNS. SO I BEGAN DESIGN OF A LISP ROUTINE, TO CREATE A DUCT BANK "CROSS SECTION".
I COULD SELECT THE CONDUITS BY SIZE AND HAVE THEM "AUTOPLACED" IN A DUCT BANK CONFIGURATION, WITHOUT HAVING TO DRAW EACH INDIVIUAL DUCT AND REDIMENSION.
LINKED TO VARIOUS DETAIL VIEWS, SO THAT IF I CHANGED A DESIGN BY REQUEST, ALL DETAIL VIEWS WOULD ATUOMATICALLY CHANGE AS WELL, REDUCING NEEDS TO REDRAW MULTIPLE VIEWS, AND CHANGE ASSOCIATED DESCRIPTIVE TEXT, IN MULTIPLE PLACES.
I COULD SELECT THE CONDUITS BY SIZE AND HAVE THEM "AUTOPLACED" IN A DUCT BANK CONFIGURATION, WITHOUT HAVING TO DRAW EACH INDIVIUAL DUCT AND REDIMENSION.
LINKED TO VARIOUS DETAIL VIEWS, SO THAT IF I CHANGED A DESIGN BY REQUEST, ALL DETAIL VIEWS WOULD ATUOMATICALLY CHANGE AS WELL, REDUCING NEEDS TO REDRAW MULTIPLE VIEWS, AND CHANGE ASSOCIATED DESCRIPTIVE TEXT, IN MULTIPLE PLACES.
THEN PLACE THE CROSS SECTION IN LOCATION IN "REALSPACE",
1. THEN I COULD PROJECT CABLES, CONDUIT AND CEMENT FROM "EQUIPMENT" TO "STUB UPS" AND DETERMINE CABLE ARRANGEMENT FOR PANEL ENTRY TO DETERMINE CABLE BEND RADII.
2. I COULD ALSO PROJECT CABLES AND CONDUIT FROM LOCATION TO LOCATION TO USE AUTOCAD TO ESTIMATE CABLE AND CONDUIT LENGTHS FOR MATERIIL PURCHASE.
CHANGES ONLY REQUIRED I MODIFY A CROSSSECTION - DELETE AND RE-PROJECT CROSS VIEWS FOR NEW ESTIMATES.
.
I "MODULARIZED THE STEPS", INTO SEQUENTIAL MENU ITEMS SO I CAN APPROACH CALCULATIONS AT VARIOUS POINTS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS. THE MENU ON THE RIGHT- SHOWS THE NUMBER OF STEPS, I HAVE "COMPLETED" IN DESIGNING THIS LISP ROUTINE FOR DUCT BANKS.
IT WAS NOT COMPLETED DUE TO THE FACT "I CHANGED JOBS". BOTH "WINDOWS AND AUTOCAD" HAVE SINCE CHANGED, SO IT NEEDS TO BE "RE-WRITTEN" TO FUNCTION AGAIN.
AUTOCAD DATA EXTRACTION THEN ALLOWED ME TO CREATE A SPREADSHEET OF THE VARIOUS CONDUCTORS AND CONDUIT LENGTHS FOR ESTIMATING FOR PURCHASE.
I COULD ALSO USE NATIVE AUTOCAD COMMANDS TO ESTIMATE THE VOLUME OF CEMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION AS WELL. (THIS PROJECT IS UNFINISHED.(I CHANGED JOBS). I HAVE PLANS TO REVISIT THIS AND FINISH IT EVENTUALLY. MY INTEREST IS IN USING TECHNOLOGY TO SIMPLY MY JOB, SAVING YOU TIME AND COSTS TO "MAXIMIZE PROFIT" AND "MINIMZE REWORK EFFORTS".
I COULD ALSO USE NATIVE AUTOCAD COMMANDS TO ESTIMATE THE VOLUME OF CEMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION AS WELL. (THIS PROJECT IS UNFINISHED.(I CHANGED JOBS). I HAVE PLANS TO REVISIT THIS AND FINISH IT EVENTUALLY. MY INTEREST IS IN USING TECHNOLOGY TO SIMPLY MY JOB, SAVING YOU TIME AND COSTS TO "MAXIMIZE PROFIT" AND "MINIMZE REWORK EFFORTS".
DEVELOPMENT
COST SAVINGS
MANY SOLICIT THE COMPANY FOR "OTHER TOOLS" AND "FREE TRAINING" TO "STAY AHEAD" AND HAVE "JOB SECURITY".
NOW SOME WANT TO DRAW AT $80 PER HOUR OR MORE, THAN USE DESIGNERS AT $40, INCREASING COST AND TIME-.
NOW SOME WANT TO DRAW AT $80 PER HOUR OR MORE, THAN USE DESIGNERS AT $40, INCREASING COST AND TIME-.
MOST DO NOT FOLLOW "DRAFTING RULES" OR MAKE "STANDARD DOCUMENTATION", WHILE "QUALITY AND CONTROL" SUFFERS.
CAD DEVELOPMENT HAS OFTEN ALLOWED ME TO NOT ONLY DO THE DRAWING AND ENGINEERING DESIGN , BUT ALSO THE TEDIOUS JOB OF ADHERING TO DESIGN AND DOCUMENT STANDARDIZATION AND EVEN PROJECT ENGINEERING, WITH LESS EFFORT AND GREATER ACCURACY.