CAD/BIM Tips & Tricks
How To Win at CAD Standards in MicroStation
26 November 2024
When the boss bursts out of his office and roars, “Who the hell was responsible for the CAD standards on the Robertson job?” you know someone missed something or screwed up badly. And you hope it wasn’t you.
Managing CAD standards is like a time-consuming obstacle course — with deadline pressure adding insult to injury.
Whether you work in MicroStation®, OpenRoads™ or OpenBridge™, the truth is that managing CAD standards, while essential, is also a gigantic pain. So many details are waiting to trip you up that it becomes a time-consuming obstacle course — with deadline pressure adding insult to injury.
We understand the importance of sticking to a project’s CAD standards. There’s a need for consistency when it comes to line styles, correct cell usage, well-defined levels and all of that. But maintaining these standards shouldn’t be a monstrous task.
A Familiar Foe?
We’ve all been there. You meticulously set up your project using the company’s CAD standards, but as the project progresses, inconsistencies creep in. Different teams or contractors use slightly different line styles, or the cell libraries get populated with unauthorized symbols, or somehow, despite everything, the levels become a tangled mess. These inconsistencies can lead to:
- Wasted Time: Searching for correct symbols, fixing incorrect line styles and rectifying all manner of errors simply eats into valuable design time.
- Communication Errors: When drawings don’t adhere to established standards, misinterpretations may occur and rework becomes a real (time-wasting) possibility.
- Reduced Professionalism: Inconsistent drawings can reflect poorly on your team and project, impacting your reputation for accuracy.
So, what do you do?
The Ideal Scene for CAD Standards
What are some of the features that you’d ideally want to see in the perfect CAD standards tool?
- Wouldn’t it be handy if a standards checker could identify every design file or cell library element that doesn’t conform to your CAD standards?
- How about a tool that would ensure that elements are on the correct levels?
Eradicate a major source of rejections — fouled-up CAD standards.
- Maybe the most common issues you deal with are incorrect symbology (such as color, weight or style), or the font and types of elements that must follow a drawing standard. A tool to handle that for you would save lots of time.
- Do you wish you could easily identify problems with the size, font and justification of text elements?
- Could you use a tool that checks level settings for you?
- How about a tool that could check the names of cells to make sure that only standard cells are used?
- In fact, how about a tool that simply checks for just about everything related to CAD standards?
A dream standards checker should eliminate hundreds of hours of monotonous manual proofreading of DGN files and cell libraries. It should, ideally, catch every violation and eradicate a major source of rejections — fouled-up CAD standards.
The Dream Is Here
Did you know that every single one of the issues mentioned above can easily be resolved with a quality assurance tool called SpecChecker™?
SpecChecker is more than just a software tool. It’s your superhero sidekick for easily maintaining impeccable CAD standards within MicroStation, OpenRoads and OpenBridge. Here’s how it can help you:
- Proactive Error Detection: SpecChecker scans your DGN files and identifies potential violations of your pre-defined CAD standards. This proactive approach allows you to address issues early on — long before they snowball into major problems.
- Comprehensive Analysis: SpecChecker goes beyond basic checks. It offers a deep dive into your data, uncovering hidden inconsistencies in line styles, cell usage, levels and other critical aspects of your CAD standards.
- Customizable Rules: SpecChecker allows you to define your specific CAD standards within the software. This ensures that the tool is specifically tailored to your company’s unique requirements.
- Detailed Reports: SpecChecker doesn’t just tell you that there’s a problem — it pinpoints the exact location and nature of the standard violation within your DGN files. This allows you to prioritize fixes and ensure all errors are addressed.
The Benefits of SpecChecker
The many benefits of SpecChecker give you an almost unfair advantage, but in today’s competitive market, we’ll all take every advantage anywhere it’s offered, right?
- Increased Efficiency: By identifying potential standard violations early, SpecChecker minimizes rework and frees up time for more profitable activities — such as the actual design work.
- Enhanced Design Quality: Consistent and error-free drawings elevate your design quality and professionalism. A reputation for delivering projects with perfect CAD standards — every time — never hurt anyone.
SpecChecker frees up time for more profitable activities — such as the actual design work.
- Improved Collaboration: Consistent standards ensure everyone on your team is working from the same page, resulting in smoother collaboration and better communication.
- Reduced Costs: SpecChecker helps you catch errors before they become costly rework, saving your team time and resources.
Ready to Unleash the Power of Consistent Standards?
Don’t let inconsistent standards hinder your design sucess. Equip yourself with SpecChecker and experience a new level of control and efficiency in your MicroStation workflow.
High five? No, we call it the SpecChecker salute. It’s what happens when a project comes in ahead of its deadline — with perfect CAD standards.
Call a CAD/BIM Consultant at 727-442-7774 or visit AxiomInt.com to request a free demo today!
With SpecChecker as your ally, you can manage your CAD standards with confidence and ensure your designs stand out with consistent quality. And while we can’t promise that the boss won’t continue to holler about other things, he’ll have no reason to flip out about CAD standards ever again!
