Do you know what amazing tech tools lie in store for drafters and designers this year?
Technical drawing or drafting helps architects, construction professionals, and engineers communicate their ideas visually. It also aids in the feasible assessment of a specific design and its creation. If you’re into drafting and designing, you can draw any machine, product, or structure using these state-of-the-art drafting and design tools.
You can only be as good as the tech stack that you’re using, even if you are a skilled drafting and design professional. And if you’re a candidate in these professions, being skilled in the most updated tech tools in drafting and design is key to landing your dream role.
To help you choose the best tech stack for drafting and designing, we listed nine of the best tools you can use. How many are you familiar with?
1. Planimeter
With the ubiquity of infrared scanners, depth-sensing cameras, and software that can seamlessly shorten the process of surveying an existing space, various surveying apps are now available for professionals like you.
Consider trying Planimeter, as it’s arguably one of the best surveying apps. Its seamless capability to turn field-captured images into accurate CAD drawings and 3D models makes apps like this a standard in an architect’s workflow equipment and tech stack.
Planimeter allows you to make consistent and exact surveys and sets your project off to a good start.
2. SketchUp
SketchUp is a 3D CAD program that has been around for the last two decades. It remains a favorite of many architects, interior designers, engineers, and landscape designers because it is very easy to use. For example, SketchUp users can draw flyovers and walkthroughs to guide users through their drawings. It can also perform mixed reality presentations that other tools cannot execute.
Mastering SketchUp and using it in combination with other tech tools allows you to design with ease and, for many of its users, with greater inspiration.
3. Bluebeam
Together with digital archiving practices increasingly being used by planning and development agencies, cloud-based editing software like Bluebeam may signal that paper drawing records may soon be obsolete.
Originally the best way to produce copies of drawings, blueprint machines of the bygone days rolled an original drawing through a chemical mixture that reproduced the image on a special type of paper. This involved a tedious process that took a great deal of time, becoming an output bottleneck. Bluebeam hastens this process by removing paper altogether.
At a time when construction and design tasks happen rapidly, mastery of this app allows you to stay on top of your game all the time.
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4. Surface Studio
Today, a hands-on approach may come back to life due to devices like Microsoft’s Surface Studio that promote an interface with touch-heavy tools for architects, engineers, and designers.
Despite being currently limited to apps intended for sketching and drawing review, the way drafters and designers do their work could be changed permanently once a large and renowned firm, such as Autodesk or Graphisoft, starts to adapt touchscreen capabilities to on a large scale. This huge development will put touch interfaces at the forefront of design. Imagine what this can do to your career as a designer or drafter if you have mastery of this kind of device.
5. Palette Cube
Color is a vital element for someone delving into drafting and design.
With just one tap, a portable color digitizer such as Palette Cube enables you to capture any color on any surface, including fabrics and plants. You may then match that color with its particular color codes, including Pantone, RGB, CMYK, LAB, HEX, or LRV.
Palette Cube and other color digitizers enable you to take inspiration from the material world and apply it directly to your designs. It also helps create designs that look much more alive, creative, and attractive.
6. CAD Wireless Mouse
A 3D-enabled mouse is a vital hardware requirement for drafting professionals and designers. It is a point-and-control device that allows you to execute specialized movements in virtual 3D space.
An excellent 3D-enabled mouse can help you come up with great designs by keeping your hand comfortable, thus increasing the speed of your daily workflow. It will also help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.
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7. ARki
ARki is a highly rated augmented reality and 3D visualization platform that enables architects, designers, and engineers to create interactive presentations. With this platform, you can import models from external platforms, draw dynamic layers, and toggle between views. You can also design interactive layers using existing plans and ideas.
ARki enables design professionals to explore 3D models at scale from virtually anywhere. Aside from this, it also allows cross-device syncing and the importation of 3D models in .FBX format, a type of 3D model file created via the Autodesk FBX software. It’s used in various modeling applications and possesses mesh, material, texture, and skeletal animation data for the modern designer.
8. magicplan
magicplan is a one-stop architecture sketching app that enables you to design and share floor plans, come up with field reports and estimates, and sync all data into a single centralized hub.
Many use this as part of their tech stack to produce professional architectural drawings and floor plans seamlessly sans the need to get the services of a professional architecture firm. In fact, magicplan is the favorite of many small contracting businesses and startups.
magicplan allows you to measure and sketch excellent 2D and 3D floor plans and add images, notes, and other custom forms. This makes your report clearer and more specific. It also makes all your data structured and organized while allowing you to access and share it from anywhere.
9. RoomScan Pro
RoomScan Pro enables you to create a floor plan from your smartphone by literally “scanning” the space. The app then automatically generates a floor plan based on that room scan.
Aside from this, you may also create floor plans by drawing them manually or by tapping your smartphone against each wall in a room. Best of all, these three modes may be merged via a Bluetooth laser measure for improved accuracy.
What’s more is that it enables you to dictate notes about floor plans and reports. It also organizes the location of every floor plan you make.
You may also do virtual tours to show off your floor plans to your clients using augmented reality.
ARE YOU NOW READY TO TAKE ON A JOB INVOLVING DRAFTING AND DESIGN?
As you equip yourself with the latest tech stack that will allow you to improve your skills in drafting and designing, consider browsing drafting and design openings that we have at ACS Professional Staffing.
We are a full-service staffing agency with plenty of job openings for tech professionals, including architects, engineers, and designers.
Your dream job may just be at the tip of your fingers. Talk to us at ACS Professional Staffing to learn more!