Site plans can include the footprint of buildings, landscaping designs, walkways, parking lots, drainage and water lines, and will show the placement of all of these items relative to one another. Site plans, also known as plot plans, are top down view, scaled drawings showing the proposed usage and development of a piece of land. They can include the size and location of ductwork, connections to control units, as well as the relationship and connections between various components. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) drawings provide information about the ventilation, heating and air conditioning systems within a given location.

For example, a P&ID can show the types of valves, pumps, tanks and other components within the larger system, and how they connect to, and interact with, one another. Piping & Instrumentation DiagramsĪ piping & instrumentation diagram (P&ID) shows the relationships between piping, instrumentation and other system components in a physical process flow. Blueprints are reproductions of technical drawings, but the word blueprint is also used to describe any type of plan, such as a floor plan. Technical drawings can include architectural, mechanical and engineering designs. Technical drawings are used to deliver exact specifications of how something should be made. Technical Drawings & BlueprintsĪ technical drawing is a detailed, scaled plan or drawing of an object.

Floor plans are great for laying out objects, like furniture, within a structure to ensure a proper fit. Floor plans help to visualize the footprint of a building, home or other structure. Floor Plansįloor plans are scaled diagrams that show the size, placement and shape of rooms and other objects within a structure using a top down view. Below are some common designs and drawings that can be made with CAD software. There are a wide variety of uses for CAD software and the types of designs that can be made. Designs can be shared and collaborated on in real time, greatly decreasing the overall time needed to complete a drawing. Calculations are performed by the computer, making it much easier to test the viability of designs. CAD drawings are not limited to the 2D space of a piece of paper, and can be viewed from many different angles to ensure proper fit and design. Designs can be created and edited in much less time, as well as saved for future use. Calculations, such as the structural load on a building component, would need to be done manually by an engineer or designer, a very time consuming - and error prone - process.ĬAD software changed all of this. Every object, line or curve needed to be drawn by hand using rulers, protractors and other drafting tools. Prior to the advent of computer aided design, designs needed to be manually drawn using pencil and paper.

Cad programs