Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

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Good times I'm sure, a bunch of guys making a living wage and supporting their families with a decent quality of life.

Then autoCAD came along

 

[Scribe]

Then autoCAD came along

Yeah, a pity I suppose, hopefully most of them had already earned enough or retired before they were rendered redundant.

 

[CleverNickName]

Then autoCAD came along

Is that your own assumption, or are you quoting an article from somewhere?

 

[Scribe]

Is that your own assumption, or are you quoting an article from somewhere?

Image search made it seem like it was a stock photo, but I'm not a Google wizard.

 

[trappedslider]

Is that your own assumption, or are you quoting an article from somewhere?

History pictures on Facebook:

Before the advent of AutoCAD in the 1980s, the life of a designer in the 1960s was a labor-intensive and highly manual process. Designers, whether in architecture, engineering, or product design, relied heavily on traditional drafting tools like T-squares, compasses, and pencils to create precise technical drawings. The drafting table was the central hub of the designer's workspace, and much of the work involved carefully hand-rendering intricate blueprints, schematics, and layouts. Every line had to be drawn with painstaking accuracy, and any mistakes required erasing and redrawing by hand, which could be both time-consuming and frustrating.

The design process in the 1960s also involved a great deal of collaboration and communication. Designers would frequently work closely with architects, engineers, and clients to refine ideas and incorporate feedback. Changes to drawings often required physical revisions, which meant that multiple drafts of a single design might be produced, each representing a different iteration of the concept. Since technology was limited, much of the work involved direct manual calculations, measurements, and adjustments. Large-scale projects often required designers to spend hours, or even days, creating scaled models or physical mock-ups to visualize their concepts before presenting them to clients.

Despite the challenges, the pre-AutoCAD design world had a certain tactile quality and a sense of craftsmanship that many designers of the era appreciated. The act of drawing by hand was not only a skill but an art form in itself, demanding both technical precision and artistic flair. Designers in the 1960s were deeply engaged in their craft, and the slow, meticulous pace of the work allowed for a high degree of detail and personal expression. While technology was on the horizon, the work of designers in the 1960s was rooted in a tradition that valued the process of creation as much as the final product.

 

[Scribe]

Despite the challenges, the pre-AutoCAD design world had a certain tactile quality and a sense of craftsmanship that many designers of the era appreciated. The act of drawing by hand was not only a skill but an art form in itself, demanding both technical precision and artistic flair. Designers in the 1960s were deeply engaged in their craft, and the slow, meticulous pace of the work allowed for a high degree of detail and personal expression. While technology was on the horizon, the work of designers in the 1960s was rooted in a tradition that valued the process of creation as much as the final product.

There is a certain craftsmanship that just isn't going to be match with CAD.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Then autoCAD came along

Woah.

I thought autoCAD was just my personality type! The more you learn....


Hey, Snarf, why you such a cad?

Can't help it. It's automatic.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Helen: "I don't have to settle! I could launch a thousand just like you!"

You know…they never actually said explicitly what direction the ships were launched in.

I mean, I know they had a massive Greek army besieging Troy, but that doesn’t mean 1000 ships didn’t leave the battle when they saw Helen.

 

[Ryujin]

History pictures on Facebook:

Before the advent of AutoCAD in the 1980s, the life of a designer in the 1960s was a labor-intensive and highly manual process. Designers, whether in architecture, engineering, or product design, relied heavily on traditional drafting tools like T-squares, compasses, and pencils to create precise technical drawings. The drafting table was the central hub of the designer's workspace, and much of the work involved carefully hand-rendering intricate blueprints, schematics, and layouts. Every line had to be drawn with painstaking accuracy, and any mistakes required erasing and redrawing by hand, which could be both time-consuming and frustrating.

The design process in the 1960s also involved a great deal of collaboration and communication. Designers would frequently work closely with architects, engineers, and clients to refine ideas and incorporate feedback. Changes to drawings often required physical revisions, which meant that multiple drafts of a single design might be produced, each representing a different iteration of the concept. Since technology was limited, much of the work involved direct manual calculations, measurements, and adjustments. Large-scale projects often required designers to spend hours, or even days, creating scaled models or physical mock-ups to visualize their concepts before presenting them to clients.

Despite the challenges, the pre-AutoCAD design world had a certain tactile quality and a sense of craftsmanship that many designers of the era appreciated. The act of drawing by hand was not only a skill but an art form in itself, demanding both technical precision and artistic flair. Designers in the 1960s were deeply engaged in their craft, and the slow, meticulous pace of the work allowed for a high degree of detail and personal expression. While technology was on the horizon, the work of designers in the 1960s was rooted in a tradition that valued the process of creation as much as the final product.

In grade 9 my homeroom class was Drafting. The class was over-full. That was mid-'70s. In 1984 one of my managers in the airport parking lot, where I worked as an assistant manager, was a graduate of a university architectural programme, who couldn't get a job in his field. AutoCAD existed but hadn't gained strength yet, so I would say that the decline predates it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

There is a certain craftsmanship that just isn't going to be match with CAD.

Yes…and no. Certain things can’t easily be done easily/well with CAD, but for certain people, CAD actually enables their artisanry.

I know a luthier in Illinois who uses CAD for making his guitars, and he also shadow builds precision parts for other guitar builders. The pix below are of some of his work- the different colors aren’t paints or stains, but different woods shaped by his CAD equipment.

I also work with a jeweler who absolutely cannot draw. According to him, if he didn’t have CAD, he might still be a stockbroker in NYC.