OT: Drafting/CAD Technicians, a thing of the past?

Similar to my tool and die maker thread.

BLS shows a considerable job decline in drafting, due to more efficient drafting technology. Evidently engineers can now do some of the tasks originally given to drafters.

Purely out of curiosity, is there no future in drafting? Do you believe the job will continue to decline or be phased out? Will drafters continue to be needed in spite of technological advances?

Engineers can now do all the tasks given to drafters but there is still a need for people to do simpler drawings, assemblies and specification paper work.

I started drafting out of necessity, now it's merely for convenience. It's much easier to ask for the file and get pertinent info then to try and explain what I need...cause they always leave like 2 or 3 important dimensions off lol.

Still exists over here but the pay levels pretty dang low, certainly less than most other machining and welding work pays.

Like all jobs, what a 'professional draftsman' does has changed significantly over the years. There was a time where the job was arguably as difficult as what the 'engineers' did. Ever thought about what it would take to generate a 10 or 20 sheet drawing, in D or E size, by hand, on paper? It's not just 'right-click, projected view, section view, detail view.'

As the drafting aids get better and better, it takes less and less skill and experience to be able to create useful drawings, but just like many fields, there is a lot about the job that can't really be automated well. It takes a lot of judgement to be a good drafter, and the broader their experience in the field (whether it's mechanical, electrical, architectural, whatever) the better they seem to be at the job. And a good drafter is absolutely invaluable - the best ones I have worked with had a terrific eye for detail, and often caught a lot of things engineers missed, or mistakes they made.

That said, these days it seems to be a position that doesn't exist as much as it used to on paper - i.e. not many people have the title of 'Draftsman' - although I think there are still a lot of people doing the job under different titles. It's typically become work for entry-level/intern/co-op engineers, lower level contract engineers, toolmakers stuck on light duty, or apprentice designers. I've almost always seen it relegated to people who are either newer, or only in the position temporarily, often as a way to get them familiar with the designs, standard practices, and typical work for an company or industry.

The job title 'CAD Operator' seems to be replacing 'Draftsman' quite a bit, and is definitely not a bad place to be. Just about every company I know would be willing to pick up someone who knows the software, just to take some of the load off of everyone else in the department. Added bonus if they know a bit about machining and/or inspection (which a lot of CAD operators, and entry-level engineers don't.) Triple word score if you can write, or bring with you, efficiency macros for whatever programs you're good with.

I was drafting a little over a year ago. Where I work we can't seem to hire enough. Leaving it up to engineers is a mistake. A drawing is a legal technical contract. A mistake can cost a bunch. I do see that were I work drafters do or advise on topics like GD&T that should be up to engineers. I would say that 'drafters' are more headed to design work, though.

Sm412 said:

is there no future in drafting?

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Ask Art Vandelay.
I'm sure architects still have a use for drafting.

Johnny SolidWorks said:

Like all jobs, what a 'professional draftsman' does has changed significantly over the years. There was a time where the job was arguably as difficult as what the 'engineers' did. Ever thought about what it would take to generate a 10 or 20 sheet drawing, in D or E size, by hand, on paper? It's not just 'right-click, projected view, section view, detail view.'

As the drafting aids get better and better, it takes less and less skill and experience to be able to create useful drawings, but just like many fields, there is a lot about the job that can't really be automated well. It takes a lot of judgement to be a good drafter, and the broader their experience in the field (whether it's mechanical, electrical, architectural, whatever) the better they seem to be at the job. And a good drafter is absolutely invaluable - the best ones I have worked with had a terrific eye for detail, and often caught a lot of things engineers missed, or mistakes they made.

That said, these days it seems to be a position that doesn't exist as much as it used to on paper - i.e. not many people have the title of 'Draftsman' - although I think there are still a lot of people doing the job under different titles. It's typically become work for entry-level/intern/co-op engineers, lower level contract engineers, toolmakers stuck on light duty, or apprentice designers. I've almost always seen it relegated to people who are either newer, or only in the position temporarily, often as a way to get them familiar with the designs, standard practices, and typical work for an company or industry.

The job title 'CAD Operator' seems to be replacing 'Draftsman' quite a bit, and is definitely not a bad place to be. Just about every company I know would be willing to pick up someone who knows the software, just to take some of the load off of everyone else in the department. Added bonus if they know a bit about machining and/or inspection (which a lot of CAD operators, and entry-level engineers don't.) Triple word score if you can write, or bring with you, efficiency macros for whatever programs you're good with.

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Not true. Sure, anyone half decent with a pc can learn to make a drawing in something like Inventor fairly fast. But that doesn't mean it will be useful. If they don't understand the machining process, they can make a pretty drawing that would be near impossible to build. I'm sure we have all seen it- tolerance stackups, GDT that is irrelevant/not correct, 4/5 place decimals everywhere, contradicting dimensions, etc...

From my experience, paper drawings are dying off really fast. Bigger companies will give you a CAD solid model and a book of standard specs and tolerances. Open the model, write the CNC programs, give the book of standards to the quality guy, job done.

There is still some need for people to do the actual CAD modeling, but often a big chunk of that now falls to engineers. A "CAD operator", as you guy call it, might work for multiple engineers, or a whole department. Sort of the opposite of the old days when an engineer might have several draftsmen working for him.

Mike1974 said:

Not true. Sure, anyone half decent with a pc can learn to make a drawing in something like Inventor fairly fast. But that doesn't mean it will be useful. If they don't understand the machining process, they can make a pretty drawing that would be near impossible to build. I'm sure we have all seen it- tolerance stackups, GDT that is irrelevant/not correct, 4/5 place decimals everywhere, contradicting dimensions, etc...

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That's a very good point - maybe I should have clarified that from the standpoint of physically producing a drawing, it takes much less skill now than it used to.

Having the knowledge and experience to generate a useful drawing becomes more rare every year, as engineers become farther and farther removed from the machine shops making their parts.

i have met many engineers who do not make drawings. almost like they think it is beneath them to create drawings
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it does not help that often college help hired for the summer at low wages often is used to edit drawings

Around here the skilled CAD draftsmen are known as Designers and there is still a market for good ones. While most engineers are skilled with CAD the more detailed 3D modeling and production drawings are often left to Designers to free the engineer for higher level work.

Scottl said:

Around here the skilled CAD draftsmen are known as Designers and there is still a market for good ones. While most engineers are skilled with CAD the more detailed 3D modeling and production drawings are often left to Designers to free the engineer for higher level work.

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i've met engineers who in my experience couldnt make a drawing even if they wanted too. i have met technicians with no engineering degree make hundreds of crude drawings using what ever CAD software they had available and in my experience were 10x more a engineer than the engineers .
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i get the feeling engineers with a degree feel making drawings is beneath them and all they want to do is manage people or jobs or big projects. basically they want to be a type of big boss

Drafters have now become Detailers that use a CAD software to accomplish what was once done by hand.

yes anyone and their brother can make a solid model, but they do not have the training or seat time experience of a drafter\detailer to create the drawing or MBD in the solid, so it is just the medium that has changed not the skill.

MBD for those that don't know is Model Based Dimensions in the 3D file.

len_1962 said:

Drafters have now become Detailers that use a CAD software to accomplish what was once done by hand.

yes anyone and their brother can make a solid model, but they do not have the training or seat time experience of a drafter\detailer to create the drawing or MBD in the solid, so it is just the medium that has changed not the skill.

MBD for those that don't know is Model Based Dimensions in the 3D file.

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many machinist often use 3D model and pick spots to pull a dimension out that is missing on the supplied cad drawing file.
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that assumes of course the 3D model is correct and often needs some thought on gd&t tolerance for the dimension they just created . obviously not all models were created bilaterally to use a +/- tolerance. often model shows max OD and minimum ID (maximum material condition) and often still need to ask the engineer what tolerance is

I'm with len_1962 on this & I've always heard their work called detail, IME the production "board" men were a craft. There is NO other craft that will demonstrate better precision with the scale, compass/divider and protractor when it comes to geometric construction. Might have equals with the best layout people in other trades, but detail work was constant. Many engineering grads started there before moving up.

As for going "tube" only record means a future of re-learning every little adjustment or "secret trick" production has written down on notepads or little black books to make the mojo go. So if production doesn't have real time update to a checker system there could be problems in the future.

I can imagine a future where someone is calling DMF_TomB and asking "what notes did you have on your laptop for XXXX???, we're having trouble with it."

Good luck
Matt

Ill agree computer aided drafting and drafting are 2 totally different animals. I can whip up a drawing in 2D or 3D in no time on a computer in any scale and view. I'd have a better chance at meeting Nikola Tesla to discuss electrical theory over dinner tonight than to make a hand drawn draft worth anything.

I am sure there are engineers who feel making drawings is beneath them, or not an essential skill. However, I am my own machinist, operate manual machines, and require drawings of my own designs in the shop! Also for things like sheetmetal parts which I get from other vendors.

Someone has to convey what the engineers intents are. A model only shows the shape, not how or what is relevant to the finale assembly. Years ago we would have 12 pages of prints for one valve body casting to show all the different views needed to make the casting and to machine it. Every dimension had tolerances is conveyed in a way that made it clear how it was to be built so that part A worked with part B. Not sure how you do this today with just a solid model. A good draftsmen/woman knows how to do it in such a way that you can get the part manufactured at the lowest cost without sacrificing the engineers intent.

you mean Excel Mcguire ?