CADinfo .net
CAD took a grip on the design community when it became possible to create and modify drawings digitally. The automation of pre- and post- drawing stage of technical design came later and continues to morph as technological innovations add to the story. We started this collection of memories back in 1997. A glimpse back in time for those who have never used a drawing board.
You know you're getting old when...
You consider the electric eraser to be a new-fangled gadget invented by the Devil himself.
Nick Bogut
You remember how to control lineweights by rolling the pencil as you draw
John Cabrall
You remember that a spline is something you rest weights (ducks) on, to draw a curve.
(A flexible pen/pencil guide, bent through control points on the drawing and held in place by the weights until the line is drawn.)
Bob Doncom
image courtesy of Bob Perry
You are asked if a Leroy Lettering Set is a package of fonts for AutoCAD (and where they can be downloaded)
_ S. Yoder_
image courtesy of Todd Klein
You are asked why there is sandpaper on a stick in your drawer
_ S.Yoder_
image courtesy of Mrs. Laverne E. Denyer
You think you should own stock in the plastic's industry because of all the templates you own.
S. Yoder
You rue the day they quit making drafting linen
Dennis Shinn
A compass was for drawing arcs and circles and not finding the North pole
Dennis Shinn
You know that some pencil sharpeners only remove the wood and don't sharpen the lead.
Carl Taylor
You know that the little piece of thin metal with all of the holes is called an erasing shield.
Carl Taylor
Your drafting table still has drafting powder in the seams
Anon.
You still have a drafting table!
Anon
You keep your electric eraser out and visible just because it's been such a good friend
Anon.
You can start out with a completely blacked out sheet of negative paper and scratch out a drawing with a razor blade or scalpel.
Anon.
When you were lucky enough to get Ralph Smoley (remember Smoley's) to be your teacher for a ICS course in engineering
Anon
You have a beam compass.
Michael Pekarik
When someone says scale, you ask architectural or engineering?
Michael Pekarik
You remember filling your inking pen with an eyedropper, after first adjusting the line width by turning a knurled wheel on the side of the pen and "measuring" the width of the pen points
Dennis Staley
You look for the slide rule icon
Chris
Your back has formed the perfect curve for the Leroy lettering position
Chris
You remember when blueprints were blue and sepias were erased with a chemical.
Janet Hould
Image by Joy Oil Co Ltd via Wikimedia Commons
when you remember that before the plastic foam, everyone had a dark, speckle topped, rubber-band wrapped, roll of frazzled toilet paper on the drafting table
_Doug Rohn_
You went to happy hour on Friday nights with drafting tape stuck to the elbows of your sleeves!
Dale Brooks
