Autodesk AutoCAD Reviews

We are still using Oracle as a database engine because we are still on the engineering applications which support Oracle databases.

This is basically related to engineering applications for the oil and gas industry design applications, like 3D modeling databases. Our main core business is engineering, so as a back-end platform to store the repository data, we use Oracle database.

For the engineering applications, we work with Bentley, Autodesk, Hexagon and AspenTech, which are the engineering developers we collaborate with.

Autodesk is mainly used for the drafting engine, but for some customer demands for 3D, we use Plant 3D as a tool for the design of the oil and gas industry.

We use Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk AutoCAD Plant 3D, Civil 3D, Navisworks, Navis Simulate, and Revit. We are using all of these tools.

It basically depends on the customer. Most of the drafting work is done on Autodesk AutoCAD, but design and the terrain and 3D work related to civil is done in Civil 3D.

For Autodesk AutoCAD, our main end customer is the oil and gas industry in UAE and Saudi Arabia. This is the main customer.

It is for drafting, design, and the process industry. All aspects, whether the civil design, process P&IDs or the mechanical design work for the equipment, everything which needs to be drawn, our draftsman uses Autodesk AutoCAD.

Autodesk AutoCAD is a very generic tool. We believe worldwide it is acceptable, so there is a big demand. Every format is comfortably converted to any other software engine. This is a very good supportive tool.

Most of the drafting works are very comfortable to do and easy to share and easy to load on normal PCs. That is why every designer is comfortable doing this.

The version control feature is very good. If we store the previous version data and then we compare, we think that sounds very good. It helps while updating the drawings with reference to the previous work.

We think the split between 3D and 2D areas needs to be addressed. While loading Autodesk AutoCAD on a normal desktop PC, it seems to be very graphic-intensive, even for 2D. Upcoming versions are very high-demanding of hardware. We think that is a very key factor that needs to be addressed.

The second issue is the licensing matter. It is on a subscription model. Other companies in parallel are offering perpetual licenses. That is also in the competition, with BricsCAD from Hexagon. They are offering perpetual licenses, but Autodesk has dropped the perpetual license option. That is a big challenge with the subscription model.

We have been using this for the last 20 to 25 years.

We would rate the stability as an eight.

We would rate the scalability as more than ten. For scalability, we think there is no match. We think that is perfect.

The support is very fine, very efficient, and very active. Even in all circumstances, we get a very positive and very early response from them.

Neutral

The main competitor we are currently seeing is BricsCAD from Hexagon. It is very challenging and very stable. Previously ZWCAD hit the market, but in the current circumstances, we think BricsCAD will give it a tough time. Its interface is similar to Autodesk AutoCAD, its behavior and its features are everything, but the difference is the perpetual licensing being offered by Hexagon.

In our region, Autodesk prefers to deal via their partners. That is why we go via partners to deal with Autodesk.

Drafting becomes more efficient within a system when someone adopts this as a CAD engine. We think their ability automatically grows and they get more productive.

Our main streamline is the 2D in Autodesk AutoCAD, but for 3D we prefer to use Smart 3D from Hexagon.

We do not work with certain features and never have.

Certain features are not preferable because most of the things which work on LISP programming are quite helpful. We think that is enough for us for the current work scenarios.

We never use certain features. For validation tools, some of our customers basically provide us with a digital tool to extract the data to align things with layers, coloring schemes, text heights, and every attribute to map to their systems. We normally use that type of toolkit to get the data and align it with the customer data.

We would rate Autodesk AutoCAD as a nine or ten overall. It is good for us because the customers we are dealing with prefer to use Autodesk AutoCAD. That is why we never shifted to any other CAD engine. Our customers desire to have it. If they say you should have this license, then we have it. This is the final call. We believe this solution deserves a review rating of nine.

My main use case for Autodesk AutoCAD is teaching the AutoCAD course in the college where students are doing the architectural technology program, so we want to learn how to create floor plans and how to create different sort of details and hatchings for the floor plans and diagrams.

A specific example of something my students have created with Autodesk AutoCAD recently is the floor plans of a house with two or three bedrooms, and they also used it to create a sectional diagram to show the different sections of the house, the wall diagrams, and all those kinds of things.

Additionally, my students use Autodesk AutoCAD for taking this information and putting it in Autodesk Revit to create three-dimensional designs, and they use it for doing analysis, electrical diagrams, HVAC diagrams, and many other things.

Autodesk AutoCAD positively impacts my organization by allowing us to teach this course that a lot of students want to learn; it's one of the most well-recognized software in the industry, enabling students to get jobs in the industry in Calgary, thus allowing us to get more students and achieve higher revenue.

There has been a measurable increase in student enrollment and job placement rates since we began using Autodesk AutoCAD in our program, and we've also received higher or better positive feedback about our courses because we are providing these AutoCAD lessons to our students.

In my experience, the best feature that Autodesk AutoCAD offers is its ability to do all the designs; it's industry recognized, it has keyboard shortcuts to work a lot faster, it integrates with other software including Revit, and it's easy enough for other people to work and understand these programs easily.

Out of those features, the keyboard shortcut definitely stands out as the most valuable to my students because it saves the most amount of time in class.

I love the fact that we can add in three-dimensional models or diagrams for floor diagrams, such as when we add in drawings of toilets and kitchen tables; it's pretty easy and smooth to put in there.

I think the best improvement Autodesk AutoCAD can make is to keep it consistent over Windows and Mac computers.

Improvements should focus on making it seamless throughout different operating systems so we can easily access Autodesk AutoCAD over Windows and Mac and have a similar look, as I currently need to use AutoCAD on my Windows laptop to ensure consistency for my students.

The main reason I don't give it a perfect ten is due to the support across different operating systems and how it doesn't look the same on Mac systems.

I have been using Autodesk AutoCAD for the last one to three years.

Autodesk AutoCAD is stable in my experience, although it is heavy on the computer, taking a lot of energy, memory, and resources, making it somewhat challenging to run on older computers.

The scalability of Autodesk AutoCAD does become an issue when working on larger files, as it tends to slow down significantly, requiring very powerful computers for big projects, which I think is a con for Autodesk AutoCAD.

Customer support for Autodesk AutoCAD is fantastic; I had an issue with student licenses, and they responded to my message in a matter of a day, which was perfect.

I would rate customer support a ten.

Previously, we used SketchUp, but it was not ideal; it doesn't do a great job and is not industry recognized, so that's why Autodesk AutoCAD is the best solution for our students considering their requirements.

I have definitely seen a return on investment; when we invest in Autodesk AutoCAD, we effectively attract more students, garner higher feedback, and consequently increase our revenue and overall income.

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is fantastic, as we work with colleges and students and benefit from the student discount, making it completely free for us. However, if I were not a student and working individually, I think the cost would be a lot higher than reasonable. It's free under a company, so I think there should be a middle ground for individuals wanting to support Autodesk AutoCAD but not able to afford the annual fee.

Before choosing Autodesk AutoCAD, I evaluated other options including SketchUp and Revit; however, I found that Autodesk AutoCAD was the best option due to its industry recognition and the fact that everybody's using it, even though it doesn't handle three-dimensional tasks as well as others, which is a challenge.

My experience with the accuracy and reliability of the output from Autodesk AutoCAD is that it's pretty good.

I have never used the AI capabilities of Autodesk AutoCAD.

My advice for others considering using Autodesk AutoCAD is that if you are a student, you should definitely utilize their student package—it's an amazing way to learn Autodesk AutoCAD. After you finish, when you get a job, you will have access through your workplace. However, I acknowledge that it is a challenge to access Autodesk AutoCAD if you are not a student or working. Other than that, it's a fantastic tool; try it and get some certifications, as they will help you in the industry.

I would rate Autodesk AutoCAD a nine out of ten.