Question
I'm looking for a source for pre-drawn appliances for AutoCAD. Currently I am drawing elevations and plans for each appliance in a kitchen/installation, converting them to blocks and dropping them into my drawings. Who has the best library for this sort of thing? We work in metric and would want a source that periodically upates their information based on new models, etc. Any help is appreciated.
Forum Responses
(CAD Forum)
From contributor T:
Most appliance manufacturers provide .pdf drawings of their appliances. I save these .pdf's to Adobe Photoshop and create a bitmap (.bmp) and then insert the image into a drawing.
Bitmaps can be very large (file size) and being that ACAD is a large file size also, this can cause very long refresh rates so I, insert a bitmap and then trace over in a straight line fashion then delete the bitmap and save my library in an appliance file for future use.
I do the same for all moldings and my library grows quickly. The first one may take a few minutes but after that it is a breeze. Also, a good scanner can really help. I scan a molding in profile and create a bitmap and then use the same procedure. I also always back-up these files onto a removable disc because they can become very valuable in saving drawing time and you do not want to lose them.
At least with manufacturer supplied details you have some recourse when it comes to cya. Still, you must be very diligent when using these specs because without prior experience or knowledge of these products you can get burned easily - especially with the appliances and electronics.
