Creative Solutions

AutoCAD, for drawings that get built.

Precise 2D drafting and 3D design for architects, engineers and construction teams, with specialised toolsets for each discipline. We help you choose between AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, pick the right licence and get your team set up.

Everything from the first line to the final sheet.

AutoCAD covers the whole drawing: drafting it, modelling it, sharing it and automating the repetitive parts.

2D drafting & documentation

Accurate drawings, dimensioned and ready to issue.

The heart of AutoCAD: precise plans, sections and details, with dimensions, notes and revision clouds, laid out on sheets with your title block. Tables can stay linked to an Excel spreadsheet, so a change in one updates the other.

What you can do

  • Dimensions added automatically, with a preview as you draw
  • Dynamic blocks and parametric constraints
  • Sheets with title blocks and several views
  • Tables linked live to Excel

Why it helps

  • Drawings issued to your office standard
  • Less time redrawing after a change
  • Schedules that always match the spreadsheet

3D modelling

Solid, surface and mesh models, and drawings from them.

Build a design in 3D, then create the 2D base, section and detail views straight from the model. Laser-scan point clouds can be brought in to draw against existing buildings and sites, and models rendered to show clients.

What you can do

  • Solid, surface and mesh modelling
  • 2D views, sections and details from the 3D model
  • Point clouds from laser scanners
  • Realistic materials, lighting and rendering

Why it helps

  • Complex shapes worked out in 3D, then drawn
  • Surveys of existing buildings used directly
  • Clients see the design before it is built

Specialised toolsets

Seven toolsets for architecture, engineering and mapping.

AutoCAD includes seven toolsets, each with the parts, symbols and commands one discipline needs: Architecture, Mechanical, MEP, Electrical, Plant 3D, Map 3D and Raster Design.

What you can do

  • Libraries of ready-made parts and symbols
  • Commands built for each discipline
  • Included with AutoCAD, not with AutoCAD LT

Why it helps

  • Architects, MEP and electrical engineers
  • Plant, mechanical and mapping work
  • Scanned drawings turned into editable ones with Raster Design

Collaboration

Work on the same drawing without getting in each other's way.

AutoCAD subscriptions now include Forma Data Management Essentials. Checkout lets one person reserve just the part of a drawing they need, so others keep working, and the changes go back into the main drawing. Moved or renamed references are found and repaired.

What you can do

  • Reserve part of a drawing with Checkout
  • Markups shared by several people, on desktop or web
  • Broken references found and repairs suggested
  • AutoCAD on the web and mobile included

Why it helps

  • Several people working on one project at once
  • Comments from site reach the drawing
  • No more lost references when files move

Autodesk AI

Takes on the repetitive parts of drafting.

AutoCAD learns from how you work to suggest where blocks go and which to swap, reads markups from paper or PDF and turns the instructions into edits, and cleans up gaps and overshoots in messy geometry.

What you can do

  • Suggestions for placing and replacing blocks
  • Import markups from PDF or a photo of paper
  • Markup Assist turns written changes into edits
  • Geometry Cleanup fixes gaps and overshoots

Why it helps

  • Faster redlines from review to drawing
  • Clean drawings from imported files
  • More time for design, less for tidying

Automation

Your own commands and routines, built in.

AutoCAD runs AutoLISP routines, including the thousands many firms already have, and can be extended through its programming interfaces. The Action Recorder saves a series of steps to replay with one command.

What you can do

  • Runs existing AutoLISP routines
  • APIs including .NET, ObjectARX and JavaScript
  • Record and replay steps with the Action Recorder
  • Custom menus, ribbons and tool palettes

Why it helps

  • Office standards applied automatically
  • Repetitive tasks done in one command
  • Existing routines kept when you upgrade

More to offer.

Beyond the main tools, AutoCAD includes smaller features that save time on every project.

  • Sheet Set Manager

    Organise, number and publish a whole set of drawing sheets together.

  • Count

    Count blocks and objects in a drawing, and put the totals in a table.

  • Trace

    Add feedback over a drawing without changing it, on desktop, web or mobile.

  • DWG Compare

    See what changed between two versions of a drawing.

  • Xref Compare

    See what changed in a referenced drawing since you last loaded it.

  • Floating windows

    Pull drawings out into their own windows, side by side or on a second screen.

  • My Insights

    Tips on faster ways to do what you already do, based on how you work.

  • ArcGIS basemaps

    Place a map under your drawing to design in its real location.

  • CAD Standards Checker

    Check drawings against your office's layers, styles and standards.

AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT?

Both draw in the same file format. AutoCAD LT covers 2D drafting; full AutoCAD adds 3D, the toolsets and automation. We help you choose, and mix the two across your team.

  • AutoCAD LT for 2D

    Precise 2D drafting and documentation, without 3D modelling, the toolsets or automation.

  • AutoCAD for everything

    All of AutoCAD LT, plus 3D, the seven toolsets, automation and web access.

  • Monthly, 1 or 3 years

    Monthly with no contract, or a 1-year or 3-year term that costs less; three years also fixes the price.

  • Flex for occasional use

    Pay-as-you-go tokens, used by the day, for people who need AutoCAD now and then.

Is it right for you?

If any of these sound familiar, AutoCAD can help. Tell us about your projects and we will suggest the right product and licence.

Start from the problem

Bring these answers to the first call

Rough answers are fine. They help us suggest the right product, licence and term.

  • How many people draw, and how often do they use AutoCAD?
  • Do they work in 2D only, or in 3D too?
  • Which disciplines do you cover: architecture, MEP, electrical, mechanical, mapping?
  • Do you already have Autodesk licences? Which ones, and when do they renew?
  • Do you use AutoLISP routines or add-ons today?
  • Would you prefer monthly, yearly or three-yearly terms?

Ready to get your team drawing?

Tell us about your projects and your team. We will suggest the right product and licence and set everything up.

Talk to Our Team