Why AutoCAD is not feasible enough to learn for a common person?

[prabha_friend]

What makes it complex? Exactly...

 

[The_Doc_Man]

As is the case for many people, the problem with AutoCAD is the same as the problem with Access. You can easily learn how to use the program. What is more daunting is that if you have the program (Access OR AutoCAD), you find that you are no better off than you were before because you don't understand the subject matter. Here are some analogies.

You buy a power drill. It still doesn't qualify you to be a carpenter.
You buy an oxy-acetylene (or worse, a hydrogen-heliarc) torch. It still doesn't make you a metal-hull shipbuilder.
You buy a dentist's drill. It still doesn't qualify you to be a dentist.
You buy an X-Ray machine. It still does make you a medical imaging technician.
You buy an airplane. It still doesn't qualify you to act as a commercial airline pilot.

Don't confuse the tool with the subject to which it applies. Having the tool is not the same as having the knowledge of how and why and when (and when not) to use the tool. AutoCAD is just another tool for architectural and mechanical designers.

 

[Edgar_]

Just to elaborate on Doc's point.

Type L in the command bar, click on two spots: you have a line
Type L in the command bar, write the coordinates of first point, then the coordinates of second point: you have a line
Type L in the command bar, click or write the coordinates of first point, then an angle and a distance: you have a line
Click on the line, you get its properties
Click on some snap points of the line, you can modify it

It's precise. Not everyone needs that kind of precision.

Try to draw some blueprints on Photoshop or Gimp: you'll suffer.

Try to draw some anime character on AutoCAD: you'll suffer.

 

[Isaac]

What makes it complex? Exactly...

I don't know the specifics nor am I an expert, but it took my son halfway towards an engineering master's degree before they decided his current knowledge was enough to start pairing/applying to CAD work.

I am not saying learning CAD requires that, but I am just mentioning that the context of using CAD independently may require/involve an advanced level of knowledge in peripheral subjects.

I've always told my wife - I can teach her how to run the same SQL queries that I run in 3 months or less. It might work, but as soon as she was removed from the sterile, familiar surroundings of the EXACT environment she learned it in, she would realize she had no idea what to do. Perhaps learning CAD can span the same spectrum of possibilities ...

 

[KitaYama]

I'm trying hard not to sound rude, but your questions have always been strange.

What makes it complex? Exactly...

I think IT IS my question.
For me, it's neither complex nor hard.
So if it's complex for you. then YOU are the person to answer. What makes it complex?

 

[DickyP]

The real reason it's not feasible/suitable for common usage is that its not what it was designed for. My son-in-law who is a ventilation engineer uses it all the time but he has 1) the real need for its facilities and 2) all the necessary paraphernalia such as flatbed printers etc to fully use it.

To we mere mortals Autosketch was an excellent everyday alternative but, of course, it has been discontinued. These days I make do with Visio with all its faults on the rare occasion when I need to draw plans.