"jon_banquer" wrote in message
...

Loud stopped learning a long time ago. This is especially true when
it comes to CAD where he can't grasp the need for solid modeling.

I can't speak for LS but I've noticed that old folks like me who
learned paper drafting can do the 3D solid modeling pretty well in our
heads, as that was part of our training and practice exercises. I was
only in 7th grade but my buddy whose father was an architect was very
competitive so we both paid close attention and tried to outdo each
other. The elective class had no disruptive clowns, only serious
students who wanted to learn.

At Segway the younger industrial designers loved Solidworks and the
rapid prototype machine, the older MEs carved their prototypes in
metal on the CNC Bridgeport. Personally I draw and dimension the areas
that interface with other parts and sculpt the rest on the fly while
machining it.

Some of the CAD designs I've examined were physically impossible and
the designer couldn't see why. Like a spellchecker the computer didn't
correct mist steaks that parsed to something unintended, for example a
box whose corners don't align but the line width hides the gap. The
CAD tool I used to design circuit boards had no problem with a 1" hole
through a 3/4" bar unless I carefully edited the matrix of clearance
rules.
-jsw