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Christina Hammond, Certified Drafter, Instructor
Drafters prepare technical drawings and plans used by production and construction workers to build manufactured products; examples of these may include toys, appliances, industrial machinery, spacecraft, structures, home plans, office buildings, and oil and gas pipelines. Drawings provide visual guidelines showing the technical details of the products and structures, specifying dimensions, materials to be used, procedures and processes to be followed. Drafters fill in technical details, using drawings, rough sketches, specifications, codes, and calculations previously made by engineers, surveyors, architects, or scientists. Some drafters use their knowledge of engineering, manufacturing theory and standards to draw the parts of a mechanism to determine fit, form and function.
Traditionally, drafters sat at drawing boards and used pencils, pens, compasses, protractors, triangles, and other drafting devices to prepare a drawing manually. Most drafters now use computer-aided drafting (CAD) systems to prepare drawings. Consequently, some drafters are referred to as CAD technicians. Students will learn board drafting basics, then proceed to CAD and Solid Modeling.
A student in the Drafting & CAD Technology program will work with several software programs, including AutoCAD, Inventor, Viz, Revit, SolidWorks, Chief Architect, and Microsoft Office applications.
The curriculum for the Drafting & CAD Technology program is certified by the American Design Drafting Association.
The Drafting and CAD Technology program has eight exit titles as follows:
(1) Detail Drafter Certificate, 2 trimesters (864 hours)
This is the first exit point in the Drafting Occupations and contains the ‘core’ materials that are prerequisite for the more advanced exit levels. Through a combination of reading assignments, hands-on exercises and drawing problems, this competency-based course introduces the student to the drafting occupations and teaches both manual drafting and CAD (Computer-Aided Drafting) skills. The topics covered in this course include: an overview of the basic drafting occupations, manual drafting techniques, Computer Aided Drafting, size and shape description, and pictorial drawing as applied to engineering/ construction drawing. Technology Foundations provide the participant with the opportunity to refresh and/or add needed skills in basic communications, reading and math if needed. Provisions are also made for participant’s to gain some practical experience utilizing real work.
(2) Drafting & CAD Technician Diploma, 3 trimesters (1296 hours)
This diploma level offers an introduction to working drawings as well as several special fields of drafting. It is intended to offer students a versatile employment opportunity and may also help them to determine areas in which they want to pursue further education. The course length of 1296 hours is based upon 864 clock hours in the detail drafter curriculum and an additional 432 hours devoted to the diploma.
(3) Computer-Aided Illustrator Diploma, 4 trimesters (1,728 hours)
This diploma level is intended to advance the student's visualization skills for creating 3-dimensional images, moving illustrations, and presentation techniques for construction and industrial design. It primarily focuses on the use of 3D modeling and animation software for visual communication. The course length of 1728 hours is based upon 864 clock hours in the Detail Drafter curriculum, 432 hours in the Drafting and CAD Technician Diploma, and an additional 432 hours devoted to the diploma.
(4) Architectural Residential Drafter Diploma, 4 trimesters (1,728 hours)
Architectural drafting is the process of preparing detailed plans that convey the architect's design for structures. The Residential Architectural Drafter course is intended for persons that wish to become drafters for architects, engineers, or contractors. The course is designed to present drafting techniques through the drawing of plans, elevations, sections, details, and schedules as used in residential construction. The latest technical information, standards, practices and construction techniques as related to architecture and drafting will be covered. Much emphasis is placed upon Computer-Aided-Drafting (CAD).
(5) Civil Drafter Diploma, 4 trimesters (1,728 hours)
Civil drafting deals with mapping, plot plans, earthwork, highways, roads and profiles of earth. This course is designed to prepare drafters for work in civil engineering companies, for surveyors, and in city, county, state, and federal government road and engineering departments. The fundamentals of surveying and commercial / industrial construction are also included. Much emphasis is placed upon Computer-Aided-Drafting (CAD).
(6) Mechanical Drafter Diploma, 4 trimesters (1,728 hours)
The Mechanical Drafter course is intended for persons that wish to become drafters in the manufacturing and machine related industries. Much emphasis is placed upon Computer-Aided-Drafting (CAD).
(7) Structural Drafter Diploma, 4 trimesters (1,728 hours)
The Structural Drafter course is focused on structures classified as heavy construction, which includes commercial buildings, industrial buildings, bridges, towers, and numerous other types of structures. The overall structure must be designed and the design must be documented by engineering drawings. In addition, each individual part must be designed and be documented by shop drawings. Structural drafting consists of preparing the documentation for the design of a structure so that the individual parts can be manufactured and the overall structure erected. Much emphasis is placed upon Computer-Aided-Drafting (CAD).
(8) CAD Technician Certificate, (356 hours)
The CAD Technician Certificate course is offered for those with related background who enroll for CAD, upgrading of existing CAD skills, or software-specific CAD re-training. All competencies must be mastered before progressing to the higher certificate or diplomas. Actual student completion time may vary due to the utilization of individualized, competency-based training.
