CAD standards, file exchange and document management

The technical craft is not just about making a good drawing but about making one others can work on — today in six months and at another company. This requires following common rules for how files are built named exchanged and version controlled. Without that discipline even the best drawing work drowns in confusion about what the current file is.

In a project, a CAD manual or ICT agreement is often made that sets out the shared ground rules: layer structure and layer names, units, origin point, file and model naming, which formats are exchanged, and who is responsible for which models. As a technical designer, your task is to know and follow the project's manual — not to invent your own standard each time. It is the agreement that makes it possible for multiple trades' files to be assembled together without conflicts.

• 01Use agreed storage names — not personal abbreviations that only you understand.
• 02Keep related elements on the same layer so they can be switched on/off together.
• 03Avoid loose objects on 'layer 0' or standard layer if the manual requires otherwise.
• 04Clean up before delivery: delete unused layers, blocks and helper geometry.

The file format is chosen based on what the recipient needs to be able to do. An editable, program-specific format preserves all intelligence in the model, but can only be opened by the same program. Open, neutral exchange formats are used when the recipient has a different program, but they can lose some of the model's editability and parametrics. PDF is used for reading and approval where no one should edit — it freezes the drawing so it looks the same everywhere.

A clear and systematic filename is half of document management. The name should be able to tell which project, which part and which version the file is without opening it. Version control ensures that there is always only one valid version, and that older versions are clearly marked as obsolete — not deleted, but set aside so you can trace history.

Document management and revision control go hand in hand: when a drawing is revised, the revision is incremented, the change is described, and the new file is distributed according to the naming standard. A drawing list or document register ties it all together so everyone knows which files are current. This chain — name, revision, register — is what makes a project transferable smoothly instead of ending up in a folder full of 'final_v2_NEW_corrected'.

When a project closes, both the editable models, the derived drawings, and the frozen PDFs are archived according to the project's structure. Proper archiving means the material can be found and reused when the customer returns, and the model can continue in operation and maintenance. Good document management is ultimately an investment in your work having value long after it was made.

“A model is only worth making if someone can find it again and trust it's the right one.”

— Principle in document management