After spending any amount of time around a construction site, you’ve likely encountered the terms CAD and BIM. Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) has been around for many years and revolutionized building drafting. Its younger cousin, Building Information Modeling (BIM) creates models, much like CAD, but each object in a 3-D BIM model is intelligent, meaning it contains product data. At the most fundamental level, each of these platforms was designed to facilitate planning.
Planning a job prior to beginning work leads to a better result. It is as simple as that. CAD and BIM make it easier to plan because they create a replica or draft of the building and allow products to be placed within the virtual building. Although building planning has many components, one of the most important parts is product selection.
Each construction job requires thousands of objects or products. That’s where CAD and BIM come in handy. CAD and BIM make product planning easier because they make it possible to insert specific products into the design and see how they fit and react to the space. While creating CAD or BIM models, each product for the job can and should be specified. After being specified in the CAD or BIM program, the products are included on the resulting spec sheet. Specifying products ensures that the correct products are being installed to achieve the desired outcome. Using CAD and BIM can also create a more organized jobsite since all objects within the job have been planned in advance.
If products are not specified during the planning stage, confusion and subpar work can result. Any unnamed product choices need to be discussed with the architect or general contractor. When products are not included in the spec, the cheapest, lowest quality products often get installed. CAD or BIM models can be helpful tools to facilitate communication and collaboration between team members when having these conversations. It is especially important to include all products in BIM models since BIM analyzes the way products interact with each other, ensuring smooth installation.
Trim-Tex has a large selection of CAD and BIM models to help design or plan your project. Trim-Tex CAD and BIM product files are available on BIM Object, ARCAT, and on the Trim-Tex website under Resources. Remember, each object that is placed in CAD or BIM leads to the creation of the final product, which is why it is essential to spec everything down to the corner bead.