VidCAD as a Reliable Design Tool
When I first started to use VidCAD at Digital&Media Solutions, some years ago, I came from a period where only the “big” European companies were using VidCAD. I was using a PCB package which did the trick, but was not that user friendly, and didn’t look that good.
VidCAD meant change — not only because there was a change of software, but also in the way of thinking. Suddenly I had to think about libraries and about templates. I had to learn to draw again. Fortunately I had some knowledge of AutoCAD, so that part was not difficult. But the other part, the VidCAD way of living, was just starting!
I progressed from version 11 to 11.2, on to 12F and am now a Premier+ user with the latest SQL version. Some relief during this process is that the SQL version does make a difference. I have especially noticed this in my current project at Digital&Media Solutions, a leading System Integrator in Europe. Partnering with Akkermans, the leading coachbuilder in the Netherlands, we are involved in some of the most innovative OB trucks in Europe. Our presence can also be noted in major systems like the public broadcasters and regional broadcasters.
All these projects need to be carefully engineered. And of course, all need to be finished yesterday! Here the advantages of VidCAD step in. With VidCAD, I don’t have to create all the equipment per project. Most of it is already there as concept drawings and 3D. And if some equipment isn’t there, I can create it in a split second.
The larger the projects are, the larger the amount of drawings grows. Some projects end up with more than 15 drawings on ISO A1. Keeping track of equipment and cables can almost be a fulltime task without VidCAD’s database in the picture. VidCAD makes life pretty easy when you don’t have to think about double cable numbers or “did I use VTR1 or was it VTR-01 ?” With the new release, it is possible to check in and out facilities. Our customers like those options as much as we also like them. Customers come back to revitalize or upgrade their existing installations. Before 2.9.1, there was trouble getting the right drawings for an “old” project. Now, this can be accomplished by adding a facility which was exported. And there you go, with all the cables and all the flexiblocks instantly available!
VidCAD has also provided us with another opportunity. Manufacturers (at least most of them…) like us to use their equipment. It makes a difference to a busy engineer if we don’t have to create every piece of equipment ourselves. We have encouraged some manufacturers to allow us to create their complete product line in VidCAD and publish this library of drawings on their website for convenient access.
I can go on and on about the benefits of VidCAD, but, instead, I urge you to try it yourself. It will work for you as it is for us at Digital&Media Solutions.
Alex Vermeulen
Senior System Engineer
Digital&Media Solutions
[Note from VidCAD: Although Alex had prior experience with AutoCAD, we have many users who started using VidCAD without ANY AutoCAD or other CAD experience and are successfully completing projects within the first few days of operation.]