AET 241- ADV. ARCHITECTURAL CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

CADD SYSTEMS PROCEDURES:: Date last Modified: 2/15/02

LAYER NAMING CONVENTIONS Date printed: February 13, 2001

LONG FORMAT LAYER NAMES

Layering conventions vary in their complexity. Long format layer names can be made up of 6-16 characters, usually being organized into sub-groups for clarity.

Example:

S-WALL-INT

A-WALL-INT-STUD

A-GRID

A-GRID-DIMS

AET 241 conventions will be a variation of long format names based on the following:

XXX / - / XXXX / - / XXXX / - / XXX
Discipline Designator / Major Group / Minor Group / User Defined Status Field
[ 3 char.] / [ 4 char.] / [3-4 char.] / [ 3 char.]

Examples:

Discipline Designator / Major Group / Minor Group / User Defined Status Field
APB / - / WALL / - / CMU / - / [ none]
APB / - / PART / - / GYBD / - / TN1
APB / - / PART / - / GYBD / - / TN2

DISCIPLINE DESIGNATIONS

First Character / Second Character / Third Character / Add Groups and Modifiers
Drawing Category: / Drawing Type / System Usage / -
A,C,S,M,P,E,F,L / P,E,S,D,I,H / B,T,C / -
A-Arch. / P - Plan / B - Base
C - Civil / E - Exterior. Elevation / T - Temporary/Partial
S - Struct. / S - Section / C - Composite
M - Mech. / D - Detail
P -Plumb. / I - -Interior Elevation
etc. / H - Schedule
-

DISCIPLINE DESIGNATIONS - continued

All course work is Architectural, so all layer names will have “A” for first character.

Drawing Types:

The second character will reflect what type of drawing it is, a plan, exterior elevation, section, etc. This way a different system of layer names will not have to be developed and learned for each drawing type in the course work.

The third character will allow information to be turned on and off depending upon its insertion into other drawings without changing the remainder of the layer names. All prototype drawing layers will use the “B” designation to start, with the variations of “T” and “C” being added as needed.

Examples:

Discipline Designator
APB / - / An Architectural Plan Base drawing layer
AEB / - / An Architectural Exterior Elevation Drawing Layer
ASB / - / An Architectural Section Drawing Layer
ADB / - / An Architectural Detail Base Drawing layer
APP / - / An Architectural Partial Plan Drawing
CPB / - / A Civil Plan Base drawing layer [

MAJOR GROUP DESIGNATIONS

The logic of the minor group layer designations is to roughly follow the CSI 16 division system; therefore if the user knows what the component is, it should not by a mystery what designation to use. A few designations are added for drawing components such as structural grids, references, titles, etcetera..

A few group designations are illustrated below. For complete list, see reference list.

Major Group
GRID / - / Project Grid Layout
WALL / - / Exterior Wall Construction
PART / - / Interior Partition Construction
STFM / - / Structural System Components
DOOR / - / Doors
FURN / - / Furnishings
REFS / - / Drawing Cross Reference Symbols

Examples:

Discipline / Major Group
APB / - / WALL / - / Exterior Wall Components in Plans
ASB / - / WALL / - / Exterior Wall Components in Sections
APB / - / DOOR / - / Door Components on Plans
APB / - / PART / - / Partition Components on Plans
ADB / - / PART / - / Partition Components in Details
ADB / - / ANNO / - / Annotation Elements


MINOR GROUP DESIGNATIONS

Standard Modifiers further subdivide the minor groups into layers which allow flexibility in drawing, editing, block insertion, and plotting. The standard modifiers are established as an office procedure which allow similar designations to be used with the group designations to be easily understood.

A few group designations are illustrated below. For complete list, see reference list.

Minor Group Names
MARK / - / Mark symbols, for walls, finishes, doors, etc.
PATT / - / Hatching and other fill pattern symbols
DIMS / - / Dimensions
INSL / - / Insulation
FRMG / - / Framing - other than major structural
NOTE / - / Specific notes related to building element

Examples:

Discipline Designator / Major Group / Minor Group
APB / - / WALL / - / CMU / - / Exterior Wall CMU Units in Plans
APB / - / WALL / - / INSL / - / Exterior Wall Insulation in Plans
APB / - / PART / - / INSL / - / Partition Insulation on Plans
APB / - / WALL / - / BVNR / - / Exterior Wall Brick Veneer on Plans
AEB / - / WALL / - / BVNR / - / Exterior Wall Brick Veneer on Exterior Elevations
APB / - / ANNO / - / NOTE / - / Notes on Plans

USER-DEFINED STATUS FIELD DESIGNATIONS

The purpose of the user defined modifier is to allow the individual CADD drafter to be able to add layers as necessary to develop the project efficiently in CAD technology while maintaining a system that will be understood by others. The Major Group, Minor Group, and Standard Modifiers for layer names are part of an official office standard; every CAD user maintains these designations. On a project by project basis, the user-defined modifier makes an office standard flexible enough to respond to specific project requirements.

Therefore, there is no standard reference list for the user-defined modifiers. The team or project leaders may elect to maintain a list within the project record.

The following are a few of the user-defined modifiers that may appear in existing CAD layer names:

Major Group / Minor Group / Std.
Modifier / User Defined
Modifier
APB / - / PART / - / GYPD / - / COR / Gypsum Partitions in Plans - Building Core
APB / - / PART / - / GYPD / - / TN1 / Gypsum Partitions in Plans - Tenant Space 1
APB / - / PART / - / GYPD / - / TN2 / Gypsum Partitions in Plans - Tenant Space 2
APB / - / ANNO / - / DIMS / - / DEM / Demolition Dimensions in Plans

FINAL ADVISORY

Like any system, including the AIA standard layer name designations, the AET 241 conventions are in a process of evolution. As work progresses, new Minor Groups and Standard Designations will be added, some may be deleted or revised.

The up-to-date reference list will be maintained on the H:\ - Apache network as a Word6 document named:

CADLYLTG. doc - for a list of group designations and standard modifiers [ Note: this document will not be available for the Spring 2002 semester due to extensive revision required by version 2 of National CAD standard ]

See the files below for a list of complete layer name acronyms organized by drawing types for details, elevations, and plan drawings. Note: Section drawings use the same layer names as for detail drawings.

CADLYLTN_PLN_022.doc – Plan Drawings

CADLYLTN_ELV_022.doc – Elevation Drawings

CADLYLTN_DET_022.doc – Detail Drawings

At any time, the student can consult these documents to verify project CAD conventions.

\AET241\CADLYSUM.doc

2/28/97