There have been a number of posts recently on the other leading forum that involved designs drawn in CAD. Oh, the horror, the horror ...
Layout design is so much more than drawing. Unfortunately, the cheap or free CAD drawing programs make everyone feel that they are an expert layout designer because they can drive a mouse. In fact, there are whole web sites seemingly dedicated to catalogs of poor designs or whose main purpose appears to be handing out bad advice in the form of unbuildable, non-opererable designs.
What's worse is the ready chorus of "Attaboys" that greets these sorry track plans when they are posted on the web. I've tried to gently suggest to some of these people in off-list emails how they might improve their work. And my first suggestion is always to put down the mouse and slowly back away from the screen.
Bu they don't -- such is the virulence of CAD-Too-Soon Syndrome (CTSS). They just keep pounding out plans: each one more dreadful than the last.
I wrote a tongue-in-cheek piece on this for my website:
http://www.modelrail.us/id40.html
The sad part is, that article is not an exaggeration.
I wish there was some way to encourage these enthusastic but misguided CTSS sufferers to take the time to gain the foundation in layout design needed to understand the process instead of just blindly jamming track components in because they'll fit. But in the same way that cheap digital photography unleashed a wave of bad photos on the net, the legacy of cheap or free model railroad CAD seems to be a trail of layout tears.
Don't let CTSS remain a conspiracy of silence. Tell the sufferers there is help -- and hope. But they have to first be willing to help themselves by putting down the mouse and making the investment in time to gain some knowledge, background, and perspective.
Regards,
Byron
Layout design is so much more than drawing. Unfortunately, the cheap or free CAD drawing programs make everyone feel that they are an expert layout designer because they can drive a mouse. In fact, there are whole web sites seemingly dedicated to catalogs of poor designs or whose main purpose appears to be handing out bad advice in the form of unbuildable, non-opererable designs.
What's worse is the ready chorus of "Attaboys" that greets these sorry track plans when they are posted on the web. I've tried to gently suggest to some of these people in off-list emails how they might improve their work. And my first suggestion is always to put down the mouse and slowly back away from the screen.
Bu they don't -- such is the virulence of CAD-Too-Soon Syndrome (CTSS). They just keep pounding out plans: each one more dreadful than the last.
I wrote a tongue-in-cheek piece on this for my website:
http://www.modelrail.us/id40.html
The sad part is, that article is not an exaggeration.
I wish there was some way to encourage these enthusastic but misguided CTSS sufferers to take the time to gain the foundation in layout design needed to understand the process instead of just blindly jamming track components in because they'll fit. But in the same way that cheap digital photography unleashed a wave of bad photos on the net, the legacy of cheap or free model railroad CAD seems to be a trail of layout tears.
Don't let CTSS remain a conspiracy of silence. Tell the sufferers there is help -- and hope. But they have to first be willing to help themselves by putting down the mouse and making the investment in time to gain some knowledge, background, and perspective.
Regards,
Byron
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