The AEC industry is revolutionizing with many advanced tools and techniques. CAD and BIM are among the top revolutions the industry has to offer to its professionals. Both of these tools are easing the life of Architects, Engineers, Contractors, and other AEC professionals to a greater extent. People often get confused as to what to consider while designing and planning for the next construction project. They often use these terms interchangeably, but there is way difference between them. Before selecting any of them, let’s see what CAD and BIM stand for, their offering, pros and cons, and the factors on which the decision to adopt any of these can be made easier.

What is CAD?

CAD stands for Computer-Aided Design and involves the use of the computer to create and illustrate designs, plans, and documents relevant to different industrial projects. CAD was first introduced and implemented for manufacturing products and later was adopted by many industries, the Architecture and construction industry being one of them. It was introduced in the late 19th century in the AEC market and has impacted the construction sector tremendously. It has offered many invaluable tools to architects and designers, making building design and planning a lot more structured and simplified. Initially, CAD Drafting Services were limited to just 2D drawings representing floor plans, elevations, primary structure, etc., but today it has expanded and is utilized to create initial design drafts and layouts and estimations as well as to create 3D models depicting the more comprehensive structure of their construction projects. This transition to 3D modeling has contributed to the AEC sector, making designing and execution of large and complex structures easier and simplified. When combined with advanced technology, CAD can be of great use in the analysis, decision-making, and marketing the building projects.

Pros of CAD

  • Easy User Interface for Designing
  • Create basic and complex 2D and 3D models
  • Enhance visualization of the proposed design from multiple angles
  • Offers 360-degree perspective
  • Detect issues and errors
  • Simplify crucial decision making
  • Improved communication 
  • Open for changes, alterations, and modifications

 

Cons of CAD

  • It doesn’t reflect the designs in real-world scenarios
  • Designs can be monotonous
  • It’s just limited to 2D and 3D

 

Now that we have a clear idea about CAD and its concepts for designing and drafting, let’s peek into one of the new and trending construction industry concepts or the process that is taking over the AEC industry, automating the whole building process in the quickest way overcoming the limitation of CAD and offering a bit more than it.

 

What is BIM?

BIM, an acronym for Building Information Modelling, is a process of illustrating a building structure digitally via an information-rich 3D model. It depicts the actual building structure, including functional components and aesthetics. It is way comprehensive; all three components, Architectural, Structural, and MEP, are represented with all the relevant information tagged along. This makes clash detection easy, avoiding any reworks or modifications in the designs during actual construction. BIM also facilitates seamless monitoring, operations, and construction project management. It enables flawless construction workflow with effective coordination among the team, making them work collaboratively on a single model using cloud technology. BIM Services is not just limited to 2D and 3D; it can be combined with other dimensions such as 4D for scheduling, 5D for costings, 6D for Sustainable & Energy Efficient, 7D for facility management, 8D for health and safety, 9D for lean construction, and 10D for industrialization.

Pros of BIM

  • A more comprehensive model with Architectural, Structural, and MEP details
  • Use and access of information via a single database
  • Streamlines the construction workflow
  • Enhances visualization
  • Allows prefabrication 
  • Clash detection and coordination
  • Increased collaboration and communication
  • Efficient operations and management
  • Quantity take-off
  • Accurate Cost-estimations and budgeting
  • Improved productivity and quality
  • Improved analysis and decision making

 

Cons of BIM

  • Lack of expertise in the market
  • The initial investment is high
  • Less explored in different fields of AEC

 

Viewing the pros and cons of CAD and BIM, we can see that they have much in common but are different concepts. This leads to confusion in choosing either of them for implementing the respective construction projects by many professionals.


Your Next AEC Project Execution: BIM or CAD?

 

1) Dimensions

CAD and BIM are both capable of creating reliable and accurate 3D models, but BIM has more to offer in terms of dimensions (4D,5D,6D,7D, 8D,9D, and 10D).  

2) Designing and Visualization

Both allow for effective designing and modeling but require expertise to operate and function effectively. However, BIM is not adopted open-armly compared to CAD due to a lack of knowledge and expertise. But if used correctly, BIM can expand the basics of CAD designs, benefiting your construction projects with better visualization and communicating the design intent. BIM provides more enhanced visualization by zooming in and out, while CAD is limited to static.

3) Alterations and Modifications

CAD and BIM allow for changes and modifications, but due to the difference in designing techniques, BIM enables easy modifications and alterations compared to CAD.

4) Collaboration and Communication

CAD and BIM both improve teamwork and cooperation, but BIM enables better collaboration since all the information is stored and accessed from a single database making everyone aware of the design updates and work on the updated model.

5) Forecasting, Analysis, and Decision Making

BIM is proven to be the best when considering forecasting, be it for resources, workforce, or costings; BIM estimations are accurate. The BIM model generates accurate analysis and simplifies crucial decision-making.

6) Costings and Timelines

When there is a budget crunch in a project, the AEC team might consider CAD as their choice as it is more economical, but BIM is proven to be a wise choice when there are tight deadlines. 

7) Project Type and Complexity

CAD might serve best for small and medium-scale projects, but for large and complex projects, BIM might be the best choice as it streamlines the construction workflow and enhances the visualization reducing the complexity to a greater extent.

8) Speed and Accuracy

Definitely, BIM delivers more accurate and precise models, and the speed of execution is much more faster than CAD.

9) Sustainability

BIM considers energy efficiency while modeling, delivering a more sustainable structure than CAD, saving enormous energy, water consumption, etc.


Final Verdict

Choosing BIM or CAD totally depends on the project type, budget, and technical feasibility. However, 2D CAD is outdated throughout the AEC sector as most AEC professionals have switched to 3D for better visualization and interpretation. There are strong parallels between opting for CAD or BIM for 3D models, but if budget is not a big concern, BIM will definitely be a win-win for all the real estate, designing, and construction firms.