Serious question, manual drafting vs digital for complex electrical layouts?

I've been in the trade 8 years. Started on a board with pencils and Mylar. Loved it. Felt more in control. But last month I had a big panel schedule job. 48 circuits, cross-references, wire numbers everywhere. Did it old school first. Took me 3 days. Then I redid it in AutoCAD on a whim. Took 6 hours. The digital version was cleaner, easier to update when the client changed three loads. But I felt disconnected from the drawing. Like I was just clicking menus instead of thinking. Manual drafting makes me slow down and catch mistakes. Digital is faster for revisions. So which skill matters more now? Is it worth keeping the manual setup for certain jobs or am I just being nostalgic about a dead way of working? Anyone else go back and forth on this?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sarah28d ago

Mylar is polyester film, not paper.

charlie_fisher4528d ago

90% of people don't know that Mylar is actually a DuPont brand name, not the material itself. So @the_sarah, when you say polyester film, are you talking about the same biaxially oriented PET that's been around since the 50s, or is there a different grade people use for insulation vs. food storage? I noticed some Mylar emergency blankets feel stiffer than others - is that just a thickness difference or a different coating underneath?