top of page

3D plans vs. 2D plans


2D CAD plans are still being used by professionals, but 3D rendering opens the door to much greater design freedom, innovation, and efficiency. It completely transforms the way you work, which is precisely why it took over the world, making 2D CAD a viable option only for basic functions.


Gone are the times when architects, manufacturers, and industrial designers used drafting tables to sketch their designs. CAD (computer-aided design) came into the light a long time ago, completely changing their workflow.


After a while, 3D CAD hit the scene, taking over 2D CAD and allowing architects, video game developers, filmmakers, and manufacturers to become much more efficient and innovative. It has become the most viable option for outstanding designs, as it opens the door to much greater design freedom.


Here are the most important differences between 2D CAD plans and 3D rendering plans that made the latter spike in popularity and take over the world.


2D CAD Limitations


2D CAD has worked for so many years since advent, and many professionals still rely on it. It’s still very effective for basic functionalities, but it does have several limitations that 3D CAD completely eliminates.


Inefficiency and Errors


When creating a design with 2D CAD, you simply can’t capture all the little details as you can in 3D. You can’t rotate an object to see all its complexities and make adjustments to the design. You can only go back and forth for hours or days until you finally correct all the errors that may exist.


If there are lots of people on the project, this process of checking for errors, and making sure you capture everything that’s necessary for the design, becomes even more challenging.


Complicated Design Changes


When you need to make changes to your 2D design, you need to be ready to recreate it a dozen times to ensure you capture all the details. You need to recreate a lot of drawings, which isn’t a very easy process. With 3D CAD, you can make the changes to all your files in almost an instant.


Physical Prototypes


When working with 3D CAD plans, you don’t need to make physical prototypes to test your designs. This isn’t the case with 2D, which requires prototypes. 2D drawings simply can’t accurately show you whether or not your designs may have some issues.


The Benefits of 3D Rendering


3D rendering completely eliminates all the limitations of 2D CAD plans, and brings plenty more benefits along, which is precisely why it took over the world by storm.


Easy Design Changes and Seamless Evaluations


With 3D rendering, you can make as many changes to your designs as you want in significantly less time than you would when working with 2D CAD plans. You don’t need to draw anything, as you can make the changes using your 3D software with just a few simple clicks. It reduces errors and saves you a lot of time.


Moreover, it speeds up evaluations and the client approval process. This is because your clients may not fully understand your 2D drawings, so it can be difficult to explain all the design complexities to them. This drags out the approval process and also increases costs.

With 3D rendering, you can effectively convey every little detail in your designs, making it easy even for laypeople to understand everything you’re trying to communicate. You don’t need to go back and forth to make certain changes, as there are absolutely no hurdles to jump over.


Photorealistic Renderings


3D rendering allows you to create photorealistic renderings that are simply not possible with 2D CAD. 2D doesn’t allow you to capture every little detail of every single side of an object, which becomes a real piece of cake with 3D rendering.


You can create 3D visualisations with photorealistic effects that will truly bring your designs to life. For instance, if you’re designing a building, 3D rendering can help you display every single part of that building, both the interior and exterior, including textures, lighting, and furnishings.


Your clients can visualise exactly how the building will look like once it’s fully constructed since you will be able to show them the most intricate details. The same goes for any other product, such as games, vehicles, medical equipment, and much more.


2D CAD plans also can’t comprehensibly showcase how the end product will actually function in the real world. With 3D rendering, you can create 3D animations to show how your designs will perform once their construction process is completed. This also saves you quite a lot of time and saves your clients a lot of money that they would need to invest in potential future repairs.

Comments


bottom of page