Back in the days when I first started designing loudspeaker enclosures (gee, I hoped I never had to say “back in the days”) computers were in their infancy and weren’t widely used, and they were still teaching drafting in school. A straightedge, ruler, protractor, calculator, and a nice set of technical pens were all you needed. Heck, I use to lay out my designs full scale on the back of 24x36 posters of a faded band of mine, and for larger cabinet drawings I would tape several posters together. Sometimes, I don’t know which was more ridiculous, the design I was working on or the hairdos on the other side of the posters.

AutoCAD 2000i with 3D model designed by Formula Audio.

With the introduction of the 8086 computer, for those who remember, it was the predecessor to the blazing fast 286 models at 33MHz. The 8086 were only 16Mhz, and no, that’s not a misprint. Depending on what model you had, it was between 8 and 16 MHz running DOS. Ah, those were the days, firing up AutoCAD Release 3 on an 8086 with an OS of DOS. It was heaven. Really! I jest not. Having the ability to draw and correct your designs over and over without picking up an eraser was truly heaven. To see your creation emerge from the pen plotter in multi-colors was very exciting. I do miss my old DOS computer, because it was simple, it worked, and it never, ever crashed or locked up, ever! Lordy, I miss my DOS.

Now we come to the present day computer tools for design and testing. With AutoCAD and 3D design the norm, it’s possible to design a cabinet from start to finish with 6-digit (.000001) accuracy and without flaws. With 3D you’re able to run collision detection to make sure you don’t have overlapping or intersecting parts. This feature alone was worth the wait for 3D. Many times have engineers signed off on a design to have it built and find a simple change in a compression driver was .5-inch off and it wouldn’t fit in the chamber. Believe me, your heart sinks when that happens. Your grab your calculator and find the mistake and realize the interior design needs to be reworked.

So the moral of the story is, if you’re not designing with a CAD package, you should be. Keep in mind, it’s still a stupid computer and stupid software, meaning it’s not magic. It’s still a glorified etch-asketch and it’s only as good as the operator, but it does raise the bar in speed and accuracy. I was a consultant for a time in improving design departments at companies in need of help. I analyzed their projects and added the appropriate tools to help in this process. I found most companies are intimidated with new tools like digitizers and LISP code. After working with them they found that it wasn’t the boogieman and they became more efficient. I’ve done over three hundred patent designs for lawyers and used AutoCAD for every one and you could surely tell the difference between a drawing done with a pen or a computer. So you can adapt this tool to anything.

It may not be the best tool for some applications, but if you know the package and it works for you, fine. As far as patent designs go, if you want to know what’s in some loudspeaker manufacturer’s designs, you can access them through the Government Patent Office in Washington D.C. That information is available to the public, for a small fee of course. This also includes international patents.

So for all those companies that won’t show their technology by not taking off the grill cover, get a life. There’s always a way to find out what’s inside. If it’s not “patented” or “patent pending” it’s up for grabs. Patent pending designs have up to a five-year window to be disputed from their application date.

That’s why I like JBL, EV, EAW, Meyer and some others. They show their designs on their web page, make CAD files available, and show images in their advertisements without hesitation. They know it’s available to those who want to find it and they want to share with you what makes their design better and unique. It doesn’t matter how great you say your design is, you need to show me, and those companies are proud to, because they’re good designs.

This also helps you because “knowledge is power” and you don’t want to waste time designing something that another company has already done and patented. But you can use that information to spur new designs and ideas. Keep in mind that nearly every design has already been done somewhere in the world, but it’s who patents it and brings it to market first, that wins.

Let’s talk about CAD designing software for a minute. Now I’m not affiliated with Autodesk in any way or have any great love for the way they do business, having first-hand experience with them because I sold their product, but facts are facts and they are the standard in the industry. I’ve seen better tools like MicroStation do it faster and better in less keystrokes, but AutoCAD is still the standard. This is an area you don’t need to cut corners on.

CAD workstation with Digitablet and 16-button puck.

If you invest in a cheap package, yes, you saved money but is the company going to be around in a few years? How often do they do bug fixes? Everybody uses or is touched by AutoCAD one way or another. Autodesk is the developer of the DXF format, and the two formats you see available for download on the web are either DWG or DXF. So if you’re going to take a stand, do it on the speaker components you’re going to use, not the design software. I’ve used them and/or sold them all from AutoCAD R1 thru present day, to Generic CAD , MicroStation, Catia, Pro/E, and SDRC, on everything from a DOS machine, to Windows NT on a PC to a Sun, IBM or Silicon Graphics UNIX workstation.

Yes they are all great and powerful packages and they all have their strong points, but no one in the industry has more third party developers and resources than Autodesk. If you want to be compatible with the rest of the world, use AutoCAD because it just plain works. Unless you’re building exotic cars, then I might point you in another direction, but I don’t want to cloud the issue right now because we are building loudspeakers and AutoCAD works fine for this.

Another added benefit to using Autodesk products is the integration with their daughter company line of products, Discreet. Discreet is the undisputed leader in the movie industry for special FX, compositing, and editing. With the acquisition of Kinetix (subsidiary of Autodesk) they added 3D. So the tools are available from one source to design in 2D, convert to 3D, render, animate, add FX, and even make an interactive CD, put it to video, or just throw it on the web. Marketing departments at some companies use this to their advantage.

Rather than spending big bucks to build an expensive prototype, have it photographed professionally, which can get very expensive, they use 3D rendered images in the advertising ads. They can test the market to see if it is worth pursuing the product. If the market is not responsive and your only investment was a computer geek that you shoved pizza under the door to keep him motivated to get the 3D image done, then you have not wasted huge amounts of cash on a product that won’t sell.

One thing I love the most about this area of software is that it’s not hard to hire a computer person to do this, even as a contractor. Not surprisingly, most people have access to AutoCAD or 3DS Max, just don’t ask them where they got it. When looking for a candidate for this position, you don’t need a person with a degree since degrees are meaningless here. Unless you’re in need of someone with ISO 9000 credentials it’s just not necessary. Of the best CAD engineers and graphic artists I have ever known, and I’ve known many, the best have been self-taught, just like me. People that are self-taught have made the effort to learn the package through desire, rather than have it taught from a book in a classroom. Some people pay their dues and some have it spoon-fed.

Lots of people say they know CAD or 3D, but before you hire anyone or any firm, take a simple design, sit them down in front of the computer and ask them to draw or build it for you as you watch.

Intergraph RenderRAX III rack-mount workstation with hot-swap RAID bays.

If they make excuses or fumble around the interface looking for tools, you’ve got the wrong person for the job. In the CAD or 3D world, you either can or you can’t do the job. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, what race, religion or how many degrees you have. Either you have the chops or you don’t, and I like that fact. Throw the resume in the trash and sit them in front of a computer and say, show me. And if he’s good, but has purple Mohawk hair, with big metal spikes sticking out of his tongue and a tattoo of a spider on his forehead, just give him an office with a door and don’t forget the pizza.