Good CAD program that isn't AutoCad?

[Robatoy]

I am AutoCAD trained and find it bulky, overpriced and far from intuitive. Who needs 6 ways to draw a line?

3D modelling is cumbersome and to get any rendering performance/shaders/textures/ray tracing you have to buy this and buy that, video cards yadda yadda. To this day, I have NO idea where the hell the reputation came from.

I use Vectorworks. (aka MiniCAD...Mini as in "smaller than a MainFrame") Available for PC or Mac, it exports/imports in all the important file formats like .dwg, .dxf. Full blown 3D, NURBS, the works.

[bluemax1811-newsgroups]

Sketchup is deceptive in its simple look and makes you feel like its a slick modeling program and nothing more. I didn't really start getting it until I had spent 6 hours with the program. The little program Designcad has a whole toolbar devoted to selecting a wide range of snap functions. Sketchup accomplishes the same thing without having to have a toolbar or menu - its built-in to the way the program works when you draw. Want to snap to a mid point? Just move your pointer past the midpoint of a line and it says "Aha, you must be wanting to turn on snap-to-midpoint function". Want to draw perpendicular to the Y-axis? No need to turn on ortho mode. Just draw the line and kind of move it around until the line turns green and you are on the Y-axis. Want to dimension? Just click the dimension button than drag out a dimension from a part of the drawing where you need a dimension and position it where its most visible (or least obtrusive).

Yeah, I kind of like it, but Designcad is getting more interesting as I learn more about it.

By the way, I sure respect liking the program you've learned and with which you are comfortable. Years ago, I remember having long discussions about the superiority of Wordperfect over Word. Then all the word processing programs got so good, that it didn't matter any more.

I think this could be a religious war, but we won't let it be because we are more interested in building things. :-)

Bob

[Jim]

I have used DeltaCad for years. It is a good 2D drawing package for $40.

[CW]

So will a pencil and paper but there are better ways than either.

[Brian In Hampton]

John did you get my email???

Brian

[Guess who]

I wasn't being facetious. Autocad is WAY over the edge for the simpler needs of woodsmiths. Knowing more specific needs [2D, 3D, modelling...] I'd give better directions.

...But forget it. This topic has run dry in any case.

Just incidentally, don't knock pencil and paper before oyu decide "better". I used to teach construction drawing as well as math and computer programming/applications, and have done and keep drawings that are dead-accurate using simple drafting tools, as well as using software [DeltaCad and Solid Edge for two.] Look up "the Carpenter's Square" for a great book on layout, and then try to find the math behind all of that. It's simple, and it works ...not the math, but what it produced.

[GrayBeardPhil]

I am just asking, Does anyone use Linux?

I found this site for a woodworking CAD program:

comments?

I have not read any posts on this thread using CAD on a Linux OS. Due to the nature of the beast, I would have thought any BSD derivatives like Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD and so forth would be ideal for CAD, vector graphics, CAD/CAM, etc. Yes, I know there would be sharing and presentation problems for commercial use, but not for most of the users in the newsgroup.

But what the hey, if it works on Linux, with windowsX can Mac OS be far behind?

Phil

[Lazarus Long]

Solidworks. Oh, wait you want cheap. Nevermind.

Solidworks 2005 now comes with an executable that appears to look just like Autocad except it's not Autocad.

Still, you want cheap. Sorry, I can't help, I use Autocad and Solidworks.

[Lazarus Long]

I do. I use Autocad and Solidworks for a living. There's nothing like having options when you need them.

Not really. My copy of Solidworks 2005 works just fine here without any special attention to the graphics card, though I'm aware it

*might* be a problem. For me, it's not.

[Mr Fixit eh]

I use TurboCAD. It has been highly rated in several reviews of CAD software in woodworking magazines over the years. Best thing is that it is available free as TurboCAD LE Learning Edition at

with most CAD programs, it takes some time and effort to learn. It does nice drawings once you learn it.

Mr Fixit eh

[TeamCasa]

Leon, I was using QuickCad but they decided it was so similar to AutoSketch they just combined the features and released version 9 and abandoned QuickCad altogether.

It works well enough for my needs and it will also read AutoCad files. It makes my job much easier.

Dave

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[Leon]

Me too. I was formally trained for 2 years on paper with a t -square and triangles. While I only use AutoCAD LT now and have never had any CAD training in the 20 years of using CAD programs I have appreciated having the shortcuts and options that help me use what I learned when drawing by hand. I think many people that never learned on paper missed out on a lot of the fundimentals of drafting and do not fully appreciate the advantages that AutoCAD has.

[Anonymous]

Take a look at BobCad. My son is their tech support guru ... says it's good stuff. Don't know if it suits your purposes, though.

Bill

[Guess who]

Could you ask him why *none* of the Google links work?

One blurb: Save $100 -$500 doesn't tickle my financial palate.

Also, its CAD-CAM, and who the heck needs that in his garage workshop?

[Robatoy]

You like AutoCAD, I like Vectorworks. We are both happy.

Vectorworks Architect with a 64-bit (900MHz bus) G-5 Mac for the price of AutoCAD...ohhkay..lemme think about that...

OOPS..thought about it....

Beta WAS better than VHS, you know....*ducking*

0?0

Rob

[Andrew Werby]

[If you're looking for a CAD program that's 3d-oriented, easy to use, and extremely powerful, with a ton of features you may never use but which are good to have just in case, try Rhino. If you need solids, parametrics, and mechanical-design functions, look into Inovate from Ironcad. I've got both programs at a steep discount from list prices.]

Andrew Werby

[OldNick]

On 7 Feb 2005 14:02:14 -0800, "Fred" vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

It's now around $60-70US from Amazon. I am using it, but still learning. it has some funnies. People keep telling me it's my fault. I am not so sure. but in general it's a powerful and useful programme.

[OldNick]

On 7 Feb 2005 13:51:07 -0800, "Geoff" vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

Pencil and paper?

Seriously, be careful. It's easy to let the CAD take over from just getting on with the job.

[Bill Davis Jr]

I was cleaning out one of those O' Sullivan entertainment centers yesterday. It has doors on the bottom that slide open. I have been using it has a bookshelf for all my computer software and books. And I found Autodesks Autosketch Ver. 2.0 and a copy of Generic Cadd Ver.

1.1. Both in 5 1/4" disk format.

Are there still any 5 1/4" floppy drives around? Would like to see if they still work.

Bill

[CW]