[cafjunwolfman]

Gentlemen:

I am interested in pursing some of my own designs for models, housing, etc. As such I may need CAD SW. What do those of you who use such SW recomend?
Which is the most user friendly? The most available. The least/most expensive. And which translates well to CNC or other formats. Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[cobywan]

Autocad LT from Fry's is a very good deal.

 

[jwrjr]

Last time I checked, Imsi would let you download an earlier version of Turbocad for free. The catch? You WILL be on their mailing list and WILL get advertising from them.

 

[Eric K]

The ultimate freebie is Blender. Though not a true cad package, it's got a lot of great qualities. The ultimate free renderer is POV Ray.

 

[Four Mad Men]

Blender Cad (when released) should address the cad based requirements and I wouldn't be too suprised to see measurement displays in the official blender release before too long. Not sure if it will make 2.35 but we'll see.

 

[jtwaclawski]

I use and work with a product called MicroStation. It's AutoCad's biggest competator and costs about 5K. I have been using it in the engineering field for the last 19 years and have recently started to make al kinds of stuff in 3D. I'm planning on desiging quite a few kit that I hope to start producing by the end of the year. Let the fun begin!


Just remember that with any program there is a learning curve and if you are creating things in 3D, unless you understand the process, you are going to hvae a tough time.

 

[Wizardofflight]

You might want to check out Intellicad at:

http://www.cadopia.com/products/products.asp

The standard version is $150, you can download an eval copy for free, just register. It is compatible with AutoCAD files, it does 3D, the professional version can even do photo realistic renders, it even uses the same command set as AutoCAD. As far as CAD programs go it is very affordable.


Alan