Which CAD Software to buy?

[Terryn]

Chaps

As my job involves a lot of travel and hotel rooms I thought that Virtual Ship Modelling on my laptop sounded like a good idea. I could draw 2D plans of ships, then add colour, turn them into 3D drawings, and then finally print them out on one of those rapid prototyping machines. All wizard stuff. It all sounded great until I started trying to decide which software to buy and saw some of the prices.

One even offered a free computer to put the software on. The computer was a fraction of the price of the software.

The obvious choice are programs such as AutoCAD and Solidworks but they are thousands of pounds a go which is way out of my price range. One that is still very expensive is Rhino 3D which is around �600 but still pretty steep. Amazon show a cheaper program for $65ish called TurboCAD. I've also been told that Paint Shop Pro has vector graphics and can be used for 2D stuff.

Any ideas, comments or suggestions from you chaps. Any experience with TurboCAD or do you thinki I should start saving for Rhino?

Terry

[Scupper]

Hi Terryn,

If you are interested in modeling in 3D then why don't you try Blender. This is
a professional level software and costs nothing: http://www.blender.org/

You will find lots of Blender tutorials in You Tube.

Cheers Marsden

[DrPR]

Terry,

This post is a bit late, but for anyone looking for an inexpensive way to learn 2D/3D CAD I can recommend DesignCAD 3D Max - $100US.

We have been using it in our business (electronics instruments, oceanographic instruments, consumer electronics) since 1987. It is a good all-around CAD program and will do almost anything any other program will do. It has a very helpful user forum.

I have been using it to design 3D CAD ship models (see http://www.okieboat.com/CAD%20model%20page.html). Take a look at my web pages to see what it will do.

If you do not have 3D CAD experience any program will be quite a challenge at first. I have used AutoCAD and TurboCAD and I find DesignCAD much easier to use.

[musquida]

Where can I download CAD software? I am looking for a program to download a free trial for that is computer aided design software that will work well for a civil engineering project. nothing that has to b mailed out or anything, just a simple internet free trial download.

[DrPR]

You can download a free trial version of DesignCAD 3D Max here:

http://www.imsidesign.com/Products/Othe ... fault.aspx

DesignCAD is a pretty good program, and is used by many professionals and a lot of hobbiests. I have used it in my work for decades for mechanical design (machined parts, stamped metal, metal boxes, mold designs, etc.) and I use it for hobby work. However, if you need ray traced rendering, parametric operation, or file compatability with another specific program, be sure to test it first. Like all CAD programs, it is not perfect!

DesignCAD has a great user forum where you can get answers to just about any question, plus request new features or report bugs. If you want other opinions about using the program, ask the forum:

http://forum.designcadcommunity.com/index.php

This may sound too good to be true, but it retails for $99.99. By the way - I don't work for IMSI or sell this program. I have been using it for 24 years and love it!

[Frisian]

Thanks for the link. I'll try this out too

[makulina]

Is it possible to learn AutoCad if you are not good at math and have minimal drawing skills? I am in sales and I am looking to change careers. A friend recommended I learn autocad. I am good with computers but I am not very good at math and I do not draw. There is a CAD school that I can attend at night. Is this something that is realistic for me to grasp?

[DrPR]

makulina,

There really isn't much math involved in CAD work - at least that the user has to do. By that I mean calculus, differential equations and such. The little math necessary is primarily geometry, with a bit of trigonoemtry, but even there you don't need to know the equations and such. It is much more the visual concepts that you need to understand.

You can do CAD drawing with no formal math education. It does help if you know something about geometric constructions - middle school level geometry. But you won't spend a lot of time scribbling calculations on paper. The programs usually do almost everything for you.

Drawing is a different thing. CAD work is "drawing." But it isn't like sketching. You draw each object by setting points and the program fills in the lines, surfaces and solids. For example, to draw a cube you set a point for the first corner and then set a second point for the opposite corner, and the program fills in the cube. To do this correctly you need to understand the geometry or shape of a cube, but there are no equations involved. You do have to be able to imagine the thing you want to create.

The biggest problem with learning CAD programs isn't the drawing part. It is learning how the program's commands work so you can tell it to do what you are thinking about. For example, there may be half a dozen ways to draw a circle, but if you don't know the commands are there you can't use them.

It can be a steep learning curve at first, but at some point it all clicks together and you are off and running.

Phil

[tea monster]

makulina,

Most 3D software works by lining up your work onto scanned-in plans of what you are making. The computer does most of the math for you. For me, most of the 'work' came in learning the application itself.

Also, if you are a student (or you have an offspring who is a student) you can grab a copy of most of Autodesk's catalogue of 3D and CG apps. It is (understandably) limited to non-professional use, but you can still have it on your hard drive.

[Tigerfish]

Excellent FREE 2D CAD from Dassault called Draftsight: http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/ ... -software/

[Rusty White]

Is it possible to learn AutoCad if you are not good at math and have minimal drawing skills? I am in sales and I am looking to change careers. A friend recommended I learn autocad. I am good with computers but I am not very good at math and I do not draw. There is a CAD school that I can attend at night. Is this something that is realistic for me to grasp?

If you are considering a career change as it seems you are, I would definitely suggest learning Auto Cad because it is the industry standard that most companies use. Is it the best? Personally, I don't think so. It's very user unfriendly for ease of learning. It's so difficult to learn, that you really need to attend formal classes to pick it all up. It can be self taught as our esteemed web master will say. However, I purchased a CD on line written by an Auto Cad professor that will teach everything you need to know. He teaches just like a classroom, with exercises after each chapter.

Like Dr PR, I use DesignCad 3D Max v-20. I agree with everything he says about it and will add that it is much easier to learn how to use with it's excellent help files, and user forum. Starting from NO CAD experience whatsoever, I was self taught and productive in the 2D part in 3 months. It does take more time to learn 3D, but once you learn the 2D part, you will already be familiar with most of the commands.

After another four months using 3D, I can now produce acceptable 3D instructions for my model kits viewtopic.php?f=27&t=88739 . DC is much more user friendly than AC and just as capable as well as WAAAAAAAY cheaper. For hobby use, DC is my recommendation, but for professional use and finding a job, AC is the way to go ONLY because it has been accepted as the industry standard.

[Roscoe]

Here's a few freebie's that haven't been mentioned. The only one I've tried myself is 123D by Autodesk, it's a 3D modeler which has options for laser cutting, 3D printing and limited 2D drawings. They also have a neat cloud app that makes 3D models from your digital pictures called 123Catch, but it needs some good pics and the right scene set-up to make a half decent 3D model.

http://www.123dapp.com/123d

http://www.123dapp.com/catch


Free-CAD
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/f ... =Main_Page



Medusa 4
http://www.cad-schroer.com/Software/MED ... DFreeware/


-Dean

[MareNostrum]

I am new to CAD software as well, but want to add a new dimension (groan) to my modeling. It's been quite helpful to come across this topic and to note the different packages out there, especially the free open source ones, e.g., Blender, which I've just downloaded. I've also heard of ModelCAD, which apparently has a 15-day free trial period, then it's ~$50 to purchase, not all that bad a price. To the followers of this thread, any word on ModelCAD as to its suitability, features, ease of use, etc., as it compares to the others? Thanks for your thoughts.

[DrPR]

ModelCAD was a strip-down version of DesignCAD that was produced by Viagraphics a long time ago. As far as I can tell Viagraphics has disappeared, so I do not think there is any support for ModelCAD.

DesignCAD was acquired by IMSI and it is actively supported (V21.1 now) and is constantly being improved.

I think the current DesignCAD 2D package ($50) is essentially the same as ModelCAD but greatly improved. It has no 3D modeling functions.

DesignCAD 3D MAX ($69) is a full blown 3D CAD program that can be used for 2D or 3D work.

DesignCAD has a very active user forum - you won't have to wait very long for an answer because it has users world wide.

Here are some examples of DesignCAD 3D ship modeling:

http://www.okieboat.com/CAD%20model.html

Note: DesignCAD is a CAD program and not a rendering program. It has very rudimentary rendering options. So if you want to do accurate modeling for production work it is a good choice. If you want to make pretty pictures it is a poor choice.

Phil

[tea monster]

If you want to make actual construction plans for your ship but want pretty pictures as well, there are a number of different programs which will allow you to have your cake and eat it too. These are best thought of as 'virtual photography studios' where you export an Obj of your model out of your CAD app and into the studio. Then you can place lights and cameras, assign materials and take some nice renders of your model

Free:
Kerkythea - Older and no longer actively maintained, but still chucks out very nice renders. If you hang out on the home page for a minute or two, there is a very nice aircraft carrier model that cycles round eventually.

Paid:
Thea- Kerkythea's older Brother
Octane - GPU based, physically correct, inexpensive and FAST.

Although not 'rendering studios', you can import your model into a 3D application like 3D Max or Blender and get access to a number of great free and paid-for renderers like V-Ray, Mental Ray, LuxRender, Yafaray, etc.

Owen

[MareNostrum]

Gents- Many thanks for your considered replies. What I'm seeking to do is to develop construction plans for vessels that currently aren't produced- and probably won't ever be produced- by any of the major kit manufacturers, and for which plans either don't exist or aren't sufficiently complete. So these would be totally, or almost totally, scratchbuilt undertakings, essentially using plank-on-frame or plank-on-bulkhead techniques (accessories such as armaments and railings and such would be aftermarket). That's the plan. -Thanks again.