Replies

1. 
   Piffin | Jan 27, 2009 07:43pm | #1

   I'm not sure if the free Intellicad is still available for download out there or if it imports DWG or not. Might be just DXF.

   I'm thinking TurboCad, but most of my data on competing programs is three years old. I use Softplan

   Stay away from Punch. It is widely reported to make 'corrections' without telling you.

    

    

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2. 
   Piffin | Jan 27, 2009 07:46pm | #2

   http://www.infograph.com/products/dwgviewer/

   look what I just found - free autocad viewer

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   ak373 | Jan 27, 2009 08:02pm | #3

   Piffin, thanks for the replies.  I can save .DWG files in Autosketch and I can import them too, so the viewer part is already taken care of.  Autosketch saves by default in an AS file format which is not very common, but since I can take one of my drawings and save it as a .DWG I'm trying to find something relatively cheap that can take the 2D .DWG file and convert to 3D view.  

   I'm not a professional, you pros can look at a floorplan and see it in 3D, spot the flaws that look OK on paper but don't translate to the real world.  I'm going to need software to do that for me.

1. 
   Piffin | Jan 27, 2009 08:10pm | #4

   Us pros have blind spots too. One of the beauties of working with 3D software is that you can review your work for errors and taste. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

3. 
   JohnFinn | Jan 28, 2009 02:25am | #5

   Check out SketchUp, download the trial, and you can import your
   dwg files directly. There is a slight learning curve to the software, but if you have some time look at tutorials on youtube. If your elevations can be imported that is all you will need to create a 3D model of your project. Best of luck.

1. 
   ak373 | Jan 28, 2009 02:27am | #6

   thanks John, I'd forgotten about Sketchup.

1. 
   MikeSmith | Jan 28, 2009 02:35am | #7

   ak....

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