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Discussion Forum

What CAD program do you use, and why?

Lateapex911 | Posted in General Discussion on November 28, 2002 09:08am

In a thread about spans and strength, Piffin mentioned he uses Turbo CAD, and another CAD program.

I’m in the market to get up to speed in the CAD world.  I see certain advantages, such as the ability to draw in layers, make easy revisions, post drawings on this site without having to hack something together in Word (!) and better appearing drawings for submission to officials.

Downsides in my mind are the need to have the processing power and the appropriate printers and plotters, etc., the time required to get up to any kind of speed with it, and the generally “dry” and artless appearance of the final product.

I guess I’m a bit of a traditionalist….there’s nothing like a well drawn plan or elevation by a great draftsman!  Which I’m not! And don’t have the time to become.  But I will still use pencil and paper to sketch conceptually and creatively to explore ideas and concepts.

So, I desire a progam that is reasonably priced (I’m a one man band…) straightforward in it’s usage, (is there such a thing as easy to learn??), universally accepted and supported for ease of updating and file sharing, and a nice finished appearance. I know I can’t have it all! My platform is a Dell 4500 with 6 month old brains. So whatever I get can’t need a Silicon Graphics work station and a $20K/yr lease!

I plan to use it for plans and elevations, and cabinet drawings.

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts.

Jake


Edited 11/28/2002 1:29:41 PM ET by LATEAPEX911

Reply

Replies

  1. jc21 | Nov 28, 2002 11:15pm | #1

    You will get a lot of different answers I suspect. I'm using IntelliCAD at present.  http://www.intellicad.org/  will tell you more about. The trial version is free for downloading  http://intellicadms.com/  If you have used AutoCAD you will feel comfortable with IntelliCAD- important to me because almost all of my CAD experience (school and work) has been with AutoCAD. File compatiblity with AutoCAD has been good so far ( that may or may not be important to you). I'm currently checking out an architechural desktop called ArchT that works with IntelliCAD. Autodesk's Architectural Studio 3 is a nice program ........... if you have the $4000 price of admittance. I'm hoping that with ArchT and IntelliCAD I can do most of that same work for $700 or $800. If you are starting from a clean slate I'd look at ..........

    VectorWorks  http://www.nemetschek.net/

    AutoCAD 2002LT    http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/section/0,,617827-123112,00.html

    Chief Architect    http://www.chiefarchitect.com/



    Edited 11/28/2002 4:54:09 PM ET by jc

  2. Piffin | Nov 29, 2002 12:41am | #2

    You won't have any problem with the guts of your PC.

    It is Softplan that I use primarily. http://softplan.com/

    I think that it's up to around 2500 to 3000 for the whole package now with Soft list (estimating - materials listing) and softview (3D Rendering) There's nothing you can't draw with SP but some things are easier in other programs.

    SP has a junior SP Lite for just under a grand, too.

    What you want depends a little on what you will use it for.

    Detail drawings or renderings of cabinets or working up floorplans or full drawings of houses.

    Turbo cad is a basic cad. I just use it for line drawings and translating from one format to another. I can also use it to help with creating symbols to use in SP

    I also hear a lot of good things about Vectorworks. I work with some interior designers who like it for both floorplans and detail drawings of design elements and cabinetry. Joe Stoddard over at JLC online recomends it as one of the best values for drawing, modeling and rendering.

    A lot of guys here seem to like ACAD lite too. Chief Architect is easy to learn but weak in some detail areas.

    Identify how you will use it, what your budget is and read some of the previous threads on this subject after using the search and then I can be more specific.

    .

    Excellence is its own reward!

    "The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.

    The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."

    --Marcus Aurelius

    1. Adrian | Nov 29, 2002 04:48am | #3

      If you're a builder, and you want to develop plans and at the same time generate all the other stuff a builder needs.....bill of materials, framing plans, roof plans, etc...I think you should look at one of the programs that automates that, like Vector works, SP, or Chief. Same as if you're a cabinetmaker, and you want to build from your drawings, the automated packages pay for themselves quickly. General CAD programs are more versatile, but slower, and they seem to be more complex than the autometed programs I've seen. If you do oddball stuff, though, a CAD program is the way to go. You can automate a lot of common routines, and integrate spreadsheets with your CAD package, but you are getting into more advanced stuff at that point.

      To answer the question, I have, and have used Turbocad for several releases. I am mostly concentrating now (and teach), on Autocad 2002 (good, but ridiculously expensive)....not because Turbocad is a bad program at all, but i want to master one program, and Acad skills are more transferrable because of market penetration. I'm also getting my feet wet with Autodesk Inventor (solid modelling), and some CAM programs,and I teach Cabnetware, but my needs are different than a builders. I've also had Intellicad, and it seems to be a good program. strongly recommend taking a course if you take the plunge; lot's of people give up before they get far enough along the learning curve to enjoy the benfits of CAD.

      as far as computers go, I have a decent but not new HP at work.....at home, I have a five year old clone with a 6 GB hardrive....not a high end workstation by any means, but I had at least four CAD packages loaded up on it at once, at one time, and I had no problem having multiple programs and drawings open at the same time. It doesn't take a monster computer to handle the needs of most of the people on this forum.

      cabinetmaker/college instructor. Cape Breton, N.S

      Edited 11/28/2002 8:53:25 PM ET by Adrian

      1. kyleconlon | Nov 29, 2002 05:42am | #4

        For what you want, Datacad 10 is the way to go. http://www.datacad.com. Full version is about $1,000.00 or got with the light version, which is $100.00. Also, there is a great support forum that will help you with any situation and get you up to speed in no time. I have been using the software for almost ten years and love it.

        Kyle

  3. Hector45 | Nov 29, 2002 09:50pm | #5

    Here's a review of 6 inexpensive CAD packages.  It's a year or so old, but should still be useful...

    http://www.cadalyst.com/reviews/software/cad/1001cheapcad/cheapcad.htm

    I use TurboCAD and have been very happy with it.  I bought version 4.0 several years ago (for about $60 or so) to do basic 2D furniture plans.  I recently upgraded to the "professional" 3D version  for $199.  (That seemed like a heck of a deal to me.)  I've been using it to do 3D drawings of a timber frame.  I've found the learning curve to be quite managable and the results are very satisfying.

    The drawings that the pros can do with this software are amazing...

    http://www.turbocad.com/community/galleries/galleries.cfm

    There are a lot of good products out there, and many fans of each one.  Because I've had good luck with TurboCAD, I'd recommend it (the 2D version) to you. 

    Hope the review helps you sort through the options.

    "Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."

    Jon

    1. Lateapex911 | Nov 30, 2002 06:49am | #6

      Wow....great suggestions guys!  solid information....I'm very appreciative!  I will start the heavy duty research.

      If there are other thoughts, don't hesitate to toss them on the fire!

      [email protected]Jake Gulick

      CarriageHouse Design

      Black Rock, CT

      1. Bruce | Nov 30, 2002 06:41pm | #7

        A few web sites to further your research ....

        http://www.upperspace.com

        http://www.graphisoft.com

        http://www.softplan.com

        http://www.nemetschek.net

        http://www.chiefarchitect.com

        http://www.builderscad.com

      2. Piffin | Nov 30, 2002 10:31pm | #8

        I would add that if you are in the thousand dollar and up price range, you can do well to go to one of the trade shows. The vendors set up booths to let you try out and get a feel for the software. They also have special show pricing. It's been a few years, but I think I got about $700 off of my SP package by purchasing there. Within a month of getting it home, I was able to sell a $35,000 kitchen based very much on being able to make a professional presentation quickly..

        Excellence is its own reward!

        "The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.

        The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."

        --Marcus Aurelius

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