Computer design/drawing- Advice needed!

[Mattty]

Hi there,

I need a bit of help if possible. Has anyone got any experience of a good CAD package for me.

Basically i want to be able to do my working drawings on my pc rather than the drawing board. It will mainly be cabinet design and will preferably be as easy to use as possible.

Thanks,

Mattty

 

[AndyT]

Matty - you could try Sketchup - there's a whole forum about it just next door! https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewforum.php?f=18

Andy

 

[Mattty]

Thanks mate- i'm still navigating my way around as you can tell!

 

[Nev Hallam]

might be a tad advanced but i use autocad 2006 i have got to the point where i cant make anything without using audodesk first.

 

[TonyW]

A lot of people here use SketchUp. Basic version is free you can download Here.

Then search the Design section for tutorials and tips. Also do a search on author "Dave R" he has posted some excellent stuff here

Cheers
Tony

 

[Chris Knight]

For 2D drawings, I prefer Turbocad, it's cheap, powerful and easy to use - you can get older versions at give-away prices.

For 3D "impressions" I prefer Sketchup although it drives me barmy trying to get working drawings out of it - I have to say that is lack of practice rather than inherent inability of the prgram (or me, I think!)

If you can acquire a version of Solidworks you have a very powerful 3D modeller that produces 2D drawings at the press of a button. It is overkill for woodwork but it's easy to use and produces wonderful, accurate models that allow you, for example to check for interference fits, impossible assembly conditions etc.

 

[wizer]

it drives me barmy trying to get working drawings out of it -

I'm starting to get annoyed with SU. Tho probably for a different reason. It's just my luck that whatever video card HP uses, isn't compatible with SU. Annoyingly, I have severe problems selecting faces when pushing or pulling. I can sit there for ages rotating the view trying to select the face and often have to give up and redraw the component to the size I want. I get the problem with both laptops and the PC (all HP).

Perhaps I should get a Mac :roll: :wink:

 

[Chris Knight]

Perhaps I should get a Mac :roll: :wink:

Obviously..

 

[SketchUp Guru]

it drives me barmy trying to get working drawings out of it -

I'm starting to get annoyed with SU. Tho probably for a different reason. It's just my luck that whatever video card HP uses, isn't compatible with SU. Annoyingly, I have severe problems selecting faces when pushing or pulling. I can sit there for ages rotating the view trying to select the face and often have to give up and redraw the component to the size I want. I get the problem with both laptops and the PC (all HP).

Perhaps I should get a Mac :roll: :wink:

Your PC probably has an integrated video card on the motherboard. You might investigate whether you can add a secondary card. If there's an appropriate slot on the MB, you might be able to do that. I did years ago on an IBM PC that my wife bought. You need to make sure that there is OpenGL support and ideally you'd put in an nVidia card.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a pre-built PC anymore. I built one myself for the first time a few months ago. It was an easy thing to do and I figure to get the equivalent computer pre built, I'd have spent more than twice what I did and would have gotten a pile of software I wouldn't want.

A Mac would certainly be an alternative, too.

 

[wizer]

hehe cheers, The laptops and PCs are free so I'm stuck in that sense. Indeed I could fit a graphics card in the PC. I use the laptops mainly for SU. Horizontal work, as I call it.