josef Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I imagine this question has come up before. What drawing program do you like? I've used TurboCad 6 for a long time. I wondered if there was anything better these days? I was looking at sketchup but the pro version sounded expensive. Joe Actually came up a few times already, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I have Sketchup but it's so loaded with useless bells and whistles fluff I use a pencil and paper and wish I still had my T square and table. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothBore Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I finally let the Table go, a few years ago, ... since there was 1/8" of dust on it anyway. :o ( Still got a "like new", Left-handed "Vemco" beam-type Drafting Machine, ... if anyone needs one. :rolleyes: ) Been using AutoCAD for so long, I'm just not "current" with what's the "latest & greatest". While I was at FoMoCo we experimented with a couple of the "new" simplified softwares, ... but they all seened to have compatibility issues. ( Sort of like saying, "we stick with our Stone Hammers, because those new "Steel" ones are too loud, ... and get all rusty". ) Still, ... for Wireframe Isometric Drawing, ... or any type Drawing that requires Dimensions, ... you can't beat the AutoCAD. In my not-so-humble, ... and somewhat autocratic opinion, ... Solid Modeling is best suited for Primary Schools, ... and Landscape Designers. :rolleyes: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norrin_radd Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Its really hard to beat Autocad but it is pricey. I have had some success with sketchup, I liked the older version better, 8 I think. I have demo'd Microsoft Visio years ago and it had potential but I dont think its as good as sketchup for the money. If you're going to buy something Id go with AutoCAD LT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ballcain357 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 The makers of solidworks also offer a free program called draft sight that can be downloaded and installed on pretty much any type of machine or system. I make my living with solidworks and use draft sight quit frequently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdhoover Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I've used many different programs professionally. For the past 12 years it's been exclusively AutoCAD. For personal projects on my home computer I've settled on DraftSight. You can't beat it for free. It acts just like AutoCAD r14 and uses all the same key stroke inputs as AutoCAD. DraftSight is as close as you can get to AutoCAD without AutoCAD and it's free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josef Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Thanks, folks. I'll check out draft sight. I still have my T square and other drawing implements. One of the few reasons I'm glad to be as old as I am is that they still taught mechanical drafting in college with the "pad" system. Pencil Aided Drawing. Get it? haw haw.All serious aside, the promise of computer drafting has never been met, I think. I know complicated things can be done in Autocad, but the learning curve is as steep as the price. Thinking in terms of drawing with T square and 30/60 degree triangles, isometric views are so very simple. And finding the true length of a line is relatively straightforward. Turbo cad is anything but isometric friendly. What would be wrong with an affordable (say $99) software package that let you input top, front, side views and put them together in either isometric or perspective view? Seems like there is a need. I downloaded a trial copy of SketchUp but a quick look shows it to be as arcane as TurboCad.Sorry for the rant.Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norrin_radd Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I have been using DraftSight for about an hour and I am thoroughly impressed. The learning curve from Autocad commands in practically zero, all the basic ones I tried are there. After 20yrs of using Autocad this is probably the best alternative that I've tried. Anyway just wanted to say thanks for the heads up on it.There is a good isometric demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duB7LMlmwNI btw I've done paper and pencil drafting too, IMHO CAD is the way to go, no eraser dust and smudges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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