Somewhat OT: mechanical drawing software?
Walter Harley
things like chassis, faceplates, assemblies, PCB's. Been using Visio,
because it's what I have at hand, but it's just awful when it comes to
getting accurate dimensions, trying to make precise radiused corners, and so
forth.
AutoCAD costs a gazillion dollars, and I don't really want software that
needs user groups and two-day seminars to learn how to use anyway.
Can anyone recommend something simple that:
- costs < $200, preferably free,
- runs on Windows (or maybe Linux, but Mac is not gonna happen),
- ideally, can save in a format that others can read, such as .DXF?
I don't need 3-D, although that might be nice; just accurate 2-D without too
much pain.
Thanks,
-walter
Roy Battell
<wal...@cafewalterNOSPAM.com> writes
in Metric and/or Imperial with dimensioning, radiusing etc.
It can output DXF. You can introduce text in any Truetype Font
you have on Windows or import them to Linux.
You would need to go though the basic tutorial (but not
library building etc.) to get the hang of it.
It's free up to 256 pins, but such limits don't apply to
2D drawing without component tags and pads.
You can download the whole thing (about 10MB) from
http://www.vutrax.co.uk (Main UK site)
http://www.protonique.com/vutrax (Central Europe Mirror)
Available for PC based LINUX (Red hat, SuSE, etc)
and Windows 95, 98, NT 3.51 & 4.0,2000, ME & XP
--
Roy Battell.
To use this address remove the digits included to remove Spam ...
Mail: Roy Battell <ne...@vutrax666.co.uk>
Leon Heller
news:cb36es$6hi$0...@216.39.172.65...
> I need to get something halfway decent to make mechanical drawings, of
> things like chassis, faceplates, assemblies, PCB's. Been using Visio,
> because it's what I have at hand, but it's just awful when it comes to
> getting accurate dimensions, trying to make precise radiused corners, and
so
> forth.
IntelliCAD is very good:
The free demo will probably do everything you want. It isn't very expensive
if you want to buy it, but you can use the demo as long as you like.
Leon
--
Leon Heller, G1HSM
http://www.geocities.com/leon_heller
Tony Williams
Walter Harley <wal...@cafewalterNOSPAM.com> wrote:
> I need to get something halfway decent to make mechanical
> drawings, of things like chassis, faceplates, assemblies, PCB's.
> Been using Visio, because it's what I have at hand, but it's just
> awful when it comes to getting accurate dimensions, trying to
> make precise radiused corners, and so forth.
I use ProCAD+ by David Snell and there is a Windows
version called wProCAD+. For a free demo goto.......
<http://www.zynet.co.uk/dsnell>
--
Tony Williams.
Frank Bemelman
news:cb36es$6hi$0...@216.39.172.65...
Autosketch. Easy to learn, just install it and start drawing. Cheap too,
hundred bucks or so. Has DXF import/export.
--
Thanks, Frank.
(remove 'x' and 'invalid' when replying by email)
Ken Moffett
I've used AutoSketch from AutoDesk, the AutoCad company, for several
years. It doesen't have the power of AutoCad, but then again it only
costs $99 for version 8 (I started out on V2). It does have the accuracy
and a lot of nice features.
Martin Riddle
A great Acad knock off, full 2d, not sure about the 3d tho.
"Walter Harley" <wal...@cafewalterNOSPAM.com> wrote in message news:cb36es$6hi$0...@216.39.172.65...
Ken Smith
>things like chassis, faceplates, assemblies, PCB's. Been using Visio,
>because it's what I have at hand, but it's just awful when it comes to
>getting accurate dimensions, trying to make precise radiused corners, and so
>forth.
>
>AutoCAD costs a gazillion dollars, and I don't really want software that
>needs user groups and two-day seminars to learn how to use anyway.
I suggest Turbo CAD for $99. It is fairly straight forward to use but a
bit clunky.
QCAD is free so you may want to look at it too. QCADs user interface was
obviously written by a fan of adventure games. If you are trying it
remember you have to into something then into something then back out and
back out to get to make it happen. When you have given it enough
information to do what you want done it adds the option to the context you
started in not where you are now.
--
--
kens...@rahul.net forging knowledge
Ken Smith
Leon Heller <leon_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
[....]
It is *way* more powerful and easy to use than Turbo CAD but about 2x the
price.
Ken Smith
Frank Bemelman <f.bem...@planet.invalid.nl> wrote:
[.....]
>Autosketch. Easy to learn, just install it and start drawing. Cheap too,
>hundred bucks or so. Has DXF import/export.
I tried AutoSketch a couple of years ago. It is awful.
Ken Smith
Martin Riddle <martin...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>CMS INtellicad $200
>A great Acad knock off, full 2d, not sure about the 3d tho.
Intellicad does do 3d.
Unlike thinks like solid edge etc. it doesn't make realistic pictures
automatically and allow rotations etc. It does allow a 3d wire frame to
be viewed rotated but it can't hide hidden surfaces.
At least I couldn't figure out how to automatically hide them.
Frank Bemelman
news:cb4msd$j91$4...@blue.rahul.net...
> In article <40d5664c$0$79702$c3e...@news.astraweb.com>,
> Frank Bemelman <f.bem...@planet.invalid.nl> wrote:
> [.....]
> >Autosketch. Easy to learn, just install it and start drawing. Cheap too,
> >hundred bucks or so. Has DXF import/export.
>
> I tried AutoSketch a couple of years ago. It is awful.
It's okay for simple work, and meets the OP's budget of $200.
John Jardine
Walter Harley <wal...@cafewalterNOSPAM.com> wrote in message
news:cb36es$6hi$0...@216.39.172.65...
only for mechanical drawings but for those general, publication quality
drawings that go down well at meetings etc.
Ken Smith
Frank Bemelman <f.bem...@planet.invalid.nl> wrote:
>"Ken Smith" <kens...@violet.rahul.net> schreef in bericht
>news:cb4msd$j91$4...@blue.rahul.net...
>> In article <40d5664c$0$79702$c3e...@news.astraweb.com>,
>> Frank Bemelman <f.bem...@planet.invalid.nl> wrote:
>> [.....]
>> >Autosketch. Easy to learn, just install it and start drawing. Cheap too,
>> >hundred bucks or so. Has DXF import/export.
>>
>> I tried AutoSketch a couple of years ago. It is awful.
>
>It's okay for simple work, and meets the OP's budget of $200.
Its awful awful awful nasty nasty nasty, their manual is poorly arranged
and their dog's ugly too.
Chris Carlen
Seems no one mentioned Varicad, which runs on Linux. I checked it out
but the interface was so different from AutoCAD which I know that I
decided I could afford the time to learn another program, as much as I
want to be doing my mechanicals on Linux.
There is Qcad, which someone mentioned.
Pro-E or whatever it is called, was supposed to be porting to Linux.
They have some free 2D package which might also run on Linux.
Good day!
--
_____________________
Christopher R. Carlen
cr...@earthlink.net
Suse 8.1 Linux 2.4.19
Mike
>
> QCAD is free so you may want to look at it too. QCADs user interface was
> obviously written by a fan of adventure games. ...
When it starts up, does it open a window that says, "YOU ARE STANDING AT
THE END OF A ROAD BEFORE A SMALL BRICK BUILDING. AROUND YOU IS A FOREST. A
SMALL STREAM FLOWS OUT OF THE BUILDING AND DOWN A GULLY" ?
-- Mike --
Carl Ijames
"what should I use to layout pcbs?" comes up here. A little time on
google should give lots of info.
--
Regards,
Carl Ijames carl.ijames at verizon.net
Chris Carlen
RoyalHeart
> I need to get something halfway decent to make mechanical drawings, of
> things like chassis, faceplates, assemblies, PCB's. Been using Visio,
> because it's what I have at hand, but it's just awful when it comes to
> getting accurate dimensions, trying to make precise radiused corners, and so
> forth.
>
> AutoCAD costs a gazillion dollars, and I don't really want software that
> needs user groups and two-day seminars to learn how to use anyway.
>
> Can anyone recommend something simple that:
> - costs < $200, preferably free,
QuickCAD from Autodesk. I purchased the latest version, V8, from my
local Staples (office supply store) for US $49.95. Very easy to use
(IMHO) and has an accuracy of something like 0.00000001 inch (or mm),
give or take a right-hand zero or two.
> - runs on Windows (or maybe Linux, but Mac is not gonna happen),
The version I have runs on Windows. I think it is also available for
Linux. Not sure.
> - ideally, can save in a format that others can read, such as .DXF?
QuickCAD can import and export DXF format files.
>
> I don't need 3-D, although that might be nice; just accurate 2-D without too
> much pain.
>
> Thanks,
> -walter
>
>
QuickCAD will also do 3D, if you need that.
--
RoyalHeart
A thoughtful pause, then resumes the prince, "Thou hast to learn from
Yesterday, live for Today, and look forward to Tomorrow, for The Past is
The Present, and no less The Future."
Spehro Pefhany
<royalhea...@barnwellscREMOVE.com> wrote:
>
>QuickCAD from Autodesk. I purchased the latest version, V8, from my
>local Staples (office supply store) for US $49.95. Very easy to use
>(IMHO) and has an accuracy of something like 0.00000001 inch (or mm),
>give or take a right-hand zero or two.
I had occasion to check an analytical solution of intersection of a
line with an an arc with the drawn version on a CAD program and found
a rather large error (a good fraction of a thou in a few inches)
compared to the (correct) analytical solution. So, depending on your
construction methods, the CAD programs may not yield nearly as high
accuracy as their resolution.
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
sp...@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
Don K
> In article <40d5664c$0$79702$c3e...@news.astraweb.com>,
> Frank Bemelman <f.bem...@planet.invalid.nl> wrote:
> [.....]
> >Autosketch. Easy to learn, just install it and start drawing. Cheap too,
> >hundred bucks or so. Has DXF import/export.
>
> I tried AutoSketch a couple of years ago. It is awful.
Try to find someone selling an old copy of AutoSketch version 2.1.
Version 2.1 was a terrific 2-D drawing program. It is easy-to-use
and has a macro recording language.
Actually, I think it was too good. It was better than their more
expensive product, Auto-CAD Lite, so they dumped it, and bought
some kludgy CAD program from another company and called them AutoSketch
version 5 and 6. These have none of the elegance and ease of use
of the "real" AutoSketch, version 2.1.
Don
Ken Smith
It isn't in all upper case. Things have advanced since then. The "PLUGH"
and "XYZZY" commands operate as per normal.
Rolavine
>From: kens...@violet.rahul.net (Ken Smith)
>Date: 6/20/2004 11:58 AM Pacific Daylight Time
>Message-id: <cb4mo8$j91$3...@blue.rahul.net>
>
>In article <40d53207$0$283$cc9e...@news-text.dial.pipex.com>,
>Leon Heller <leon_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>[....]
>>IntelliCAD is very good:
>>
>>http://www.cadopia.com
>>
>
>It is *way* more powerful and easy to use than Turbo CAD but about 2x the
>price.
I 2nd that recomendation, and add that intellicad is very autocad like in
commands and menu structures, and that it can import and save in autocad dwg
and dxf's all the way back to the early DOS versions if you want.
But when I want to make a 2 dimesional drawing I use the version of Autocad
Lite that I bought in 1996, that is about my level of being able to use the
features.
Rocky.
JeffM
free
> Walter Harley
Sodipodi
http://groups.google.com/groups?&selm=MPG.1af3aa71fdc39b9798989a%40NEWS.INDIVIDUAL.NET
Phil Hobbs
Your are in a maze of twisty little corridors, all alike.
Cheers,
Phil Hobbs
Chris Carlen
> QuickCAD from Autodesk. I purchased the latest version, V8, from my
> local Staples (office supply store) for US $49.95. Very easy to use
> (IMHO) and has an accuracy of something like 0.00000001 inch (or mm),
> give or take a right-hand zero or two.
>
>> - runs on Windows (or maybe Linux, but Mac is not gonna happen),
>
>
> The version I have runs on Windows. I think it is also available for
> Linux. Not sure.
Not, unfortunately.
--
____________________________________
Christopher R. Carlen
Principal Laser/Optical Technologist
Sandia National Laboratories CA USA
crc...@sandia.gov
Rolavine
>Date: 6/21/2004 1:01 PM Pacific Daylight Time
>Message-id: <cb7er...@news3.newsguy.com>
system at odd times. I have not had much luck with it, and I have no idea why
it messes us.
I don't like ist toy like GUI, not autocad like at all with a crude ruler above
the workspace, and am putting in another plug for Cadopia's intellicad.
George
can also do otrhagonal views like the exploded assembly diagrams.
Works Great.
George
Rene Tschaggelar
> I need to get something halfway decent to make mechanical drawings, of
> things like chassis, faceplates, assemblies, PCB's. Been using Visio,
> because it's what I have at hand, but it's just awful when it comes to
> getting accurate dimensions, trying to make precise radiused corners, and so
> forth.
>
> AutoCAD costs a gazillion dollars, and I don't really want software that
> needs user groups and two-day seminars to learn how to use anyway.
>
> Can anyone recommend something simple that:
> - costs < $200, preferably free,
>
> much pain.
I came across FelixCAD a while ago.
I couldn't comment on it as it is too long ago.
Rene
--
Ing.Buero R.Tschaggelar - http://www.ibrtses.com
& commercial newsgroups - http://www.talkto.net
Chaos Master
This is not exactly to do mechanical drawings.
Sodipodi is more like Corel Draw and I am using Sodipodi to create a small one-
sheet newspaper.
[]s
--
© Chaos Master. |"These wounds won't seem to heal
My Evanescence HP is at: | This pain is just too real
http://marreka.no-ip.com | There's just too much that time can't erase"
(most often offline... ) | -- Evanescence, "My Immortal"
L. Fiar
news:cb36es$6hi$0...@216.39.172.65...
> of things like chassis, faceplates, assemblies, PCB's.
>
> - costs < $200, preferably free,
> - runs on Windows (or maybe Linux, but Mac is not gonna happen),
> - ideally, can save in a format that others can read, such as .DXF?
>
> I don't need 3-D, although that might be nice; just accurate
> 2-D without too much pain.
For those in the UK, some Co-op supermarkets have some very cheap software
in at the moment. One package is 10 disks:
CadComplete.
Multimedia Greetings.
3D Atlas.
Infopedia UK.
Multipedia.
Comptons Encyclopedia (1998 ed)
Comptons Cookbook.
Think and talk French.
Bodyworks 6.0
Project Manager Pro.
All in one package, named "Megamedia" for just £3.99.
I have not yet tried the CadComplete, so I cannot comment on how good it is,
although it boasts 20 symbol libraries - including electrical, electronic,
computer, technology, home design, and others.
Among other graphics software, I still use an old version of Coreldraw! The
vector graphics do some nice diagrams for printing.