CAD programs... any inexpensive ones?

[Beagle]

Hello all,

I'm looking for a vector drawing / CAD program. It's been a million years since I've used or owned anything. The stuff I have won't run on XP, probably won't run on 2000. I'm not even sure it will run on Windows 95, that's how old it is.

Anyway, if y'all have a recommendation for a decent cad package that is not uber expensive, I'm all ears. Thanks.

[Orange65]

I run Solidworks here at work. You might be able to get hold of an educational license for a few hundred $ (they may require enrollment at a college or university). Otherwise, look at DraftSight- it is a free 2D package from Solidworks. I don't know if it requires a Solidworks license to buy. I have used it briefly- it works just like Autocad. You could also look for IntelliCad- it used to be a cheap 2D package.

If you don't mind an older version, look at Ebay. They usually have older copies of CAD on there...

[squirrel]

Find a high school robotics team to help mentor, or start one. They get all kinds of neat educational software free....Solidworks, Inventor, etc.

My son was looking into buying something, it's hard to even find a price for solidworks, you need to call them I guess?

[milner351]

I've been wondering about this for some time too - here's a link to intellicad - anyone use it?

http://intellicadms.com/site/

[BBR]

Free:

http://www.doublecad.com/

[Beagle]

Excellent! I like that price... it'll probably tell me what I need to know. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler ...

[Darren N.]

I've been enrolled in college/university for many years now so I've had access to cool stuff for a long time at school. However, to work at home students are often able to download a limited use educational version. Some are free, others require an annual payment.

AutoCAD (2D), Inventor (3D):

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=14185424

It says it's free for all students, try signing up.

SolidWorks (3D: CAD, CAE)

http://www.solidworks.com/sw/education/student-software-3d-mcad.htm

A student license goes for $150 annually or is free if you're associated with an SAE student design team.

ProEngineer/Creo (3D; CAD, CAM, CAE):

http://store.ptc.com/DRHM/store?Action=DisplayProductDetailsPage&SiteID=ptc&Locale=en_US&Env=BASE&productID=201248400

ProE is available to SAE student teams for free or $120 annually for all other students. If you know someone at a college locally, maybe they can help you save the fee.

CATIA (3D; CAD, CAM, CAE)

http://academy.3ds.com/software/support/catia-student-edition/eligibility-and-technical-prerequisites/

A student edition is offered for $100 annually but only to full time students.

While they're all not completely free, these are the same software packages used throughout industry. Although not the most powerful, Inventor and SolidWorks are by far the most beginner-friendly. I would suggest that you look into either of those. ProE and CATIA are pretty convoluted and would be easier to learn after gaining general 3D CAD experience from a simpler package.

[5speed1966]

http://deltacad.com/

[SpiderGearsMan]

I've been enrolled in college/university for many years now so I've had access to cool stuff for a long time at school. However, to work at home students are often able to download a limited use educational version. Some are free, others require an annual payment.

AutoCAD (2D), Inventor (3D):

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=14185424

It says it's free for all students, try signing up.

SolidWorks (3D: CAD, CAE)

http://www.solidworks.com/sw/education/student-software-3d-mcad.htm

A student license goes for $150 annually or is free if you're associated with an SAE student design team.

ProEngineer/Creo (3D; CAD, CAM, CAE):

http://store.ptc.com/DRHM/store?Action=DisplayProductDetailsPage&SiteID=ptc&Locale=en_US&Env=BASE&productID=201248400

ProE is available to SAE student teams for free or $120 annually for all other students. If you know someone at a college locally, maybe they can help you save the fee.

CATIA (3D; CAD, CAM, CAE)

http://academy.3ds.com/software/support/catia-student-edition/eligibility-and-technical-prerequisites/

A student edition is offered for $100 annually but only to full time students.

While they're all not completely free, these are the same software packages used throughout industry. Although not the most powerful, Inventor and SolidWorks are by far the most beginner-friendly. I would suggest that you look into either of those. ProE and CATIA are pretty convoluted and would be easier to learn after gaining general 3D CAD experience from a simpler package.

any closer to your goal ?

[Darren N.]

any closer to your goal ?

Yep, I spent this summer doing a full semester of classes. I have 2 years left to complete my bachelor's in engineering.

College and university are separate in Quebec. I completed a 3 year college program in mech. eng. technology and I've spent the last 4 years at university working towards my actual mech. eng. degree. I was part-time for a while otherwise I would have been done by this summer. Plus, I've had to redo a few classes lol

I'm taking a bit longer than most folks to complete my degree but I've gained a lot of work experience by doing things my way.

[SpiderGearsMan]

good luck to you

[dieselgeek]

Did anyone mention Google Sketchup? pretty awesome for basic CAD stuff.

[Stich496]

nice thread,, I got some killer software from when I was at topaz engineering surply..
way way over my head..

[notrod59]

I've been using a free demo version of Rhinocerous 3D for a few years now. It's not considered as CAD by some but I've had pretty good success with it. There is a bug in the 3.0 version that lets you save forever. Eveyrthing I've tried after that would only save 25 times. You can still use it but you're unable to save anything.

[gearhed1971]

I use megacad at work, it converts to g code with having to program all that parameter bs. Check out the video I made today,- wema cnc lathe, with ornamental mill( the mill actually is more of an ornament as much as the lathe is booked up) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFdFB8dg-1I Ibelieve it can function in 2& 3d, but I only use 2.