Best cheap/free CAD program for home computer

[JustaGT5408]

Question. For someone who wants to design a simple part but has no experience with autocad, how difficult is it to learn the basics? I subscribe to Lynda.com which has loads of autocad tutorials, many of which are directly related to the program being used (ie. SolidWorks) but was just wondering approximately how much time on average it takes to learn the basics where you can then design a simple part.

Its not that bad at all, as long as you are willing to experiment with different tools/features. I have found that there are about a million ways to accomplish the same task within 3D modeling. Solidworks has been the most user-friendly in my experience and the forums have tons of tutorials and tips. Autodesk Inventor is another decent CAD program that is very close to the same layout as Solidworks

 

[Jroc]

Question. For someone who wants to design a simple part but has no experience with autocad, how difficult is it to learn the basics? I subscribe to Lynda.com which has loads of autocad tutorials, many of which are directly related to the program being used (ie. SolidWorks) but was just wondering approximately how much time on average it takes to learn the basics where you can then design a simple part.

At first you thinking it's going to be a bitch to learn as initially it can be a little confusing why the program works a certain way, but once you learn the basics and a few tricks from other people who use it you will be surprised at how fast you start to pick it up. I was getting pretty efficient with it after only 2/3 days. In school I couldn't pick it up, but that's because I goofed off in school and didn't care, but now that I'm older and using it in my career I have to learn it so I'm motived to, and it seems simple now.

 

[GodStang]

Torrent Solidworks... Fun ass program...

 

[CobraBob]

Its not that bad at all, as long as you are willing to experiment with different tools/features. I have found that there are about a million ways to accomplish the same task within 3D modeling. Solidworks has been the most user-friendly in my experience and the forums have tons of tutorials and tips. Autodesk Inventor is another decent CAD program that is very close to the same layout as Solidworks

At first you thinking it's going to be a bitch to learn as initially it can be a little confusing why the program works a certain way, but once you learn the basics and a few tricks from other people who use it you will be surprised at how fast you start to pick it up. I was getting pretty efficient with it after only 2/3 days. In school I couldn't pick it up, but that's because I goofed off in school and didn't care, but now that I'm older and using it in my career I have to learn it so I'm motived to, and it seems simple now.

Thanks, guys. I'm going to sort through the Lynda.com autocad tutorial videos and probably focus on the SolidWorks tutorial. That's that one I started with this morning and I seemed to catch on pretty well. Of course, the quality of the tutorial video helps a lot. :thumbsup:

 

[CobraBob]

Wow, I just found out that I can to through the Solidworks Military Veterans Discount Store and get a 2013/2014 version of Solidworks for only $20.00! :rockon:

 

[flash0080]

Anything but Pro-e. Get a student version of catia. As far as im concerned its the best out there.

 

[turnpike_cruise]

Catia V5 for the win. This is what I use at work. Most of the time when I need to draw something up, I just do it at after hours at work.

Dassault really seems to be getting a large line of different products, including the one listed above. I have not heard of that before. Although, Catia is not cheap, not sure about the student versions though!

If I did not have a work laptop that I can use from home to connect to my CAD station, I would definitely look more closely into that.

 

[Jroc]

Whats the best way to post DXF and/or DWG files online?

I can't find a good file converter that doesn't spam/cookie/maleware/whatever up my computer.

 

[jason6488]

Catia is the Ferrari of cad software, however it carries a Ferrari pricetag. Solidworks is great but also expensive, I learned on Inventor and like that as well. Alibre is cheap, but its obvious why. Autocad is still the standard for architecture but solid modeling moved on long ago. Like I stated before doublecad is exactly like autocad only free. Its by the far the best free cad software available. I have sampled free modeling software and none of it is worth the time it takes to download. I did read the comment about solidworks for veterans. im very interested in that.

 

[CobraBob]

Yes, Solidworks is expensive, but CHEAP if you can use one of their discounts, like Student or Veteran.

 

[mckpat03]

Whats the best way to post DXF and/or DWG files online?

I can't find a good file converter that doesn't spam/cookie/maleware/whatever up my computer.

Do you want someone to be able to open and manipulate, or are you just trying to send prints? Or where are you uploading to?

You can just print/save to a PDF and send prints that way, but you can upload and share drawing files just about the same as any other file.

 

[The Grey Beast]

+1

I love Inventor, but Solidworks defiantly has the corner on the market. But so long as you understand the basics you can learn any software package.

We use Solidworks on our FormulaSAE team. It's really nice for performing FEA on things. A lot simpler than performing FEA on things such as NX or Inventor

 

[ElscottHavoc]

Can you just have them give you an extra "seat" for home use. If not, Draftsight is pretty robust for being free. If you need 3D stuff, then I've never used anything other than ProE, Solid works, or Inventor.

As far as how easy are CAD programs to use, in reply to CobraBob, I think they're pretty easy to pick up in this day and age. Most people these days are proficient with computers and can probably figure it out over time just by tinkering.

I've found, the biggest problem with teaching CAD isn't getting people to learn, its mental visualization, drawing standards, general design practices, and efficiency. I think my schooling on CAD focused more on learning about project design than it did on use of the actual program. Anyways, as has been mentioned, once you learn one its pretty easy to transition and learn others.

Posted via Topify on Android

 

[CobraBob]

Yes, Landon, I think for me the key will be learning drawing standards and general design practices. I'm fortunate that I will be able to use the Lynda.com training videos, so I'm going to give it a shot.