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Thread: Best (cheap/free) Homeshop CAD Program?

  1. #1
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    Best (cheap/free) Homeshop CAD Program?

    Years ago I was pretty comfortable with a 2D CAD program called DesignCad.

    Would like to find something for home/hobby use today.

    Do not want to make the necessary time investment to learn something that is free today, but could either disappear tomorrow, or become expensive.

    Curious what members here are using...

    No experience with 3D CAD. Probably only need 2D. Perhaps 2D is archaic now?

    Willing to learn...

    Recommendations/insight highly appreciated!

    (I did try the search function but came up empty handed. Perhaps I need help there too?)
    Too much to do...Not enough time...life is too short!

  2. #2
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    Sketchup will be the clear winner most likely. Do a search on it, tons of threads here and tons of information and tutorials available online.

    By the way, this thread
    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?263102-Sketch-up-vs-autocad
    Was started today, and has a lot of information for you to review.
    Last edited by Matt Day; 03-14-2018 at 2:26 PM.

  3. #3
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    I use the free version of DraftSight. It is missing some features, but is very usable and allows for various methods of entering/displaying measurements etc.

  4. #4
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    I use a free version of Double Cad XT, which has few if any limitations. It works similar to Autocad.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
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    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    Sketchup will be the clear winner most likely. Do a search on it, tons of threads here and tons of information and tutorials available online.

    By the way, this thread
    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....-up-vs-autocad
    Was started today, and has a lot of information for you to review.
    Thanks Matt. I saw that thread. Seems like those products are more focused towards the pro. Not sure if I like the idea of web based software, free or otherwise.

    The choices out out there are almost overwhelming, hence my question related to Home shop hobby type use.

    I understand as a veteran I can get solidworks for $20. That could be another option.

    Bill
    Too much to do...Not enough time...life is too short!

  6. #6
    Why not stick with DesignCAD or entry level TurboCad?

  7. #7
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    Thanks Lisa and Lee,

    For some reason Draftsight did not keep my attention when I looked at it some time ago, for reasons I do not remember. Will look again.

    Lee, I am am going to check out Doubke Cad XT after I post this reply.

    Perhaps I should have titled this thread “What CAD program do you use in your home shop?” Best is so relative. Poor choice of words on my part.

    Bill
    Too much to do...Not enough time...life is too short!

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Space View Post
    Thanks Lisa and Lee,

    For some reason Draftsight did not keep my attention when I looked at it some time ago, for reasons I do not remember. Will look again.

    Lee, I am am going to check out Doubke Cad XT after I post this reply.

    Perhaps I should have titled this thread “What CAD program do you use in your home shop?” Best is so relative. Poor choice of words on my part.

    Bill
    Sketchup. There are a ton of videos online to learn it, and a great sketchup for woodworkers book for $20 on amazon.

    It’s free, for now.

  9. #9
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    I would first ask what you want to do. If it's simple drawings, sketchup can't be beat but there is a learning curve no matter what you want to do. fusion 360 is a great one too. If you were thinking of cam in your future, f360 is better.

    but again, no matter what, you will have a learning curve.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Hankins View Post
    I would first ask what you want to do. If it's simple drawings, sketchup can't be beat but there is a learning curve no matter what you want to do. fusion 360 is a great one too. If you were thinking of cam in your future, f360 is better.

    but again, no matter what, you will have a learning curve.
    Keith, I am one of those guys who buys tools before he needs them, and always finds a use for them afterwards!

    So I can’t answer your question directly, but do understand the advantage of a software program over pencil and paper...

    Bill
    Too much to do...Not enough time...life is too short!

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Milito View Post
    Why not stick with DesignCAD or entry level TurboCad?
    Steve,

    A couple years ago I actually bought a newer version of DesignCad. I think it is the 3D version. It was not expensive, but I found it cumbersome to relearn and decided at the time to spend the learning effort on perhaps a better or more up to date software.

    Did nothing since then hence hence the current question.

    Bill
    Too much to do...Not enough time...life is too short!

  12. I've used sketchup a good bit, but since I've gotten my iPad Pro (9.7" with Apple pencil) I've been playing with Shapr3d and it's pretty nice! Started out bumpy but they've done some updating and it's on track with sketchup for my purposes now

  13. #13
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    For woodworking I would recommend 3D over 2D. For 3D I would recommend Fusion 360 over SketchUp. The initial learning curve for Fusion is a little more steep than SketchUp but once you get going it's a lot better than SketchUp IMO. Also, their licensing blows SketchUp out of the water. For a hobbyist, Fusion 360 is a free, full featured version. You only have to start paying for it when you get over $100k in revenue. SketchUp free is garbage unless you have zero desire to make printable plans.

  14. #14
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    I use the free version of Sketchup, which is still available for download. Dave Richards has 2 e-books available for woodworkers that are excellent. He takes the reader from very basic stuff to complex pieces. Well worth the low cost.
    Grant
    Ottawa ON

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Space View Post
    Thanks Matt. I saw that thread. Seems like those products are more focused towards the pro. Not sure if I like the idea of web based software, free or otherwise.

    The choices out out there are almost overwhelming, hence my question related to Home shop hobby type use.

    I understand as a veteran I can get solidworks for $20. That could be another option.

    Bill
    As a long-time AutoCAD user at work, I looked at SOLIDWORKS for my personal use and wanted to take advantage of the veteran's discount. Unfortunately, it is not available for the Mac. Instead, I decided to give SketchUp a try and installed the free Make 2017 version. As others stated, there are lots of free tutorials on YouTube and I was able to learn the basics in less than a day.

    The non-web version of SketchUp, Make 2017, is still available for download:

    https://www.sketchup.com/download/all

    I am building a miter station in my basement shop based on the Jay Bates design. I bought his SketchUp plans and modified the design to fit my shop and needs. In order to ensure the station fit, I had to have a scale drawing of my shop with the existing equipment in place. It took me two weekends and a few evenings of learning as I went with SketchUp to create a scale layout of my shop and add the equipment. Some of the equipment model files are available for free download on the 3D Warehouse associated with SketchUp, but some, such as my Minimax SC2 and workbench, weren't. Fortunately, my Dewalt miter saw was one of the models available. I was able to create a working model of the Minimax saw and place it in the shop layout so I could see where to place the equipment and which parts of the miter saw station would fit. For the workbench, I created a 3D block to represent it.


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