good (and cheap) CAD package recomendation

[chief-0369]

I fancy getting hold of a CAD package and having a bit of a play.

can anyone recommend a good and cheap package?

[stc_bennett]

There are usually old versions of solid works going around on cover discs these are usually 2 versions old and with no templates or example though.

Other wise the ones i have seen are above the 500 mark

We use ProE and AutoCAD but these are a bit pricey

Steve

>> Edited by stc_bennett on Saturday 30th August 20:50

[chief-0369]

cheers

will look at some cover disks. 500 is a tad too much

[Bodo]

chief-0369 said:

I fancy getting hold of a CAD package and having a bit of a play. can anyone recommend a good and cheap package?

'Cheap' depends on what you want to achieve with it; prices range from zero to a maintenance package for several 3D-MCAD licenses with countless options.

So what do you want as output?
2D, 3D, parametric/behavioural modeling, collaboration tools, nc-data export, product presentations, ...

Platform: Unix- or Windows based?


QCAD ( www.qcad.org ) is a basic 2D open source (hence free) application with optional proprietary CAM interface. It's not very sophisticated, but the right thing to get started.

Pro/Desktop Express is offered by the manufacturer of Pro/Engineer, PTC. It's a free 3D CAD-package, which does run on office-PCs without expensive graphics devices.
The policy of PTC offering this software free is to use it as a bait for potential customers. The free license may be withdrawn at any time. They claim it's easy to learn, and just the right thing for beginners.
I have evaluated it for our company, but yet have no feedback from users who used it a their first CAD application. I myself was very familiar with 3D-CAD before and hence cannot rate if it is easy to start with.

Take a look at
www.ptc.com/appserver/it/icm/cda/icm01_list.jsp?group=201&num=1&show=y&keyword=355
to see if it's something for you

>> Edited by Bodo on Sunday 31st August 00:00

[stc_bennett]

I Thought PTC withdraw the free license, well good to know that they still do the Pro Desktop as well.

[Bodo]

stc_bennett said:

I Thought PTC withdraw the free license, well good to know that they still do the Pro Desktop as well.

It looks like an installation doesn't last for unlimited time without renewing it:

PTC said:

How long can Pro/DESKTOP Express be used? During the software registration process Pro/DESKTOP Express users must provide their e-mail address. At six-month intervals, PTC will contact every registered Pro/DESKTOP Express user to inform them of the latest service packs available for download. At this time, Pro/DESKTOP Express users must register for a new activation key.

I too binned their email without reading it, and hence didn't realise that Pro/D does no longer work, because I've never used it after the evaluation was finished.

[chris watton]

I use TurboCAD for my work, and I design new products for a living! You can pick up a version of TurboCAD free on one of the PC magazine's discs this month I believe, can't get mush cheaper than that!
I found this program to be the most intuitive and easiest to learn, plus any file can be saved in numerous formats, including DXF and DWG (AutoCAD) formats. Try this link;
www.turbocad.com/search/sitemap_search.cfm

Chris