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Author Topic: Which CAD Programme?  (Read 6906 times)

ChrisF

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Which CAD Programme?
« on: December 10, 2017, 01:13:11 pm »

I've had a couple of folks ask me what CAD program I use including my neighbour who got me into RC.


I use Microsoft Visio which isn't CAD as such. It' a drawing program which I started off using at work. I'm pretty proficient with it but not sure I'd recommend it to beginner's though as it does some weird things sometimes when working with curves and have had to redraw things a couple of times as even the Undo button won't fix it.


Does anyone else use Visio?


So what CAD programs are used by forum members and what is recommended for beginners?


I tried TurboCAD many years ago but wasn't very impressed with it, not very user friendly and intuitive though I believe it's much better nowadays.


Chris
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irons01

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2017, 01:34:11 pm »

I tend to use Draftsight, which is basically a free version of 2D AutoCAD, not that easy to learn (but I used AutoCAD at Uni), the nice thing (from my point of view) is that you can import pictures into it (say, scans from a Anatomy of the Ship series) and draw over them to create constructional drawings.....

Ian
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tigertiger

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2017, 01:40:54 pm »

I use Sketchup. It is free for non-commercial use, and there are plenty of tutorials online, including Youtube, there are also lots of books to download. There are also lots of 3D models of things (wheels etc) that can be downloaded from the warehouse (free).


I found it very intuitive and easy to learn. There are also patches available (some pay some free) including several for 3d printing if you wish to go that way.
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warspite

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2017, 06:33:12 pm »

AutoCAD 2014 at home and in the past some inventor, archi- at the last place I worked (though they only used it to draw 2D with), and at the best company I worked at AutoCAD 2008LT, not used it since may - much though, the cormorant for a member was created using the 2014 solids part of the CAD.
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Brian60

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2017, 09:41:54 am »

I'm just learning Sketchup 3d. I'm finding it difficult, not because of the program but because my mind is embedded with using 2d to draw stuff in Coreldraw :embarrassed: Making the transition from drawing in flat 2d to finding my way around a 3d impression is I find, most difficult.

I draw a shape and want to add another shape to it to get a transition between the two, but it never seems to work, it always looks hollow, a bit weird, but its not the program, its just me coming to terms with a new way of doing things.

tigertiger

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2017, 11:53:59 am »

... it always looks hollow, a bit weird, ...
 


Hi Brian
I have not tried to transition yet, but when it comes to appearance, have you tried playing with the buttons in the pictures below?
First set are usually at the top of the page. The styles are in a drop down toggled from the list on the right of the page on my screen set up.


The only other visual problem I have had is parts of objects ghosting out. I found the problems was that if I used the rectangle tool to make a rectangle and then pushed it up into a 3D solid, it would ghost at some angles. However, if I used the line tool (pencil icon) to draw a rectangle first, there was not ghosting.
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ChrisF

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2017, 12:26:28 pm »

I'm just learning Sketchup 3d. I'm finding it difficult, not because of the program but because my mind is embedded with using 2d to draw stuff in Coreldraw :embarrassed: Making the transition from drawing in flat 2d to finding my way around a 3d impression is I find, most difficult.

I draw a shape and want to add another shape to it to get a transition between the two, but it never seems to work, it always looks hollow, a bit weird, but its not the program, its just me coming to terms with a new way of doing things.


I can understand where you are coming from Brian. I started as an architectural technician and having produced many hundreds of drawings over the years I'm conditioned to thinking in 3D and drawing in 2D.


I think I'd struggle, particularly with producing curved shapes like the hull in 3D.


Thanks for the replies so far.


Chris 
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tigertiger

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2017, 01:29:22 pm »

I think at least one person on Mayhem has used Delftship for hull design. There is a free version  http://www.delftship.net/DELFTship/index.php/delftship/delftship-free
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Subculture

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2017, 05:05:50 pm »

You can still download 123D by Autocad which I found easier to get to grips with than a lot of CAD, and it's free. They've stopped support now, as they've moved to cloud based software where you need to pay a license fee, presumably because they weren't making much out of giving software away.

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Brian60

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2017, 05:21:12 pm »

Problem I'm having is making a bolted or riveted closing plate. say you have a round plate and its 20mm thick, no problem, then there are 40 bolts equally spaced around the circumference again no problem. Use the tool to push them up like a bolt, 2mm above the surface no problem.

However when I want to extend them 2mm below the plate as well it just does not work, I don't know if you can actually pull or push an object in both directions to make it larger/longer?

I've added a image to demonstrate what I mean, the bolts around the flange should extend downwards, but for the life of me I can't work out how to do it. All that it does is pull the object down but leaves it a hollow tube on the surface of the plate.

Brian60

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2017, 05:22:38 pm »

I think at least one person on Mayhem has used Delftship for hull design. There is a free version  http://www.delftship.net/DELFTship/index.php/delftship/delftship-free
A year or maybe 2 ago, a member began an in depth tutorial on using delftship in one of the lower forums, search delftship and it should come up.

ChrisF

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #11 on: December 12, 2017, 07:23:26 pm »


Out of interest I had a look at the Delftship tutorial.


Unfortunately it's been ruined due to Photobucket's behaviour.  >>:-(
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grendel

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #12 on: December 12, 2017, 08:09:03 pm »

pull the bolts up further them move them all down? in the cad program I use (bently microstation), its as easy as extrude the circle both ways to he correct length (actually I would start with hexes) move them into place, then merge the two solids (also check your circles are solids not holes)- as a CAD draughtsman that item would take me less than 10 minutes. if youc cad wont allow that before you pull them up, copy them to the other side of the flange, then pull the second set up from the other side.
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ddmckee54

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #13 on: December 12, 2017, 08:21:46 pm »

For 2D CAD I use Draftsight because it's free and it's an AutoCAD clone, which is what I use for 2D CAD at work.  You get a no-cost one year license for Draftsight and at the end of the year you can renew the license - again at no cost.

For 3D I'm currently using Designspark Mechanical available at no cost from Allied Electronics - who would have dreamt that one up.  I tried other 3D packages but they just didn't make much sense to me.  This package made the leap from 2D to 3D much easier for me, but it is rather limited in what it will allow you to do and in what order you have to do it.  I also have a version of Fusion360 from Autodesk that I have been threatening to find the time to learn how to use.  Fusion360 is "Cloud" based software so you won't be able to use it without an active Internet connection.  Watching the Fusion360 tutorials I can see similarities to Designspark so the transition should be relatively painless.  Fusion360 is also available at no cost to "hobbyists", a niche that we fit into quite nicely.

Don
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grendel

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #14 on: December 12, 2017, 08:32:33 pm »

here we go - sorry it took so long I was eating my diner while I did it.
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grendel

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #15 on: December 12, 2017, 08:37:52 pm »

I could now save it as an STL, and export it to my 3d printer software and print the part in a few hours. this is a great thing for a model maker that might want 2 or more of an item.
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grendel

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #16 on: December 12, 2017, 08:46:10 pm »

well just for fun I did just that, it will take about 1 1/2 hours and will cost about 50p in materials
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grendel

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #17 on: December 12, 2017, 11:27:47 pm »

here we go - excuse the grotty picture, thats my tablets fault
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tigertiger

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #18 on: December 13, 2017, 01:08:36 am »

pull the bolts up further them move them all down?
   


Wow! that really is a simple solution :-))
In Sketchup, providing that all of the bolts are copies of one original, you only need to make a copy of one, move outside the flange, and then draw the bolt down the desired amount, the others will all do the same. If they are not all copies, it may be easier to copy one outside of the flange, delete all of the others. Make one 'master' component and copy it 40 times and place as needed.
This may seem like the same amount of work, but it is good practice to get into. Because if ever you have to make changes, you only need to change one (any one) and the others will copy. You can also flip components through any axis and the changes will occur on the component in the axis it is on. Really useful tool at times.

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Brian60

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #19 on: December 13, 2017, 09:40:42 am »

Grendel that is amazing, although what I am making is not a pipe flange. It is the base of a HIAB type crane boom. The actual large tube from flange to its base is only 12mm long and 10mm in diameter, the flange, 2mm thick and 13mm wide and the bolts only 1mm wide and long enough to penetrate the flange. I know its a just a case of resizing everything thats why I just gave general sizes originally. But what you produced their in minutes it took me most of a day to do the flange I showed! Thats the difference between being proficient and just learning :}

grendel

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #20 on: December 13, 2017, 05:04:33 pm »

Brian, its the result of nearly 40 years as a draughtsman- rising to drawing office manager, nearly 30 of which have been doing CAD. I also use a very complex and capable CAD package, how many bolts do you need? I could easily draw it up to your dimensions and send you the dxf file or STL file if you wish.
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grendel

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #21 on: December 13, 2017, 05:24:21 pm »

Brian, are you sure its 40 bolts, I drew this to your dimensions and had to reduce the bolt heads to .7mm to even fit 40 in
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Brian60

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #22 on: December 13, 2017, 05:52:55 pm »

No mate, I've just checked the pic above, it has 18, I tried to count them on the original photo but gave up and estimated  %% I've put a photo of the boom here so you can see the bolt through's on the flange, also a 2d drawing that I am attempting to get measurements from!

I know I'm being ambitious trying something complex like this, but always game to have a go {-)

grendel

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #23 on: December 13, 2017, 08:47:05 pm »

Ah, I think I see the issue, the diameters you were giving me were probably radii, I may not get time this evening, but I will have a go, I think you basically want the plinth under the crane. lets see what I can do.
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grendel

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Re: Which CAD Programme?
« Reply #24 on: December 13, 2017, 09:21:02 pm »

I believe this was probably nearer what you were looking for.
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