Ok I was just wondering if there is any free CAD software worth downloading...

I saw a list of free CAD software on wikipedia and was wondering which was the best on that list (or if any of them were any good).

And another question... how hard is it to use CAD software...?

Is the CAD software you can buy much better than free software?


I'm a total CAD noob in need of advice

EDIT: Am I right in saying that the best software depends on what you are intending to design?

I would say the best software depends on your budget. :P

I'm using CATIA V5 which i got from.............. somewhere

If you wish to use it for engineering purposes then use software like CATIA, if it's gaming models then something like 3DS Max.

Before I used V5 i used to use a program called prodesktop, it's an easy to use piece of kit.....easy enough in fact, that we used it in school (first time i used it i was in year 8 )

Like most things, the stuff you buy will beat the free stuff out of the water. Not a stead-fast rule, but sort of a generality.

I'd used AutoCAD and Solidworks. Both are extremely easy to use for most things, but learning them may not be intuitive. Find a bunch of beginner project tutorials for whatever program you have/will have, and work through them. Be sure to take into account what things you do throughout the tutorial; what the tools are for and what they do, why you use those and not do it another way, when to use them, etc etc.

I don't know of any good free CAD software; but I don't exactly look. Solidworks is what we use at the office, and it works great for us.

My budget currently stands at a massive £0.00

what is it you want to do with it exactly?

I'm not too sure but eventually something to do with cars

If you want something simple to doodle around with: Have you tried http://sketchup.google.com ? I used it on a low powered laptop once for a DIY project I had going and it was pretty good.

From the list you posted the only one I've used extensively was Wings3D and it's an awesome subdivision modeller but that's all basically.

Then avoid programs like CATIA and solid works at first because they are huge in their amount of options, and quite frankly it'll scare you off!

I'd suggest ProDesktop to get used to 3D design in general.... The main problem I found with pro desktop is that it only allows you to place a workplane on a flat surface... doesn't like trying to draw things on a curve...... so no 3D lollypops for me

Quote from xaotik :

If you want something simple to doodle around with: Have you tried http://sketchup.google.com ? I used it on a low powered laptop once for a DIY project I had going and it was pretty good.

From the list you posted the only one I've used extensively was Wings3D and it's an awesome subdivision modeller but that's all basically.

Is that only for designing houses and gardens and stuff?

I'm hoping to pursuade to work to buy me Autodesk Inventor, which looks awesome. But it's parametric construction system looks a little daunting to an AutoCAD veteran (self-taught 2D, 3D and Solid modelling)... But the thought of 3D design, automatic(ish) drawing generation, animated assembly and mechanics, built in FEA analysis and all of that just looks AWESOME. I think I've seen v11 (i.e. the last one before 2008) for £150 for a standalone licence, which is all we/I need as I'm the only one at work who can 'do' CAD.

I did a job last year clearing out a warehouse for a software dsitributing company. They were throwing out all their old stock and a lot of it was AutoCAD. V.11 I think was the latest one which I saw amongst all the crap.

If I would've known you were after them I could have thrown it your way as they said I could have anything if I wanted it. Sadly that was then, and this is now.

Quote from JO53PHS :

Is that only for designing houses and gardens and stuff?

Sketchup? No. I've actually used it to design things I've made like a computer case, some random furniture, etc and I've doodled in it with random ideas for a tadpole trike and such. But I've seen some fairly complicated things designed by others. It's good enough for quick basic stuff but it can built up to some intricacy. Best of all, it's free. Reason I sort of stuck with it for the small stuff is that it's shit easy to get dimensions measured in it in case you want to actually make what you're designing.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Autodesk Inventor, which looks awesome

The one I've been drooling over is the AliasStudio suite - the interface is quite like Alias' SketchbookPro which IMO is one of the best ever for digitizer use.

Quote from tristancliffe :

I'm hoping to pursuade to work to buy me Autodesk Inventor, which looks awesome. But it's parametric construction system looks a little daunting to an AutoCAD veteran (self-taught 2D, 3D and Solid modelling)... But the thought of 3D design, automatic(ish) drawing generation, animated assembly and mechanics, built in FEA analysis and all of that just looks AWESOME. I think I've seen v11 (i.e. the last one before 2008) for £150 for a standalone licence, which is all we/I need as I'm the only one at work who can 'do' CAD.

Inventor is pretty cool. We use it at Uni and it's quite impressive. The only problem is exporting the Inventor files to meshing and analyzing tools, which can be a bit of a drag. But don't fear it, it's very intuitive and easy to use. The GUI is clean and well designed. We had to design a monocilinder engine (plus animate it) and a heat exchanger (using Floworks for the fluid simulation). Unfortunately all my inventor experience is down the shitter, because CATIA V5 has become the benchmark and Inventor isn't used quite that often.

Quote from xaotik :

The one I've been drooling over is the AliasStudio suite - the interface is quite like Alias' SketchbookPro which IMO is one of the best ever for digitizer use.

Is this the Alias 3D CAD surface modeller? I really need to take a course on that. Would be handy, since it's industry-standard for what I plan on getting in to.

Quote from tristancliffe :

(self-taught 2D, 3D and Solid modelling)

Out of curiosity, what solid modelling program do/have you use(d)?

There are a number of half decent freebies, but ther are never as good as the pay for ones check out here for whats available > http://www.freecad.com/dcd/CAD_Programs____PCs/.

I went for a job a little while back that used Inventor, and it looked ok, the parametric side has been about for yonks, and it's taken Autodesk years to jump on the bandwagon.

I am highly skilled in AutoCAD, which is pretty much industry standard for 2D work, and I am also highly skilled in Rhino, which even after using programs like Solidworks and Ideas, think that Rhino is one of the most productive hybrid modelling packages there is.

I am currently working in Architectural design, and having to use a pig of a package called "Vectorworks", some yank thing, and IMO its VERY poor.

CAD isn't something you just "pickup" for free, it takes many years of on the job training to become proficient in all it's little foibles.

Also, there are many people who just can't visualise things in there head well enough to put them on CAD in the first place.

Speaking of CAD... are all the pro programs as unstable and tempermental as Solidworks? I love the program, it's easy to use and not too hard on system resources (relatively speaking, anyways) but it likes to crash and yell at me sometimes. (usually for no reason...just like a girlfriend actually...)

Quote from danowat :

CAD isn't something you just "pickup" for free, it takes many years of on the job training to become proficient in all it's little foibles.

Also, there are many people who just can't visualise things in there head well enough to put them on CAD in the first place.

I basically just wanted to find out some more stuff about CAD

Quote from JO53PHS :

I basically just wanted to find out some more stuff about CAD

Like Dan, ive been using AutoCAD for years, since R10 in good old DOS, and TBH I wouldnt use it for anything much than 2d drawings, the more fancy 3d stuff will hit you hard in the pocket.
AutoCAD can produce complex 3d surfacing drawings but not overly complex 3d solid models. For that you'll probably need inventor or mechanical desktop.....

It will take quite a while to learn the fundamental basics then the 3d stuff.....

You've got AutoCAD lite which has all the 3d functionality of full blown autocad stripped out, that costs £500 ish (full autocad is much more)

Bottom line there is no free/cheap option........

You just have to laugh at my Google SketchUp box car with a man sticking through it

Is there a way to get rid of that man?

LOL, sweet.

Download the demo of Rhino, even though it's save disabled, it will give you a good idea of what a "proper" hybrid modeller can do.

My car now looks more like a car

Except It has floating wheels

I have aquired the demo version (or something much like it) of Inventor to play with. So far, I'm loving it. It's taking a while to get used to it, and I'm a lot slower, but it seems like it's 100 times more powerful than AutoCAD.

The only thing that I've done all the way through the design process in Inventor, from parts to drawings, has been a sump guard, and the bending tools have meant the material dimensions prior to bending are calculated automatically! Woot!

It'll take me a couple of years to get back to where I was with AutoCAD overall, but I don't want to go back now. I'm planning on modelling something complicated over the summer, like a whole gearbox, but that's just for fun.

Anyone any ideas how to constrain a spring onto a platform? I can't seem to get centrelines on the spring... And I can't seem to get opacity working properly for parts containing hidden parts...

Quote from tristancliffe :

I'm hoping to pursuade to work to buy me Autodesk Inventor, which looks awesome. But it's parametric construction system looks a little daunting to an AutoCAD veteran (self-taught 2D, 3D and Solid modelling)... But the thought of 3D design, automatic(ish) drawing generation, animated assembly and mechanics, built in FEA analysis and all of that just looks AWESOME. I think I've seen v11 (i.e. the last one before 2008) for £150 for a standalone licence, which is all we/I need as I'm the only one at work who can 'do' CAD.

I've been using Autodesk Inventor since Freshman year in high school. In college now we're using Inventor 2008. I have to say that this is one of the most intuitive pieces of software ever designed. Maybe they're all this simple, but the point is - if it looks daunting, it SERIOUSLY isn't. Within an hour of fooling around you'll be making all kinds of 3D objects. It's incredibly easy.

EDIT: Lol - I didn't read far enough down the thread. Anyway - see how simple it is?! The best part is applying different materials to the object and then rendering it. Looks great.

Not bothering with materials just now, although I have had a quick play. Sorted my spring constrain problem by making the X-axis of the part visible, and constraining to that.

I now want to make my edits to drawing title blocks default, my dimension style as default and stuff like that.

And I just discovered the design accelerator, which is awesome (though it didn't like my spring dimensions for some reason. I took them straight off a spring in front of me... bah! I'll figure it out soon enough. Much more fun than asking "how do I load it" on a forum each time I hit trouble, like the newbie renderers here.

Inventor 11 is what I've been using for quite a while now. To learn the software I started by attempting to replicate my bicycle. It's a really powerful program. It's great to be able to design something, add forces to it and see what moves, and check it with the stress analysis software.

These pictures are nearly a year old now from my bicycle attempt.