Simple Cad Drawing start-up…..

[clogsParticipant @clogs]

HI all,

guess this'll open a can of worms but here goes……

I like to down-load a simple easy to use (if there is such a thing) and free, Cad drawing program, suitable for the latest version of iMac and the elderly…..hahaha..

I would like to design a house and lay out a new workshop……have tried with graph paper and cut out's but it generally ends up with the cat having fun or "clear the table cos ur T is ready"……

it would be nice to learn how to use the system for engineering related topics BUT only simple stuff…….as yet don't want to draw gear's etc but happy to practice on rainy nights…….

Any suggestion please? ta Clogs

[clogsParticipant @clogs]

[Thor 🇳🇴Participant @thor]

FreeCAD is one CAD program that will run on Mac. This has been discussed before.

Thor

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

I'm not sure how helpful this'll be:

I've just been doing the same thing.. inherited half my parents family home and redesigned extensions and modernisations which have been passed on to architects for tarting up and submissions for planning.

The last time I did something similar was early 90's when i redesigned my clinic and back then I was using turbocad 3point something. The architect involved back then was still draughting by hand and i could knock out modifications and ideas and fax them to him rapidly.

This time I did mess about with a couple of cloud-based options but internet speeds here are below pathetic so spent a whole £7 on a copy of turbocad 20 and reviewed some vids on youtube for it's shorter-cuts usage. For simple house design I didn't find it had changed that much (except that my old copy would no longer print out on XP). I had the trial month when i could use 20 on more than one machine so it was handy to pratt about both at home (XP and 46" screen) and on site with a luggable win10 and 20" screen as well.

I still did a lot of it roughed out as paper doodles. I was disappointed with the library avialable (free) and ended up just using draggable footprint shapes for internal layout. The one thing I didn't bother sketching was the hobby-shed – it's simply going to be 'as big as i can afford'

For me the 3D walkabout model was of no use except to show wifey – who can't visualise plans. If she hadn't been involved then i wouldn't have bothered with that aspect.

Why involve an architect? It's not essential but my project is a £700K investment and the village has some listed buildings near by so they are canny when it comes to impact assessments and what one can get away with but in practical terms he couldn't improve on my layouts.

End resuts will convert a 1500sq foot 3-bed bungalow needing modernisation to a bunglaow around 2500 sqr feet with 4 double beds 2 with en suites and a walk in wardrobe, additional family bath and 2 cloaks, utility room and sun room and stair access to all that roof space should future folk find they need additional rooms rather than just storage space up there. Hopefully the result will be worth £900K+

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

You've forgotten the workshop!

Brian

[Bodger BrianParticipant @bodgerbrian]

This might not be too helpful in that I'm not suggesting any particular software but what I will say is to try as many as you can. You will get more than one recommendation, probably all claimed to be 'simple', but different people find different things simple and you won't know which you find simple until you try them.

Brian

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

I will watch this thread with renewed interest, it may make me try CAD again. I bought a copy of TurboCad from Maplins over a year ago and gave up trying to even draw a line on it. I didn't realise there where You Tube tutorials to help, bit I am a self confessed computer dummy.

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

I went down the same route as you and investigated pretty much every option. I didnt like any of them. I now use the design feature in Visio of all things and find it very simple to use.

[Brian OldfordParticipant @brianoldford70365]

The most capable free CAD app I've found is Draftsight. It's particularly easy if you've had exposure to AutoCad.

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

When we got AutoCad at work some years ago it was supplied with a nice thick manual. I worked my way through the tutorials in the manual and found it easy to work with as a result. I often see work done by people who did not do this and as a result do not use model space and paper space (now layouts) correctly. This was long before 3D cad was affordable for most people and YouTube didn't exist. I would recommend trying to get something with a good tutorial to get you started, YouTube may have plenty of tutorials but they may be of variable quality if they are not official releases.

CAD is an excellent tool when you get over the initial learning stage otherwise very few people would bother with it. A big screen always helps as well.

Martin C

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I can recommend:

• Ribbonsoft QCAD for 2D conventional drawing. The free version is very capable; the professional version is worth the extra money if you do a lot of drawing.
• FreeCAD for single-part 3D on Linux. (Does more than Mechanical Engineering.)
• Fusion360 for 3D on MSWindows is free and much more complete than FreeCAD for Mechanical 3D.

Beware though, unless the drawing package is very basic, expect a stiff learning curve. Also, being graphical, they tend to push your hardware. This is particularly true of 3D software which may not work at all on older equipment.

Dave

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

CAD use to my limited expeience rather depends on what you plan on using it for. If you have in mind sketching out complex engineering plans invloving curved surfaces, interactions and solid modelling then you're going to have to accept an uphill learning curve for a complete novice. In the past i did design a couple of dollhouses including one complicated one based on a windmill and it's workings and back then it was an uphill struggle albeit fun

For something as basic as a one-off house in 2D all you really need to learn how to draw are single or double lines, lines at angles to each other, how to split or join lines or meet lines and how to draw lines of a set length and set in doors and windows. All the other fancy stuff isn't worth the learning curve because you'll have draughted out your one-off before you've learned all that. Paul Tracey's free youtube vids are enough to get the job done in turbocad for a beginner.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Clogs, all the CAD packages have a steep learning curve unfortunately. I currently use Geomagic Design (Alibre) which after a few years I can usually get to do what I want, it's not free though and the price has gone up quite a bit since I bought my copy. I have tried TurboCAD and found it to be unuseable, it doesn't work like any of the "standard" CAD programs. Draftsight is good for 2D and free, FreeCAD is a bit odd in my view.

For full 3D Fusion360 would take some beating. It is free (for hobby use) works on Windows or iMac and there are loads of very good tutorials on the web. It will still take a long time to learn but the results are worthwhile.

There is also Onshape which is browser based and free but I only tried it briefly and found it too dissimilar to what I am used to.

Good Luck with your quest, but remember whatever you choose there is a steep and long learning curve.

John

Edit: Spelling

Edited By Journeyman on 13/05/2017 09:44:27

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

Documentation is an area that can suffer with a lot of free (and even paid for) software. Take a good look at the Help files and any tutorial or training material that might be available. If you want free, then I assume paying for a training course isn't likely, so you'll be reliant on the Help File etc.

Think about what functionality you need – most free packages are limited in some way or other (needn't be a problem as long as it does what you require).

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

+1 for Draftsight, a free 2½D program from the makers of Solidworks.

**LINK**

Russell.

[ChrisBParticipant @chrisb35596]

Posted by clogs on 13/05/2017 06:12:21:

HI all,

guess this'll open a can of worms but here goes……

I like to down-load a simple easy to use (if there is such a thing) and free, Cad drawing program, suitable for the latest version of iMac and the elderly…..hahaha..

I would like to design a house and lay out a new workshop……have tried with graph paper and cut out's but it generally ends up with the cat having fun or "clear the table cos ur T is ready"……

it would be nice to learn how to use the system for engineering related topics BUT only simple stuff…….as yet don't want to draw gear's etc but happy to practice on rainy nights…….

Any suggestion please? ta Clogs

 

Maybe you could use SketchUp, I use it for all plans and designs I need. Pretty simple to use as well.

https://www.sketchup.com/

Edited By ChrisB on 13/05/2017 10:19:58

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

The trouble with most CAD programs is that although they use the same concepts, there's little standardisation of interfaces, icons, how they work or where the properties are hidden.

This means the 'easiest' CAD program to use is probably the first one that you get a basic understanding of.

It can be a steep learning curve, but once you are 'locked in' it's unlikely you will want to change, and to be honest the advantages of changing are mostly marginal for our sort of needs.

So don't worry too much about details, just get one that is affordable, likely to do what you want and recommended bgya few folk here so you can come back and askew questions when (not if) you get stuck.

[richardandtracyParticipant @richardandtracy]

I am a SolidWorks user at work. Occasionally I have to use legacy software to modify old drawings. For this read 'Draftsight'. I hate it. Loathe it. It's enough to get me to try & palm the job off on anyone else (like the draughtsman who can't quite believe we're not in the 1980's and the world has moved on).

Draftsight is very like AutoCAD, and equally frustrating to those who have little experience of it. I had to start drawing stuff just before AutoCAD was ditched, and had 2 months of a learning curve that was so steep it was more like a brick wall against which I crashed & burned. Then I got SolidWorks & 3D modelling. Ahh, lovely. I think in 3D, not paper. Maybe that was why I found finite element stress analysis an immersive environment in the early 1990's.

The idea behind sketching a shape, adding dimensions and then extruding it into 3D seems much more sensible to me. So, for something that will do the same for an affordable sum.. Help! Maybe 'Google Sketchup' or whatever it's now called. Not really sure about anything else, having easy access to SolidWorks & my own programmed 3D stress modeller.

Regards

Richard.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by richardandtracy on 13/05/2017 18:16:35:

The idea behind sketching a shape, adding dimensions and then extruding it into 3D seems much more sensible to me. So, for something that will do the same for an affordable sum..

That's how I work in TurboCAD.

I generally draw 2D shapes and either extrude (or add depth) or rotate them into 3D, and get complex shapes by adding to subtracting shapes from each other. Combined with duplicating shapes and rotating or shifting them it's easy to build complex shapes very rapidly, but not so easy to make lovely 3D curves.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Without wanting to get into a partisan argument about which is best, one thing to consider is the level of active support (=popularity?) of the product you choose. So current, popular products such as Fusion 360 and Solidworks have a very active and visible(!) presence on Youtube, many support forums, lots of online content etc etc. The same can not be said to the same extent about some of the other products out there.

Apart from the cost, (Fusion 360 is free, unlike Solidworks and most other products), the way you like to learn is a big consideration, so a wide variety of learning tools is invaluable.

Murray

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

Bit late in the day, but, combining simplicity and 3d design, I used Sweet Home 3d – must be simple 'cos I managed and it is free and has a fairly comprehensive library of 'bits and pieces'. I found it particularly useful because I can't visualise 3d from 2d plans.

rgds

Bill

[clogsParticipant @clogs]

Thanks all,

taking in the recommendations ……..

Neil W….what a work of art !!!….it'd be good if I could draw that free hand let alone live long enough to get the skill/knowledge to do something like that…….

all I'd be happy with is square box's and the another box coming of at right angles, a pointy roof and stairs…….absolutely nothing fancy…….

again many thanks…..Clogs

[James AlfordParticipant @jamesalford67616]

As has been said earlier, everyone has their favourite. However, I have tried a variety of programmes over the years: TurboCad, Sketch Up and Autocad included and pretty much gave up as I found them too time consuming to learn.

I then tried OnShape and found it to be much easier to grasp especially as it has a range of helpful tutorials and videos with it. It is free, although the is a chargeable option as well.

James

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

If you want something that is close to pencil and paper and free, another completely different approach is just to download and install OpenOffice. This is rather similar to Microsoft Office and includes quite a powerful drawing module, with nice features such as dimension lines and so on. Having grown up with packages such as Visio, Powerpoint, Macdraw etc, I find this very intuitive and east to use. The downside is that the format is not exportable in a way compatible with CAM packages so one has to manually translate or transfer for example into my favourite CAM program Gsimple. But for quick drawings it's great.

[Andrew EvansParticipant @andrewevans67134]

Maybe not powerful enough for your needs but for our new kitchen I used the online designer tool from Magnet kitchens (Ikea have similar) and within 1 hour had good 2D plans and 3D photo walkthroughs done all with paint on the walls, flooring etc. These are very easy to use and while may not be the ultimate solution could be a simple way to get into it for free.
SketchUp can be used to create complex drawings and models and is relatively simple to use.

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