Any good CAD Woorking Programs

[quid_non]

Hi All -
Anyone had any good experience with CAD for Woodworking Design and preparing material lists? Any recommendations?
Thanks
quid_non

 

[Monty]

Check this out: Sketchup. I have not personally used this, but a lot of people seem to like it. Plus, you can't beat the price: FREE!

 

[quid_non]

That program is AWESOME! I really recommend giving it a try. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Monty]

Cool. Glad you like it. Maybe I should give it a try myself.

 

[woodguy1975]

Cool. Glad you like it. Maybe I should give it a try myself.

Hmmmm. I think you might have a better program. :slap:

Seriously, Sketchup is a good program that isn't hard to learn.

John

 

[Ray Martin]

Any CAD type program I have ever used required several degrees in rocket science to learn... and then I followed the link to SketchUp as suggested in this thread. I stand corrected. It took me about 10 minutes to go through the three 'getting started' tutorials. ... and I can draw!!! This thing is GREAT!!!

Thank you for the recommendation.

 

[quid_non]

Re: Any good CAD Woorking Programs - Update

Hi All -
Just a quick update on this "Sketchup" program. I found a great link that has a wide variety of woodwooking tools already made & ready for import. This is a great tool if you are designing your own shop or thinking about maximizing workflow!

http://www.yda-online.com/shopmodels.htm

Thanks again Insom for the original link!
Best
quid_non

 

[DaveT]

I use Microsoft Visio. I use it at work for program design, flowcharting etc. But I have found it's pretty simple to use the basic drawing functions to create the working drawings I need. I will have to try this other program out though.

Dave

 

[Travis Porter]

I have been trying it, and I still can't draw.:-( I am going to have to practice. I am sick of doing the pencil and paper thing.

 

[PeteM]

For some interesting drawing/drafting tutorials check here"

http://www.khulsey.com/student.html

It's geared to Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop but the tutorials on perspective drawing a good for anything.

Also, his work is awesome!

pete

 

[Monty]

If you're going to try Sketcup, check out these videos first. You should find them very helpful to get you started if you've never used CAD before.

Downloadable Video Tutorials

 

[Monty]

There is also a downloadable user's guide (pdf file) here: User Guide