Woodworking design software anyone?

[Deeptree]

Hi all. I am looking for some fairly simple 2D drawing software that is capable of doing dimensioning and annotations. I have seen some WAY overpriced software from Autodesk (AutoCAD LT 20xx), and well, it's very complicated as well as being far too expensive for the amateur woodworker.

I have found Google Sketchup, but again, it is 3D and has a pretty steep learning curve for doing rather simple things, such as sketching and dimensioning.

Anyone?

 

[timf67]

I felt similar to how you feel about sketch-up before I took a little time to learn it. I bought an e-book for $9.99 on using sketch-up for woodworking and within a couple of hours I was very comfortable with sketch-up for making 2D and even 3D drawings.

 

[Deeptree]

Tim;

Thank you for the speedy response. Can you provide the name of that e-book? I am willing to invest the time in learning, if there is a good return. I would eventually like to do parts design and layout with it, if that is even possible.

Now, a quick question about SketchUp...I was trying to draw an object by typing in the dimensions for it, but can not find a way. All I figured out how to do, was make the general shape, click on the axis measurement, then type in my value. I know in AutoCAD, I could do line length, width, angle, etc...but then again, I was just complaining about the cost and complexity... :dontknow:.

William

 

[timf67]

I got the book online at the Taunton store. the book is called: SketchUp Guide for Woodworkers (eBook)

I use autocad at work and have found that SketchUp works differently so you'll have to learn new habits. you can enter dimensions while you are drawing. The trick is not to hold the left mouse button. click once to start the shape and then just start typing and the dimensions should show in the box in the lower right corner.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

William, first make sure you have the "Measurements" toolbar turned on in the "View", "Toolbars" menu. It will appear somewhere at the bottom of the page.

Now select the "Rectangle" icon and start drawing a rectangle somewhere along the blue, red, and green axis. Let go of your mouse and type in the dimensions you want the rectangle to be. (Ex: 3,5.5 will give you a rectangle that is 3" x 5 1/2".) Hit enter. You will probably see a very small triangle on the page. Find the icon that says "Zoom Extents" and click on it. This will bring your rectangle to the front of the page.

Now select the "Push/Pull" icon. Place the cursor in the middle of the rectangle, left click, and start moving it up (you will be moving along the blue axis). Release your mouse and type in a number. (Ex: 12 will extend your triangle up by 12".) Congratulations, you've just created your first object in SketchUp.

And now you know as much as I do. :gar-La; Seriously, I just started using SketchUp two weeks ago and am still on a steep learning curve. But it get's easier w/ each line or box I draw. Also, we had an excellent presentation by Amy Dowden at our local woodworking group last Thursday night.

HTH

Bill

 

[mlzettl]

William,

I would urge you to spend the time to learn Sketchup. I use it for all of my furniture design. It really is not that hard to learn, and there are are a number of resources available that you can use. The tutorials available on the Sketchup website are a great starting point. The Sketchup Guide that Tim mentioned is also excellent. On the FWW website there is a blog called "Design, Click, Build" that is written by two woodworkers who also happen to be Sketchup experts, and it is worthwhile going through all of their posts.

I think you will find that doing simple drawings is quite easy, and you can transition into more complicated drawings where all of the construction details are included as you become more proficient.

Finally, the price is right.

Good luck,

Matt

 

[CDPeters]

Bill -

Google "DeltaCAD". It is older shareware, 2D. I used it quite a bit to emulate blueprints. Pretty simple and easy to learn, but I'm not sure if it's still available.

Update: it is still available: http://www.deltacad.com/ and there is a free downloadable demo for you to try out.

C.

 

[KenOfCary]

I would also recommend you spend the time learning to use Sketch-up. There are many tutorials on the web.

Here is a site full of them.

http://www.sketchupforwoodworkers.com/

FineWoodWorking has a few tutorials and informational articles as well. Here is one.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/2364/creating-a-project-plan-in-sketchup

But if you really want an Autocad-Like drawing program, DoubleCad XT is free. Unless you already know how to use Autocad, there will be an even steeper learning curve. It is however a very full featured CAD program. They will try to sell you their full "PRO" version, but other than that it is completely free to download.

http://www.doublecad.com/

- Ken.

 

[Bas]

+1 on the tutorial sketchupforwoodworkers. It really helped me get started. Of course, I have to go back to the tutorial every time I start a new project because I end up not using the application for 6-8 months, but that's simply a problem of not having enough spare time to do woodworking more frequently....

 

[Deeptree]

You guys are GREAT! Thank you all for the input. I will now take this as the spoken word of the woodworking gods, and learn this product.

 

[ErnieM]

I think the combo of DeltaCad and Sketchup can't be beat. DeltaCad is indeed available at deltacad.com. There's a free demo and purchase is $39.99. Sketchup, of course, is free and, as Matt said, really not all that difficult to learn. I've been using DeltaCad for years for rather complex harpsichord plans and can't imagine a scenario where it wouldn't be more than adequate for woodworking plans.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Ernie should post some of his drawings- pretty amazing. I call him when I need to know how to do something.

I use SketchUp for everything now- it has weaknesses (so do I) but often there are one or more work-arounds. My biggest complaint is the labeling process- appearance, size, positioning of text, call-out lines, etc.

Also, as far as I know it won't do relative motion of connected parts which would be nice so I could show what happens to the other part when you slide or rotate the part connected to it.

But, it is still a great program and all for free. If you go to the various libraries you can download parts or entire assemblies for free, then change them to fit your specific needs. Here are some of my drawings. I downloaded and modified the cyclone. Lately I include SketchUp drawings instead of photos when I submit shop tips to magazines.

Rolling clamp cart:

Adjustable Bench Legs:

Exploded view of the assembly table torsion box top:

Blast gate:

Cyclone with high dust alarm:

Torsion box construction platform:

PVC DC ducting:

Attaching applied drawer fronts:

Jig for cutting wide, curved bevels:

 

[James Anderson Jr]

Another free option is Draftsight http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/overview/ very similar to AutoCAD; even uses the same keyboard commands. I really like this program alot. Once you learn the program, you should find it very easy to create drawings.

 

[CDPeters]

Alan -

For relative motion drawings/models - maybe AutoDesk Inventor would be a good solution - but it is pricey @ $1200 ish.

My son is studying modeling and simulation and I've seen him do some pretty amazing animations with Inventor - though as a student he gets a drastically reduced price student edition.

C.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Alan -

For relative motion drawings/models - maybe AutoDesk Inventor would be a good solution - but it is pricey @ $1200 ish.

My son is studying modeling and simulation and I've seen him do some pretty amazing animations with Inventor - though as a student he gets a drastically reduced price student edition.

C.

Thanks. It's one of those "you need it when you need it" things that I don't always need and probably like most CAD software, easy to forget unless you use it often. Heck, I haven't been using SU lately so am probably pretty rusty on that now!

 

[fergy]

Vectorworks / Renderworks here. It's a 2D / 3D hybrid design environment with a rendering engine based on Cinema4D. Exports all of the main formats. I can design in it and send files off for CNC work. I do all of my plots and renderings in it for work and personal projects.