the best value cad program

[murphed]

I am in the market to buy a cad program. I am watching my cost. But, two problems
1. I have a Pentium III.
2. I need surface rendering.
If I do upgrade my computer I would rather get a MAC G5. What is out there for that platform.
Please give advise on each situation keeping cost in mind. thankyou.

 

[murphed]

P.S. I am interested in mechanical cad oriented preferably

 

[ctopher]

I am not familiar with any CAD software for MAC. I prefer SolidWorks (Window based)

 

[IRstuff]

You can buy TurboCad 3D for just under $100

TTFN

 

[jhardy1]

Best value, general purpose 2D/3D budget CAD system that I know of is TurboCAD. Note that it currently comes in 2 versions - Pro and Deluxe. Both have 3D capabilities, but you need to got to the Pro version if you want true solids, advanced rendering, etc. If you are happy with 3D surfaces, basic rendering, and a number of other limitations, Deluxe might suit you.

A word of warning - the user forums indicate a number of stability issues with the latest version (v10). Many long-time users have stayed with previous versions (v8 or v9), pending IMSI sorting out the stability issues once and for all. (I am still using v8 Pro.) You can get a free 30-day trial download from IMSI, and check it out for yourself.

If you want real MCAD capabilities (feature-based solid modelling, automatic 2D drawing generation from your 3D solid model, option to integrate finite element analysis etc), you are going to have to shell out a bit more money - US$1,000 and up. You might want to check out Alibre (

http://www.alibre.com),

which seems to be excellent value for money, or ProDesktop from

http://www.ptc.com.

Both are available for around the $1,000 mark. Otherwise, you need to go even further up-market to something like SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Inventor etc.

I don't know of any good, affordable CAD systems for Mac.

 

[AJUK]

murphed,

Although I have to use Windows at my office, I have just bought an iMac G5 for home which is absolutely wonderful and years ahead in both functiuonality and design than my current Windows PC.

I used to be quite a fan of Turbocad but in the last few years it has been hit with some problems such as co-ordinate creep, mis-aligment of dimensions and crashes. It also seems that the developers have decided to take the route of producing a modelling programme with the emphasis on rendering and 3D modelling rather than a good all round cad system.

For the last year or so I have been using Vectorworks and I must say I am impressed. It is reasonably priced, easy to learn and very quick. It is originally a Mac developed system that has been ported across to Windows as well. I currently use the Windows version but will be buying the Mac version for my new iMac G5 at home.

For Windows you could look into Intellicad and for Mac Macdraft or Powercadd. Good luck and let us know what you chose.

 

[GregLocock]

Aye, but you might want to read the reviews first. An Autocad competitor is not a full power solid modelling system.

Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[ctopher]

I used Vectorworks for about a year and was very happy to see it go. We moved to SolidWorks. Vectorworks was OK to some point, but for a complicated assy it was a PITA.

 

[jhardy1]

Are you looking for commercial use, or home / hobby / self-education use?

If the latter, you might want to check out Pro/Engineer Wildfire Student Edition / Personal Edition. Available for US$250 for accredited students, or US$300 for personal use. (Or a bit dearer if you buy a bundle with tutorials - highly recommended!) Not licensed for commercial use. Check it out at:

http://www.proestudent.com.

This way, you can play with some serious high-end MCAD software at a real budget price.

 

[PeterCharles]

Just a word of warning on 'Student Editions'.
We are currently having to audit a whole bunch of drawings because we received from a supplier a drawing that was either done on a Student Edition or contained something done on a Student Edition. We copied bit to our drawings and have ended up with prints overmarked 'Student Edition'.

A real pain because we don't know how many of our drawings are contaminated!

 

[imagitec]

Ashlar's products are the only native Mac* CAD products I know of that are comparable to mid-range Windows packages like SolidWorks.

http://www.ashlar.com/products/index.shtml

describes the various feature levels and gives the price right there, which is refreshing.

* There are also native Windows versions.

What's affordable depends on your intended use and needs. $4k is a little steep to pay for a hobby but not a business. $4k is a good deal in comparison to SolidWorks, especially if you need surfacing, which is one of Ashlar's strengths.

If you plan to provide design services, it would be worth the extra money to buy SolidWorks or one of the other more common packages. Customers typically expect you to use the same system as them.

If it's for internal use, Ashlar might be a good choice. If you didn't need surface rendering, I'd recommend looking at Alibre (

http://www.alibre.com).

Rob Campbell, PE
Finite Monkeys -

http://www.livejournal.com/users/robcampbell

 

[jhardy1]

As PeterCharles warns, I DID say that the Student Edition / Personal Edition versions of Pro/Engineer are NOT licensed for commercial use. Apart from the fact that you would be in breach of the licence agreement if you use the Student / Personal editions for commercial use, there are some practical concerns:

1. 2D deliverables (drawings etc) are over-stamped with a statement that the drawings were produced using the Student Edition.

2. The Student Edition may not be able to exchange files with the full commercial product.

 

[candoris]

The best value in 3D solid modelling is Alibre Design. Hands down. But if you want to do schematics, floorplans or the such, you will need something else (an AutoCad type product). I own Alibre Design Expert and use it for mechanical design (product design). I have created models using Alibre Design that I would never had imagined making with a software that I could afford (I use I-DEAS at work so I am comparing it to the best).

 

[meintsi]

Also beware of the fact that most... (I am only saying MOST because there may be 1 that I don't know of and for the majority this is true..)

Personal/Student Licenses are for a limited time.
Typically 2 years.



Remember...
"If you don't use your head,
your going to have to use your feet."