15 replies to this topic

[black slate]

Hey, I have been wondering where anyone has gotten a CAD programmer. Ive been wanting one for designing homemades. If anyone knows where you could download one or buy one that would be a big help. I have searched google and i really didnt find anything. Thanks in advance.
-blackslate-

[L0pper]

Search Google sketch up. It is a free program that some here have had some luck with. It is very basic, but it can be helpful.

[minsc]

Google has a free program called Sketchup, which works pretty well as far as I can tell. Other professional CAD programs can be pretty pricey if you buy them.

Edit: Beat me to the draw.

Edited by minsc, 15 February 2009 - 08:51 PM.

[Nerf Bros]

Alibre has a top notch free downloadible cad program. It takes a lot of practice to learn to use, but if you really want a good free program, this is it.

[Blacksunshine]

If you searched google and didn't find anything maybe you should actually type cad software into the search engine. I did and came up with a ton of results.
If you have problems with something that simple, I'm thinking the whole project might be over your head.

Edited by Blacksunshine, 16 February 2009 - 09:52 AM.

[slowguitarman]

I'm gonna go with BS on this. I just ran a little search and found a ton of different programs. If you can't search google, you can't do CAD. If you don't know what you're doing, it can be very complicated. Much more complex than using a search engine.

[Piroko]

If you have problems with something that simple, I'm thinking the whole project might be over your head.

I have to agree.

The trick is not getting a drafting program but rather getting a rapid prototyper, CNC, or flowjet. If you have a few hundred thousand dollars laying around, maybe you've got a chance. If not, the best you're going to manage is a spudgun, the Nerf equivalent of a Sten.

[GoldHawk]

Honestly, if you have the time to learn it, get Alibre.

It's much better than SketchUp which is nice if you just want 3D sketching without a lot of accuracy, but if you actually want to do any drafting then Alibre is the way to go.

I've had experience with SketchUp, Alibre, AutoCAD 2004, and AutoCAD 2004 with the Mechanical Desktop overlay, and Alibre is the closest you can possibly get to the real thing without shelling out a ton of cash. It allows you to do all of the measurements accurately, isn't that hard to do once you've got the hang of it, allows for automatic projection into blueprints, and is free.

On the other hand, if all you want to do is just throw something together, then SketchUp is easier for quick prototyping.

[foxdemon82]

im currently in a CADD class at my school, and let me tell you something, Alibre is no AUTOCAD 2008 (thats what i am being trained to use in fact i have made quite a few projects in my class ) but hey if you don't have $3,000 to spend on a ACAD license Alibre is good enough

[CaptainSlug]

im currently in a CADD class at my school, and let me tell you something, Alibre is no AUTOCAD 2008

Duh.

Alibre was designed to allow you to purchase only the portions of the program you intend to use regularly so that you do not have to purchase a whole package at a whole package price. Each additional functionality is simply an add-on.
The very basic functions are offered for free to allow you to familiarize yourself with the program, and to provide them with a wide user base of beta testers.
Should you later decide upon a more complete package made by another company, Alibre has a ton of file format exporting options.


Sketchup is geared towards visualization and design. Not engineering measurement accurate blueprints. So if you are hoping to design something from which you can print blueprints or have parts machined to specific tolerances then it would be best to use Alibre.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 19 February 2009 - 04:53 PM.

[Draconis]

im currently in a CADD class at my school, and let me tell you something, Alibre is no AUTOCAD 2008 (thats what i am being trained to use in fact i have made quite a few projects in my class ) but hey if you don't have $3,000 to spend on a ACAD license Alibre is good enough

When I was taking CAD classes eleven years ago, we would have been astounded by the functionality of Alibre. Even the free version has more features than Autocad R12, R13, or LT, which are what we used to build complex machinery. Nerf blasters have nil for complexity in comparison to what Alibre can handle.

Edited by Draconis, 19 February 2009 - 05:00 PM.

[cheesypiza001]

If I am on a Mac, what is the best free CAD (in terms of Nerf designing) software I can get? Thanks so much in advance.

[CaptainSlug]

If I am on a Mac, what is the best free CAD (in terms of Nerf designing) software I can get? Thanks so much in advance.

You pretty much out of luck. CAD is a very PC-centric sector of software.
You'll have to try running it through windows emulation or dual-booting.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 19 February 2009 - 09:18 PM.

[SchizophrenicMC]

If I am on a Mac, what is the best free CAD (in terms of Nerf designing) software I can get? Thanks so much in advance.

The best free CAD software for a Mac is called "Flamethrower" and when you use it with your Mac, the Mac crashes, burns, and forces you to give up and buy a PC. It looks awesome, though.

The moral: Don't use a fuckin' Mac.

[Meaker VI]

Hey, I have been wondering where anyone has gotten a CAD programmer.

Well, you're in luck. I'm a CAD programmer (well, a draftsman, which is kind of similar) and for $18 an hour, you can....

Seriously though, I'm not going to work for you. However, I can tell you that if you have a valid student .edu address, you can download AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, and many other "student" versions of Autodesk programs for free. All the student versions do is add a stamp; "printed by an Autodesk Educational product" on all four sides of your prints.

Since I doubt that you have a valid student .edu address, I'll point you toward Google Sketchup 7. The added benefit, it is more user-friendly than any 3D or drafting program I've used, and works on pretty much every system. If you can't handle using Sketchup, you're better off hand-drafting everything (which isn't that hard either, really).

For my fellow Mac-prefer-ers, you'll need a PC to run CAD. Unless you can draft in Sketchup (not saying it doesn't support it, I'm saying it's a pain to do), or you can learn Vector Works or Archi-Cad, neither of which I use because they are inferior to Autodesk products.

[SchizophrenicMC]

Hey, I have been wondering where anyone has gotten a CAD programmer.

Seriously though, I'm not going to work for you. However, I can tell you that if you have a valid student .edu address, you can download AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, and many other "student" versions of Autodesk programs for free. All the student versions do is add a stamp; "printed by an Autodesk Educational product" on all four sides of your prints.

Since I doubt that you have a valid student .edu address, I'll point you toward Google Sketchup 7. The added benefit, it is more user-friendly than any 3D or drafting program I've used, and works on pretty much every system. If you can't handle using Sketchup, you're better off hand-drafting everything (which isn't that hard either, really).

Inventor's a good program. In my experience, it's pretty intuitive.

And, honestly, while Sketchup sucks, it's good to use for amateur stuff where accuracy isn't necessarily key, unlike Aerospace design...