# Beginner CAD programme?



## Pauli (Jan 3, 2008)

Dear everyone,

I desperately seek advice on trying to learn how to draw in CAD. Of course its a locomotive  I'm probably the last generation to have had classes in drawing on semi-transparent paper with pencils and stuff... ;-) And the last generation to have taken the steamtrain into town with my mother, to buy legobricks. (In Germany 1969, trains were still mainly steampowered.)

Will learning in one CAD programme largely transfer to another programme?

Primarily I want to draw a lot of sheetmetal parts, to be cut by waterjet/laser. So a neat extra feature, would be if the programme handles sheetmetal radius bends.

Of course there will be drivers, axles and cylinders. And actually a few gears, since the idea is a geared design I've been brewing in my head for a few years. But the geared drivetrain, I could draw manually on paper, to simplify for me ;-)

I would like to be able to toggle between my accustomed 2D, and modern 3D.
Beeing able to specify fits / space between parts, is anice extra, but probaly is to much for me to learn.

I designed a coin operated vending mechanism for a small business a few yers ago, wich is all comercial engineering I've done in my life. It was all layered lasercut and bent sheet metal, with off the shelf pins, scres and rivets connecting the actions between the layers. I scetched everything on bits of paper (much like 'Billie1906' does  ), and then sat beside a young engineer and talked him through him drawing everything in CAD. The bill ended up something like USD 15'000! Remember he did no engineering... 

(Has anyone heard of VARKON, a swedish free university CAD programme?)

I run Windows 10 with 8MB RAM.

I would be very grateful for any advice!


----------



## Garratt (Sep 15, 2012)

Just start fiddling around with one to get familiar.
I used to use Autocad years back. Most of them will have similar interfaces but will be slightly different.
You can get 30 day trials of AutoCad Lite etc. but it is a short evaluation if learning.

Sketchup is an easy modelling program to learn but may not be what you need in the end. You can get a 30 day trial.
http://www.sketchup.com/

There is one called FreeCad, a free open source CAD program designed for mechanical engineering and product design. 
I haven't tried it myself but it may be a good one for you to download and try out. It will take a while to get used to but there is a forum on the FreeCad website to get help. 

Good luck!

http://www.freecadweb.org/

Andrew


----------



## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

There is also a FREE Sketchup, which is what I use for all my 3D printing models.
I use a 2D drafting program for all my laser cut parts.
One thing that need to make sure is that you can end up with a file type that the end user can use.
My cutting company for aluminum wants a .dxf file, whilst my styrene cutting company wants .dwg file, and of course the 3D printer wants a .stl file.
So maybe work backwards to determine a drafting file that can give you, or them, what they need.
No point in doing a lot of work creating a drawing, and then find it's not the correct format!
As has been said, the actual process of drawing is probably similar in most programme, just that some have slightly different ways of getting to the same result.
As long as you enjoy the learning process - and keep 'saving' as you go along and you will make mistakes.
Merry Christmas,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


----------



## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I use DesignSpark Mechanical and it is a free download. VERY POWERFUL and relatively easy to use.


----------



## Pauli (Jan 3, 2008)

Thank you for your tips!

At first glance, they all look interesting, and I will probably try all of them!

The difference between stretching out objects like Designspark, or taking the "parametric" aproach needs trying out. The fact that 2D for Designspark comes at an hefty additional cost is a possible concern.

David, your approach might turn out the simplest road forward for me. But it will alsoprobably not carry as far. Do yoy think yor 2D programme deserves special mention?

If anyone else cares to chip in some advice, be sure I will study yor suggestions carefully!

(Supported fileformats is of course a potentially deciding concern.)


----------



## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

I have used a high end software for 26 years, both for my profession and hobby work (called MasterCam). Steep learning curve, very expensive. Most 2D programs are fairly easy to learn especially for doing geometry of the part. The real learning curve is when you jump to 3D drawing. All of my professional work was in 3D because I was designing forgings and forging dies. 

My suggestion would be to use a simple free drawing/cad program and concentrate on drawing simple objects while learning the drawing tools for lines and circles/arcs and doing lines on angles. When you feel comfortable doing this, then go to 3D. Much less frustrating that way .


----------



## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Pauli said:


> Thank you for your tips!
> 
> At first glance, they all look interesting, and I will probably try all of them!
> 
> ...


I do 2D in Design Spark all the time.

It's just a matter of putting the object into the desired view plane, then asking it to do a 2D autocad .dxf export.

Then I import that into Inkscape to create an .svg file that the laser can read in Corel draw. Corel draw then runs the laser software.

Alternatively Inkscape can save directly to Corel draw format. Inkscape is also free and doesn't pollute your computer with sh--.


----------



## Dick Friedman (Aug 19, 2008)

Look at tinkercad.com. It's online and FREE and uses shapes to create projects. Been using it for about two years for 3D projects, but you can make 2D items by making the vertical dimension very small.


----------



## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Pauli said:


> David, your approach might turn out the simplest road forward for me. But it will alsoprobably not carry as far. Do yoy think yor 2D programme deserves special mention?


Since I am on a MAC, I use MACDRAFT!
Merry Christmas,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


----------

