I guess I should have asked you guys first, before ordering the new TurboCad V8 (standard) version (£80). The description was very enthusiastic, and it says it takes .dwg files which I notice people on this forum use. Was it a good choice?

Depends on your CAD experience. The best in my opinion is Pro Engineer. It can be quite involving and takes in a lot of formats too. It's a 3D program that exports drawings to 2D, updating them if you modify the 3D model. It can be quite hard to get the hang of initially but once you've go the basics it is very powerful. Your PC spec needs to be quite high, especially the graphics card. I sent metal hippy the disc, don't know how he got on with it though.

A Lot of people have made loads a money at this game. Having used Cadkey , Autocad , Fastcad , Turbocad , PT Modeler (Pro Engineer) & Solidworks I'd go for Solidworks every time - best value for money and the easiest to learn. It all depends on your needs.
Dwg. / Dxf. formats are the most common 2d file format basically cos Autocad is / was the most common Cad system around.

Hi

As a CAD monkey my self i use AutoCAd desktop 2i at work(Should be using it at this very moment!!) i have sucesfully drawn bits of my chassis just messing about and its not to hard. if your computer is a low speci go for R14 if its a high speci go for 2002. the only problem is that licenced copies are bout £1500!! but its not hard to get copies off the internet free!!! would send you a copy but i cant even get a copy off work!

rob

My computer is about 2 years old now, 700Mhz Athlon 128 ram, I've updated to Windows XP and have 30gb hard drive. I don't know what that relates to in terms of high or low spec CAD wise. I expect I will have to go with the Turbocad. I'm pretty skilled at downloading free music from the internet but haven't found any CAD stuff on the P2P programs I use. If anyone can direct me to any .dwg files to start me off I would appreciate it.
John

Hi M8y

my flat m8 got me AutoCAD2002 off the internet,(hes a computer nerd and can get anything!) i will ask him where he got it from, the only proble is that i takes bout 1 hour with a dam fast connection to down load so generally i reckon mabey 2hrs!! i have got R14 on CD if you want text me on 07776071698 and i can arrange a copy for you?

to be honist i know haow to use CAD well but other than that i know nothin bout computers in relation to memory Etc... all i know is the my 4yr old 10mb laptop runs R14 but anything above that it just plain refusses to work!!!


rob

Just got Autocad LT 2002 from work and been given a cracked serial No. Only 2D but ok for me.

Here's another CAD jockey (or ex, following redundancy).
Started on IBM Cadam 2D(up to v21), followed by Euclid (Matra-Datavision), and finally Catia 2D/3D. Brief experience of AutoCAD pointed me in direction of IntelliCAD (.dxf,.dwg compatible).
This can be downloaded (at no charge - always attractive) from www.cadopia.com

I'm still evaluating IntelliCAD software (the user guide has 489 pages!!), & can confirm that .dwg and .dxf files can be read. Beware of download time for non-broadbanders - 2½ hours!!

There's a nearby computer shop selling 2hnd TurboCAD for £10 (version unknown), still makes yours look expensive. Presumably you'll be able to offset cost against tax?

Dick (Still fettling the greasy bits)

Hi, I'm new here. I'm a Pro/E CAD designer in the Automotive are and I am busy doing a chassis in Pro/e. Does anybody know where I can find a Model of the Sierra diff? (3d or 2d Dxf).
By the wa Pro/E is GREAT!

I did my chassis etc in ProE2001. I've got a simple rep of the diff. It's aprrox the correct dimensions for the main give or take a mil or two due to el cheapo B&Q measuring tape. I could mail it to you if you like.
Check out my pics of rear setup in the photos section.

Dunc.

The accuracy is fine. Would it b posible to send the models as Iges or Step? My email is cstrijdo@jaguar.com. Do you have models of the rear and front hubs as well?
Thanks