JedClampett Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Does anyone know of a free 3D CAD program like AutoCad please to run on Vista Home Premium? TIA - Jed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Does anyone know of a free 3D CAD program like AutoCad please to run on Vista Home Premium? TIA - JedNOT exactly "like AUTOCAD", but Sketchup is exceptionally good at 3D. The "Make" version is Free (for non commercial use):http://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-make The tool went from a Commercial only version to have being bought by Google (and providing a Free version) to being re-sold, and the new proprietors also provide a free version but, understandably, push the Pro (Commercial) one. See also:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SketchUp The interface/workflow is completely different from Autocad, but after a very little ( no more than a couple of hours ) time to get the hang of it, it is actually a very good usage paradigm, particularly for someone that actually learned to draw without CAD or that has some experience in building or prototyping.As a matter of fact it is IMHO much faster to learn and easier to use than any AutoCad or derivative. jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JedClampett Posted May 4, 2014 Author Share Posted May 4, 2014 Thanks for that link Jaclaz. As long as I can use this to produce 3d woodworking plans, like bird boxes and bird tables then that's OK with me. I'll check it out and give more feedback later. Regards - Jed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Actually, as always when someone mentions the goal, as opposed to the tool he thinks fit for it , thus avoiding the risk of slipping on a chocolate covered banana:http://homepage.ntlworld.com./jonathan.deboynepollard/FGA/put-down-the-chocolate-covered-banana.htmlI could also provide a link to:http://www.ecabinetsystems.com/which may be of interest to you. If you are into woodworking AND you like the Sketchup approach, you may also appreciate this (maybe useful to re-arrange your workshop ):http://yda-online.com/shopmodels.htm jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puntoMX Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 +1 on Sketchup, slowly the "pro´s" like me are starting to look at it (sheet metal design). I know some people that use it to design furniture and hardwood stairs, and also the home-CNC builder uses it a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointertovoid Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) I tried Sketchup when it was new, and loved its ease of use, as well as its native 3D nature. BUT I gave it up then because:(1) It only worked online(2) I couldn't extract drawings from the 3D models: views and cuts with dimensions, tolerances and so on. Have these two limits been improved meanwhile? And does it run on W2k? Edited May 7, 2014 by pointertovoid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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