CAD Software, anything FREE available?

[ryanlownie]

Hi guys, does anyone know of any free cad software. I'm not talking free trials and don't mention "dodgy" versions, surely there is something for free out there? I just want something to have a play around with and learn.

Oh and I'm on OSX, got to add a spanner to the works

If it's been asked and posted before, I couldn't find it. Cheers in advance!

[raine]

i m using solidworks 2009 with sp3 i know its not free , but u have internet and for the people who won t spend 10000$ there are some funny sites.
as far as i know there are no good free cad softwares out there.
there is also a very good fluid simulation plugin for solidworks.

there is also a very very good free 3d scan programm.
http://www.david-laserscanner.com/

its so damn easy and we re using it for scaning small objects and parts @ home , after scanning u have to import it with solid et voilà u can du what u want with the 3d object.

[Marvin]

There is Alibre Design. 1st you get a free trial, but after that you are allowed to keep it (unfortunately a feature-limited version). You can still do most things, but it lacks the important export features. It's good for modelling though.

[littlened]

http://sketchup.google.com/

Google sketchup, it's free, but I think it's more for doing 3d stuff.

EDIT, Sorry, don't know if its available for MAC

[rowanp25]

theres always blender www.blender.org that would do most things but lacks the base models that a dedicated cad program would have. you could also try wings 3d. thats a simple modeler errr theres also the darwine project available for osx 10.4 onwards (thats a windosw compatability layer) that would open up that line of programs too

[Welshy40]

If you can find it id recommend the 98 version. Ive no idea where to find a copy.

[dodgydiy]

i tried to find a decent free cad program, never did though. eventually got a full 'lite' version of turbocad on a magazine cover disk which does most things i need. have technicad for the cnc cutter but thats a bit awkward and basic. be naughty, go onto mininova and find an autocad torrent

[blue_pinky]

Depends on what your looking for..

2D or 3D?
Are you looking to make stuff from data directly or just create drawings to print out?

The answers to those questions will give you different answers!

Free and CAD don't often cross paths, especially in 3D...and your on a mac...the worlds least supported platform for CAD...ignoring the whole mac vs pc argument...there are no mainstream/popular/proven CAD systems on mac currently...with the possible exception of TurboCAD, which has a mac version and been around for while...but not free...and used by very few if any real engineering/design businesses.

The best stuff lives on PC and UNIX based workstations and is VERY expensive!

Your best bet will be to trawl the net for shareware type stuff...but none of these will be anywhere near 'professional level' CAD.

Better bet might be bootcamp, windows and open up your options...

...but even then, the free/shareware offerings are varied and I'd guess limited...and generally not in the same league as the real thing! I'm sure people are trying to make good free stuff though so maybe I'm just a bit of CAD snob and you'll find something that works for you!

However...things to look up for those interested...

For 3D, Autodesk are currently doing a free version of Inventor Fusion...which uses a new form of 3D modelling for them. They have a "technology preview" as they call it which is free, and worth a punt....CLICKY

Or google sketchup...which should be ok for simple stuff, and again nothing like real engineering software.

Siemens have a free 2D package by the looks of things...never used it (I've always been an AutoCAD guy for 2D), but it's free and made by a reputable company with a big 3D system, and most likely imports/exports AutoCAD formats so could also be worth a look...CLICKY

I'd guess that a hunt around for free 2D CAD would give you a good number of options...not sure how capable they'll be, but it'd get you going at least.

These might work in parallels or VMware type environment as well, just going to be a case of experimenting I reckon!

Good luck..and let us know how you get on!

[blue_pinky]

Or...one other option...find a friendly guy who has CAD software already who can do it for you...depending on what your end goal is...(and not knowing your background either!) someone who's been using this stuff for a while will be able to knock out the right drawings/data for you in no time!

PM me if you like, I might be able to help

Andy
Designer, Engineer, ProEngineer, Inventor & AutoCAD user

[sosidge]

Originally Posted by blue_pinky

Or...one other option...find a friendly guy who has CAD software already who can do it for you...depending on what your end goal is...(and not knowing your background either!) someone who's been using this stuff for a while will be able to knock out the right drawings/data for you in no time!

PM me if you like, I might be able to help

Andy
Designer, Engineer, ProEngineer, Inventor & AutoCAD user

Impressive title you have there Andy!

Dave
Dabbler, Fiddler, Guesstimator, Ponderer & Pen-and-Paper user

[stoff]

Gimp. Or is that just a rendering program?

[rowanp25]

gimps a freeware version of photo shop. not bad really but defo not a cad program

[blue_pinky]

Gimp is a free/open source photoshop clone I think...and quite a good one too from what I've been told! Blender is free/open source rendering & animation, and again quite good...if you can get your head around it.

Cheers Dave, made me feel better about myself for a moment...but Gimp is also unofficially my new job title at work since we went through "restructuring" I'd rather that than bum right now though...so it could be worse

[Chequered Flag Racing]

Originally Posted by blue_pinky

PM me if you like, I might be able to help

I might just do that as I'm looking at a small project for a chassis but will try your links first

[corty]

hi
just a thought
if you know a uni student they can register to autocad and get free software full usable all functions with a 13 month license
they just need to input there student id when registering on the autocad student database
i have £7000 inventor and autocad packages both with 5 year licenses
due to being engineering student
hope this helps!

[dale]

I use a program called DraftIT by Cad Logic. The basic version is free and works well for drawing 2D parts. You can print in the basic version, so it's good enough for making your own carbon parts. If you want to export the data to send to Fibrelyte, you will need to upgrade (but even the pro version is only £100).

Worked well for my scratch-built F1

[almunro]

if you are after a good free cad program that is based on autocad, and made but the inventors of solidworks, check out DraftSight. It is on Mac and PC which is great and works very well.

Alex

[eyeayen]

I'd recommend Draft Sight too, it's completely free but only 2D though. CLICKY

If you need 3D there are a lot of options, these are all free !

Wings 3D http://www.wings3d.com/

True Space (possibly PC only, can't you run it through Bootcamp though ?)http://www.caligari.com/

E Drawings - http://www.edrawingsviewer.com/

Free CAD - http://www.ar-cad.com/freecad/index.html

Or there are low cost programs like Cheetah 3D
http://www.mac3dsoftware.com/

And many more which I've lost my list for so you'll have to google them yourself.

I think the main thing is to work out what you want to do with it, if it's to output files you need to speak with the people who you're outputting them too because when I was looking for this sort of thing at my last job a lot of the cheap or free ones wouldn't output in the right file format. So in the end Modo was chosen but it's £800...

[Origineelreclamebord]

Solidworks is what I regularly use and I got the student version for only 4 euros at school (Note though that normally student versions are up to 100 euros). It is an absolutely amazing piece of software! The freedom of shapes you can create is big but you do need some experience to create the more complex parts. However, it is well worth it: You can create parts very accurately and there are lots of ways to cleverly build your components with the right tools. When you're done building you can then put it through simulations to put your design to the test even before you have built it!

Only drawback for you: You need windows to run it.

So if you want to get into designing in CAD very seriously and intend to use the models to actually build stuff, Solidworks will suit you. What I'd recommend you to do is go to a local university, get in contact with them about buying a license from them or finding a student to help you out, so to speak

However, if you don't plan to use the software a lot, I suggest you get something more simple. For things like plate parts you could even use software for vectors like Corel Draw and Adobe Illustrator. These can save .DWG and .DXF files that are often used for making plate parts and/or engraving flat surfaces.

If you just want a piece of software to make shapes and go for aesthetics, you could also go for Rhino 3D. There is a Beta version for OSX, and I believe that is free The version for windows is a trial, and buying the software costs about 1000USD.

And then finally, if you need only one part made or occasionally, you could ask someone to make the CAD file for you - just PM me if you're interested in that.

[eyeayen]

Rhino is indeed avaiable for Mac in a Beta testing format

http://mac.rhino3d.com/

However if you have a Mac running 10.6 as I said previously you should be able to run any PC software through Bootcamp, so your possibilities then become endless.