Auto CAD

[TBurban]

Im very familiar with Auto CADD, I use it almost every day and love it. It works really well for me. How about you guys?

[Recchia]

No clue. I know a little TransCADD and a lot of GIS programs, but no AutoCADD

[dimebag1980]

I used AutoCAD for a few years, up until Release 14, but since I work in the home building industry I use a more specialized program called BuildersCAD. I've been away from AutoCAD now for 6 years.

[hood]

I really, really tried to play around with Auto CAD but I can't figure it out. All I wanted it for is to play around and try to render some buildings in my downtown and adda few more "vision" buildings. It was pretty much a lost cause, and there are no good free tutorials either. I decided to play around with Blender and SketchUp, I'm slowly learning to use both.

[SouthParkRocks]

I took some classes for it years ago and was my first foray into CAD-I picked it up pretty quickly but it always seemed cumbersome and never really inspired me to design on the computer.

Although it is the industry standard for architects I really think it is made more for engineers, that is, it is line based as opposed to objecty based which we designers tend to spatially think.

I have been able to work in the design field quite well without it. I use Vectorworks, an object based CAD program like ArchiCad. Much more user friendly and one can actually do some design with it. I can create traditional Construction Documents for submitting for permits. Also I find the more photoquality rendering of proposed designs/models available to be much more inspiring and realistic to clients. If I need to access or transfer files to engineers or consultants that use AutoCAD I can just use the DXF-DWG translators and while it isn't perfect we usally can "talk" to one another.

I pretty much loath AutoCAD now.

[TBurban]

Everyone seems to be spelling it Auto CAD, with only one "D" I thought it was Computer Aided Drafting and Design? At least thats what they used to call it in high school when I learned

[dimebag1980]

Everyone seems to be spelling it Auto CAD, with only one "D" I thought it was Computer Aided Drafting and Design? At least thats what they used to call it in high school when I learned

AutoCAD is a drafting tool, not a design tool. They have plug-ins for it that will make it a design tool, but the basic AutoCAD system, being built simply for drafting (lines and text) only has one "D" in the name.

[TBurban]

AutoCAD is a drafting tool, not a design tool. They have plug-ins for it that will make it a design tool, but the basic AutoCAD system, being built simply for drafting (lines and text) only has one "D" in the name.

Thanks, I guess I worked with the design plug-in. Thanks again for letting me know, I still had enough time to edit the title

[MR-2]

Rhino and Blender, but I've never tried AutoCAD. Heard it was similar though.

[dimebag1980]

If I need to access or transfer files to engineers or consultants that use AutoCAD I can just use the DXF-DWG translators and while it isn't perfect we usally can "talk" to one another.

I also find translators to be a decent way of accomplishing this type of task. Only one major difference between my CAD program and others... mine is made specifically as a drafting and estimating utility, so everything is done in database folders rather than drawing files. Each database folder contains all drawing sheets and every piece of material needed for the specific job. For this program I have to use a translator that is specifically made to take database folders and convert them into either DXF or DWG files. It's a decent thing, but it's far from perfect.