Computer Drafting Program anyone?

[stevieb49829]

Anybody know of or have a simple 2D drafting program they are happy with? Occasionally, I need to draft up drawings, and MS Paint and similar programs are not very user friendly for Technical Drawing. Also, free would be good. steve

 

[DoubleO7]

Have you tried google sketchup??

If you need to be sending/using drawing files to send out via email or to a machine to make parts, you will need a program that can save a drawing to .dwg or .dxf among others.

Autocad, revit and Solidworks seem to be the most prevalent in manufacturing.

 

[billfromwisconsin]

AutoCAD, Revit( for building mostly) and SolidWORKS are way to expensive for what you need. There is a company called ALIBRE https://www.alibre.com/ That has a $150 dollar program that might fill the need.

 

[deanostoybox]

One that is completely free (as in freedom, also as in free beer) is <a href=https://librecad.org/>LibeCAD</a>.

Open Source 2D-CAD

LibreCAD is a free Open Source CAD application for Windows, Apple and Linux. Support and documentation are free from our large, dedicated community of users, contributors and developers.

 

[Jerry/MT]

DeltaCAD (deltacad.com) ~$40

 

[Dave41A]

FreeCAD is another option. I've used it and it works OK.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

You can get free student versions to download for some. I have Solid Edge because that's what I used at work but it's a high-end modeling package. AutoCad has been around a long time and look into Microstation.

 

[560Dennis]

This an interesting post ! Thanks for asking ! Im listening

 

[dr sportster]

I got a software thing called Drawing that is made for draftsmen .I never figured it out but my dad did. I got it free from installing computers on a job.

 

[David R Inman]

For free (personal) use, I use sketchup (believe
google sold it).

At work, I use AutoCAD. If it wasnt so pricy, Id
probably only use it.

 

[stevieb49829]

Thanks, folks for all the good places to start. Now to try a few and see what will work best for my needs. Steve

 

[catalina0029]

I use a program called Autosketch.

 

[6cylpower]

I use Qcad. Its free and has a mac version. Same as Librecad I think. Youtube has a bunch of tutorials that will get you running faster.

 

[MJMJ]

At work I switched from AutoCAD to a clone called Draftsight. It used to be free, now its $100 per year. Nearly exactly the same as AutoCAD except the several thousand dollar price tag.

 

[stevieb49829]

Jerry, is that $40 a year? I couldn't tell from their home page. steve