[Newbie] Any One Using Design Cad 3d By Imsi ?

joebiplane

joebiplane

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I am a pure hobbyist at machining but I do know a project always needs a plan ! A plan for a new part is generally a drawing. I like 3 d drawings so I can envision all sides.

I have tried Alibre and Solid Works trial programs and got nowhere fast. I read a review that was unbiased and it stated that TOO many features of a cad program are not always a good thing. especially for beginners of cad.

The reviewer specifically mentioned design cad 3D as a good starting program. I have tried IMSI turbo cad for years and always found the versions and upgrades buggy with quirks that were annoying. Granted it is a relatively cheap program and " you get what you pay for' but
my Question is; are any of you using Design Cad 3D ? how do you like it ?" my alternative is another year subscription to Solid works Educational version for about the same cost as design cad 3D $100.00 +/-
My projects are quite simple and I don't want to be overpowered by un-needed features that simply confuse me and get in the way. I just want to draw a 3d version of the widget I am working on or inventing to use as my guide / Plan during the machining process.

all comments are appreciated

thanks
joe
 
Have you looked at Auto Desk (AutoCad)? They currently have Fusion 360 free for hobbyist and small business.
 
Freecad is a pretty good product that is free and does 3d work.

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strange, I found solidworks to be about the easiest to use for me, I have bobcad and don't care much for the cad part of it, the cam is decent, but its about all I know, haven't tried any other cam software
 
I use design cad 3d but only for 2d plans. I have played with the 3d some but have found for the most part all I really use are 2d drawings when I make a part, If I need a 3d rendering I go over to Google Sketch Up as it seems easier for me to use -- Jack
 
Hi,

I have used Alibre for many years and find it quite good for part design and fairly okay for assemblies. You can easily put together an assembly of 100 to 200 parts. It all depends on your computer.

I have tried FreeCad and I am impressed with the software since it is an open source project.

I also have used Bricsys for 2d drawing which is both affordable and easy to use. I have an old version and a 2015 version. The old version is superfast on old computer but it only does 2d.

From a home shop perspective: How many features are you going to put into your design? I take most of us home shop machinist can do quite well without 3d. When you select features, use the machinist handbook. I would argue that with this approach you could even come quite far with an old drawing board! (I can see comments incomming on this one!)

Just my thoughts :)

Bjorn
 
I have used SolidWorks for ten years. In that time, I have grown totally comfortable with it and can fairly well accomplish any necessary task. There are still a lot of features that I don't use and a good many that I don't even know exist.

It is always difficult to transistion from one CAD package to another. I started with Autosketch, went to AutoCad, then to SolidWorks. I also dabbled with PTC Creo as our company had ordained that our division would switch from SolidWorks to Creo because that was what the electronics division used. Every one of those transitions was painful at first. They all approach the design philosophy differently and they all have a way of hiding all the commands in obscure drop-down menus, sometimes context related. And they all have a minimum of user guidance.

A few month's ago, I downloaded Fusion 360. Fusion 360 is a full featured AutoDesk product which has both CAD and CAM and is available free to students, educators, hobbyists, and startup businesses. As with all the CAD packages before, it will be a royal pain developing a proficiency. However, I think it will be worth the effort.

My problem with SolidWorks is that my seat is now four years old. I can't open file created in a future version. I no longer have access to technical support. I can pay the $1400 annual subscription fee and keep it up to date but that seems ridiculous for a hobbyist. I have the same issue with my SprutCam package; it is two revisions behind. I can't upgrade it and have to purchase a full seat. After that, I can keep it current for $300 for each revision.

Having a quality CAD/CAM package form an industry leader who pledges support seems like a no brainer to me. So I will learn to use Fusion 360.

Bob
 
I guess learning to draw is sort of on my bucket list.. as a home builder I used draftsmen for my plans a I have never been able to draw a straight line. when home cad programs came out ( punch) turbo cad I dabbled with them but didn't get serious.
last year I bought a one year educational copy of Solid works, for my grand son who is into gaming design. I used the program for a month then shipped the computer to him for his use. The subscription has expired but it can be renewed and upgraded if I fib a little about who is using it. that may be my best option. but the hype on design cad 3D max v.25 caught my attention and I got a 30 day free trial two days ago..
I usually build my mock-up out of wood to visualize the widget I am trying to proto-type. I am impressed with the potential for 3d drawing for the purpose of visualization or 3d printing
 
I tried BobCad for a while a few years ago. Never could get the hang of it. Too engrained in AutoCad, and use EzCam for the cam part. Trying to learn Inventor, just needs more time than I have at the moment!
 
A good buddy of mine was one of the original employees at Auto Desk when they were a startup and you could count the employees on your fingers and toes. He was part of the team that wrote their original Auto Cad software. He has been using Google Sketchup for our project drawings. He is the tech guy and I am the nuts and bolts guy. I can do .001, even .0001, but zeros and ones...... not so much.
 
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