What Do You Use To Draw/design Projects?

Today I have been using Fusion 360 for every project I do. From my RC Hobby to my bathroom vanity. I slowly converted a mini mill to CNC and did most of the components in Fusion 360 (early parts were designed in Inventor).
Simple to use. All in one package and free for hobbyists. Even would gladly pay if I had to.

Can't say it enough. The product of choice is Fusion 360 today. Can't live without it now.

Amen to everything you said there. I am just learning CAD and recently started learning Autocad 2016. Then I discovered Fusion 360 and will be learning that instead, although there seems to be some transfer from AutoCad. Look forward to being able to utilize the built in CAM side (I think is is HSM).
I am currently working on a 93" span Beaufighter from scratch. Electric powered. Looking forward to the day I can draw a part and CNC or laser it out! Like you said, I would gladly pay a yearly fee (not more than a few hundred though) for the use of Fusion 360. To have that level of program for free is just absolutely outstanding.
 
Pencil/pen & vellum got us through the big one & the moon landing. New stuff has it's advantages & disadvantages. I like both/

One of my best friends that lives just down the road from me is one of the 10 or so guys that developed the re-entry program for Mercury and Apollo. Jim is really an incredible man. He has gone from slide rules to CAD; both of us are learning Fusion 360 concurrently. Not to often you get to meet a guy like that, and then to have him as a friend is really great.
 
Usually paper for the rough idea then sketchup to help me quickly work thru changes then Solidworks/Solidcam for the final.The key is just finding whatever works best for you.I know there are more eficient ways but I still struggle a bit with the higher end cad and cam.When I first started working with cnc the cad was basic and cam was in its early stages so most of the code was done on the fly manualy..hell the first cnc lathe worked with was a Rockwell miniturn 2 that had been converted from a tape reader and still had pushbutton rotory dials !
 
Graph paper,steel rule and a compass. I had a drafting class in 6th grade which was the basis for what became my career choice as a machinist. I am and always will be a better manual machinist then a programmer. But I hAve the ability to write programs which I do for my self. I was given a complete powerstation 2000 system to learn from so I will be trying to teach my self how to draw in cad and I do hope this will help me make some even more complex parts on my cnc mill.
 
I used SketchUp for a long time but got tired of 3D printed holes not being round. Moved to Fusion 360 and don't regret it at all. Great intuitive, for me, interface and outputs to 3D print, CNC Lathe or Mill. Lots of tutorials and information. Oh, and it's FREE...
 
I use Viacad Pro because of its intuitive way of creating designs and its import and export possibilities.
 
AutoCad and Autocad Inventor, Bobcad/cam Handles 4 different CNC machines, router, plasma, mill, lathe. also Linux for Sherline cnc mill and cnc lathe
 
One of my best friends that lives just down the road from me is one of the 10 or so guys that developed the re-entry program for Mercury and Apollo. Jim is really an incredible man. He has gone from slide rules to CAD; both of us are learning Fusion 360 concurrently. Not to often you get to meet a guy like that, and then to have him as a friend is really great.

I spent 6 months back in '69 as a "rent-a-grunt" drafter/designer @ Allis Chalmers AEPD division in Milwaukee. We were developing fuel cells for Apollo and the Manned Orbit Lab (MOL) projects. After we landed on the moon the Gov. abandoned fuel cells in favor of solar. No CAD but working on cloth on a 7 foot layout on a 5 foot drawing board was at best, frustrating. Yes meeting & working with these people was totally cool & an excellent learning opportunity.
 
If I had thumbnails and tar, I'd do as John does.

As it is, I do it in my head (sm proj) or use graph paper/rule/mech pencil, while I learn BobCAD/CAM.
 
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