What Do You Use To Draw/design Projects?

I use autocad 14 and also back of the envelope sketches.I'm trying to learn Autodesk Inventor.Too many
things to learn,so little time available.
Ariscats

Try Fusion 360. Easy to learn. And it's FREE!


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Believe it or not, I use Microsoft Word. I made a size A template, then just paste in a shape or shapes. Then I type in the dimensions in inches or mm in the format box. If is a small part that fits in the paper at full scale, the 2D will be accurate to the 1/128". I have Turbocad, but I need help to learn it. The push for me to learn something that can be exported in a CAD file is starting to be felt.

I have used Microsoft Publisher between a temporary
seat on Mechanical Desktop & buying Autocad 8000. It has a lot more features than word and can be used for presentations to clients. I have since acquired Inventor light 1200 which gives me the ability to submit DXF files for plasma cutting etc. I might look into Fusion 360 since this thread was started.
 
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I used to use Autocad 2015, until I discovered Fusion 360. After a bit of a learning curve it fell in love with it. So easy to make parts with it. And for a hobbyist, it's FREE!
 
Depending on the design or the available materials when the ideas strike. I use several approaches. Most of my ideation starts in my head. For personal simple projects I use anything from white space on printed matter to restroom paper towling. <snip>
Most of my sketches are 3D, some are exploded assembly-like diagrams.

I agree with "Uncle Harry", graphic ideation on paper is a powerful tool that is a different way of thinking than working through a computer interface. We teach both. For programs, I use Vectorworks and Sketchup Pro.

Tom L.
 
Please be specific....
I use my tried and true EZCAM v6.xx to sketch up, refine and produce 2d prints and layouts. It is a lot easier to navigate than any other program I have tried (but, familiarity plays a big part), and does 99% of what I need. I have designed a 36 x 36 building, my garage, an entertainment center, dozens of parts and much more with this ol' program. I don't see any need to get anything new or more complicated. If a part I sketch out becomes a part I want to make, I can go right into EZCAM and write a machining program, save it, post it and run it. Sure, it doesn't produce "draftsman" quality blueprints, but I have used the drawings I made to purchase items I designed from other sources, including Chinese manufacturers, so they can't be all that bad.
 
Please be specific....
I use Sketchup Pro 8.
It gives me good visuals pretty quickly.
I then go to paper freehand and pick off key angles and dimensions from SU. I do calcs and mods on the paper.
Sometimes go back to SU.
 
I use my tried and true EZCAM v6.xx to sketch up, refine and produce 2d prints and layouts. It is a lot easier to navigate than any other program I have tried (but, familiarity plays a big part), and does 99% of what I need. I have designed a 36 x 36 building, my garage, an entertainment center, dozens of parts and much more with this ol' program. I don't see any need to get anything new or more complicated. If a part I sketch out becomes a part I want to make, I can go right into EZCAM and write a machining program, save it, post it and run it. Sure, it doesn't produce "draftsman" quality blueprints, but I have used the drawings I made to purchase items I designed from other sources, including Chinese manufacturers, so they can't be all that bad.
Hey, another EZCAM user! Don't know what version I started with, but it was old and pre-1997! Can still run it off my thumb drive on an old enough OS. Have the current revision where I work, but I don't do much drawing in it. I use AutoCad 2015 at the moment to draw and design, then the EZCAM for programming.
 
Surfcam
2d and 3d but using it since 1994 then right into post for VMC
 
Please be specific....
My sketches are usually on recycled paper. Seldom do I need (or have the time for) software to provide the drawings I need. A couple examples...added a support to raise the height of my argon bottle to make the flow meter-regulator more accessible. Support is made from mild steel square tubing and flat strap. Measuring took more time than the sketch and the combined time for the 2 tasks was about 15 minutes. Also designed a support to move my 3,500 lb milling machine around the shop during its rebuild. Design required multiple measurements of the mill's base. Between crawling around on the floor and behind the mill, the last thing I needed was to transfer this grime to my laptop or tablet. Time is lost when the final document from which the part will be built requires sketching, creating an electronic drawing, having that drawing revised multiple times, then finally having the part built.
I suspect this approach is driven because my career started as a draftsman, on a board, in the Maintenance department within an industrial setting. Time was precious and valuable. I needed to convince an operator to stop his machine so measurements could be taken. And going back a 2nd time because I didn't get all the info needed was not an option. I spent lots of time looking, watching, talking to the operators and maintenance craftsmen and doing rough sketches sans dimensions, prior to taking any measurements. When back in the office, there was little opportunity to do a drawing for a 2nd time once pencil met paper. This "restriction" (the time it took to create an assembly drawing plus the detail drawings) mandated that I think thru a design, evaluating risks early in the process. My job was to add value to the Maintenance Department. Having a couple 24 x 36 sheets of velum in the trash at the end of the shift could get you fired. The other benefit of the "restriction" is the end user made less changes and adjustments than are done today when electronic design utilized. Did I make mistakes - oh yes. Were some significant - you bet. Part of a young drafter/designer's learning curve.
Enough pontificating. The short answer - pencil & paper to capture the thought. At work - the sketch and lots of discussion with the designer before he/she starts the paper to software conversion.
 
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