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| Thread ID: 53732 | 2005-01-25 21:14:00 | CAD freeware program | Mercury (1316) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 318053 | 2005-01-27 20:24:00 | Auckland. | Mercury (1316) | ||
| 318054 | 2005-01-27 20:56:00 | O well, I'm in Chch. I'v been having a go myself drawing up some plans, hopefully it will make it easier for a draughtsperson when I hand my plans over. | Rob99 (151) | ||
| 318055 | 2005-01-27 21:25:00 | Just kidding about the 5 storey building with turrets. A bit more study required first. Maybe next week. From what I've seen of it so far CadStd is a very good learning tool and exactly what I need. It has an elegant interface, a short learning curve and it is dirt cheap. In a few hours I picked up the basics and it made sense. Reading the manual now to work out how to snap things together properly - a wall came loose when I tried to change the dimensions. |
Mercury (1316) | ||
| 318056 | 2005-01-29 01:11:00 | Time for a review of CadStd. I spent a couple of hours going no where, paid for the Pro version (comes with tutorial and extra features), did the tutorial in a couple of hours (note: tutorial is in feet and inches - may confuse the younger viewers!), played a bit more for a couple of hours then read the manual - flicking back and forth to try things out. I particularly liked this comment: The User Prompt Status Bar provides information about the current command engaged. The instructions in the User Prompt should not be ignored. Following the user prompt instructions will save your time and temper. They are right on that one! For entertainment I then took a CAD drawing of a floorplan for a relatively simple building that I had done a pen and paper fitout for and tried to recreate it. The wall that was 10.990 long came out at 11.000 and I was definitely having trouble with some of the smaller details but it was passable - and yes, I could create drawings for a permit with this. There are limitations - it's definitely a basic program - no cross hatching for bricks, single font (in 5 sizes) etc etc. If you want a template - eg a stencil for a toilet, basin, HWC... - you create your own and import them into your new drawing (do it big and it will scale itself to the right size as required). It also doesn't have the inter-relation of bigger programs as it doesn't have the plot lines to link things together. Move a wall and you move it piece by piece wherever it's shown - floorplan, elevations, cross-sections... Although some of it can be done as an entity. Overall a good, simple and quick to learn, basic program. I still have to try it out on a real world example properly - which is where the limitations will become apparent - but I strongly suspect that the learning time on this program are transportable. If ever I go for a more advanced program I'll have a good grasp on the basics. |
Mercury (1316) | ||
| 318057 | 2005-01-29 01:22:00 | Sorry wish I'd seen this earlier I use HomeplanPro, it's simple & does a great job Not for architects obviously but great for a builder or homeowner wanting to draw their own plans http://www.homeplanpro.com/ |
bartsdadhomer (80) | ||
| 318058 | 2005-01-29 01:24:00 | Then there is the business of producing a print. There have been some large HP A1 pen plotters going very cheaply at Turners Auctions Wellington from time to time over the last year ot two. By cheaply I mean round the $100 mark. | Terry Porritt (14) | ||
| 318059 | 2005-01-29 01:31:00 | That much, Terry? I paid $10-$15 for my plotters. ;) The problem is getting the pens these days. | Graham L (2) | ||
| 318060 | 2005-01-29 01:41:00 | I don't think I'd be game to use this program for anything that wouldn't fit on either A4 or A3. Much bigger and the job itself would probably require a more complex program - for editing reasons. Have been contemplating seeing if Dad's A3 printer still works and if he uses if for anything. I might also acquire his copy of autocad - now I have an understanding of how programs work. It would be about 6 or so years old now (and no, this wouldn't be piracy. Due to deteriorating eyesight he is no longer capable of using it). This idea was unthinkable before due to the learning curve from zero. He showed it to me once and my eyes went like this :@@: |
Mercury (1316) | ||
| 318061 | 2005-01-29 01:50:00 | Home Plan Pro looks quite interesting with a lot more features than CadStd. A pity I didn't see it before. How did you find the learning curve? | Mercury (1316) | ||
| 318062 | 2005-01-29 02:29:00 | HomePlan Pro was one receommended by Pixeldust on 26th. :cool: | Scouse (83) | ||
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