Autodesk AutoCAD 2004

[ozwinner]

Hi all
There is a software vender in Oz who has this for sale..........
Autodesk AutoCAD 2004 - Student version (2 years)
Price: Only $252.00
http://www.advancesoftware.com.au/productdetail.php?productcode=ADAC-S

Is this good value, I think it is the full version, but maybe crippled.
What happens after 2 years.

Cheers, Allan :)

[Sir Stinkalot]

Student version .....
1) will generally lack some functions
2) Often print the manufactures logo as a watermark when printing.
3) Need to show student ID to get it.
4) Expire after 2 years. A way around it would be a complete format of the harddrive and then reinstall.

Good value????
You will need to get alot of use in the two years. I am sure for $250 you could get one of the other drafting programs such as turbo cad that will do just as well.

[bigAl]

Autodesk produce a lot of CAD software of which AutoCad is the best known.

If this is for general use and you're not a serious draftsman or engineer, expect a really steep learning curve. I've used it and unless you're happy to live with a text book in one hand, you wont go anywhere fast.

Have a look at the autodesk.com site and see what there is to offer. They have a lite version which is very easy to use and includes 3D modelling, etc.

Al.

[Rocker]

Ozwinner,

I have AutoSketch from Autodesk. It is only 2-dimensional, with some 3-D features, but it is quite adequate for woodwork design. When I bought it from Harvey Norman, about two years ago, it was $219. Even with it, the learning curve is fairly steep, but you should be able to master it in about 50 hours. and you will find it very useful if you design your own furniture, or if you wish to publish an article.

Rocker

[ozwinner]

Hi Rocker
Will AutoSketch keep the dimensions with object if the object is moved?
And does it auto dimension?

I have Quickcad 8 from Autodesk, and its basicly useless.

Cheers, Allan

[Rocker]

Ozwinner,

If I understand your questions correctly, the answer to both is yes. It certainly auto-dimensions, if you ask it to; and you can group the dimension with the entity and then move them as a single entity. I am very happy with AutoSketch. Obviously it would be nice to have the full 3-D capabilities of Autocad, but you are looking at thousands of dollars for that.

Rocker

[ozwinner]

Hi Rocker
I went and bought Autosketch 8 today, it seems a lot better than Autocad 8, but I have a problem already.
When I go to resize a square/rectangle, both sides move at once.
They didnt do it to start with, what have I done?
I cant beleive that they sell software with no manual, all that came with it was a pamphlet.
So I geuss I'll have to go buy the book, I know its all on the disk, but its not the same, I can take a book to bed and read it.

Cheers, Allan :)

[Rocker]

Ozwinner,
I have Autosketch 7, and it had a 340-page manual. I am not sure I understand your problem fully; if you create a rectangle as a single entity, and resize it, Autosketch will maintain the same ratio between the ends and the sides. If you want to change that ratio, you can ungroup it into four entities (the four sides of the rectangle) by clicking the explode button, which looks like a cigarette.

I think you will need to buy a book; it would be very hard to learn just by using the online help.

Rocker

[Rocker]

Ozwinner,

It looks as though you can download the AutoSketch 8 manual from this site if you are a registered user:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=2029748

Rocker

[ozwinner]

Thanks Rocker.
I downloaded the manual.

Cheers, Allan

[kenmil]

Popular Woodworking (US magazine) gave a bit of a wrap to QuickCad from Autodesk recently, which they said was US$50, though I note it sells for $129 here. DeltaCad (free for 45 days as a download) was also recommended. Find it at www.dcad.com

[Barry_White]

Hi Everyone

Autocad is probaly the industry standard for drawing. Before I retired the place I worked used Autocad Lite 2000 and it did every thing that was required for drawing sheds and buildings and doing detail work.

As mentioned earlier a very high learning curve and envolved a four year Tafe course for Draughting.

The version of Autocad Lite 2000 was about $800 and that was only for the upgrade version.

For anyone wanting to buy a Draughting program and easier program to learn is probaly IMSI Turbocad which some times the previous version to the current one can be bought a lot cheaper.

Here is a few available on Ebay

IMSI MasterClips 1,250,000 Premium Images AU $59.00 1 4h 38min
TURBOCAD Professional V5 Program AU $50.00 - 1d 11h 19min
TURBOCAD 7.1 AU $41.00 3 3d 10h 48min
TURBOCAD AU $5.00 - 7d 10h 6min
TurboCad Professional V8 NEW Unopened Boxed AU $65.00 - 9d 4h 1min