@kdjanz said:
What is the CAD replacement Lewis?
Kelly
I've yet to try it on a real project of any size (certainly nothing like the giant projects my employers take on), but the Pro version of QCAD http://www.ribbonsoft.com/qcad.html seems quite adequate enough. (It cost me all of $30...well worth it, as the Open Source version is somewhat crippled.) There's now an autosnap feature that reminds me a little of SketchUp's approach, which is nice.
If I need something more robust, there are a few IntelliCAD variants available on Linux for about $500 or so...bricsCAD at http://www.bricscad.nl/ seems most like AutoCAD. I haven't bought it yet, but I may. Of course, one of the issues is that I don't want to use AutoCAD, or anything much like it, even on Linux.
I also have a Debian package for BRL-CAD, which is said to be a wonderful CAD program if you can get past the absolutely brutal interface (or rather, lack of interface, which is probably what you should expect of a program used originally to design tanks and military hardware): http://brlcad.org/. There is quite a set of tutorials available.
Most of the other inexpensive or OS CAD programs seem too immature (alpha, beta, etc.) for real use, These people are testing them:
http://international.cad4linux.nl/cms/page.php?2
There are some high end commercial packages available, like GraphiteOne-CAD http://www.graphiteone-cad.com/en/product_2ddrafting.htm , but I don't feel like spending that kind of money yet. Especially if SketchUp is not going to be available on Linux. (Are you reading this, Craig?)
--Lewis
poster-Lewis Wadsworth
