Still looking for a good drafting companion for Sketchup...
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oh, i see. alibre has a "Alibre 3D Publisher" addon that exports directly to SU. awsome!
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very nice mesh too.
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Maybe this is the wrong place to ask, but wouldn't a "drafting companion" to create technical drawings for SU models, best be a 2d drafting program with great document management?
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when you find that, let us know.
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Dear All,
A listing of available cheap or free CAD software
Regards,
Bob -
xrox1, My current 3d drafting system is no longer supported, but because it included a C like "user programming language", I was able to write all of my own document management, and Architectural drafting utilities. Down side for me is no multi core support, sophisticated file locking, v12 dxf, bim, and high end graphics (but that's OK for 2d drafting).
So, while I too am looking for a updated CAD drafting program, because of my document management system, and the steep learning curve for a new program, I will stick (am stuck) with what I have.
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@watkins said:
A listing of available cheap or free CAD software
Yessss.... it's also got my rather embarrassing (and overly enthusiastic) entry for ViaCAD in there too!
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Vectorworks is the best I know off.
I worked with Vectorworks for at least 15 years and for construction drawings its simply the best.It also has a good 3D functionality, you might even consider to not even use SU any more.
But Vectorworks can read Sketchup files and use it for further 3D modeling or 2D drafting. Vectorworks has a classes and layer structure that is very handy for organizing files.
Its a very advanced package.
Francois -
you should maybe reconsider your workflow, especially if you need exact and produceable data for product design... exporting tons of triangulated facettes to a NURBS based 3D modeler instead of doing the stuff right there appears, at least to me, rather... suboptimal.
[flash=320,240:3at2n5bg]http://www.cadsoftsolutions.co.uk/software/shark/shark_fx/gallery/files/slideshow.swf[/flash:3at2n5bg]
(exact, editable NURBS faces & volumes)sure, the learning curve is - because of the extended functionality - a little bit steeper, but c'mon, you're claiming to be a professional not a 'mesh editor'
hth,
Norbert -
@dedmin said:
Yes, Alibre and SketchUP are awesome combination. Export from Alibre into .skp is excellent
Is there any way to go from Sketchup to Alibre? I bought Alibre back when the $97 promo first came out, and have yet to use it
if I could import SU into Alibre, I may get my money out of it... -
I'm going to mention MicroSpot's MacDraft and PCDraft again.
I've picked MacDraft up once more (after also scouting around for a decent 2D draughting application) and it's working really well with SketchUp too. Works on both Mac and Windows, which is always a good thing.
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i didn't think of this till now but you could also try Edrawings. http://edrawings.geometricglobal.com/Downloads/eDrawings+for+SketchUp/index.aspx
i've used it with solidworks and its pretty good. it even allows for collaboration between you and your client. (markup etc...) -
@xrok1 said:
i didn't think of this till now but you could also try Edrawings.
eDrawings is pretty useless as a drafting tool, as it really is just an advanced viewer for those who don't own Solidworks. It really isn't worth considering at all, imho.
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for solidworks? did you check my link?
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That's a "publish, share and collaboration" tooland if the same as what I tried earlier, it is not really for drafting but for viewing and talking about ready models.
Unfortunately Windows only and even though they have a web based viewer, too, you could not see it from other platforms and even in Windows, only Internet Explorer.
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drfabinex
I'd be interested to see an example of one of the files that you have worked with as I have had some pretty big projects in Doublecad and have experienced very few problems. The only annoying thing for me is the jerky realtime pan, a real pain when your dealing with a big file. Since leaving an AutoCAD based job 3 years ago, I think I've experimented with just about every free CAD program out there. ProgeCAD Smart (for non commercial use - I now work for a charity so not a problem for me) and DoubleCAD are the best that I've found. I have to say I'm surprised that people have recommended Solid Edge as although I liked the interface, I found it to be quite unstable.
I think Doublecad is the only free cad app out there that can open skp.
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@xrok1 said:
for solidworks? did you check my link?
Yes, I did check your link.
edit, and I wholeheartedly agree with Gaieus too. eDrawings really isn't a draughting application- unfortunately.
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@tfdesign said:
I've picked MacDraft up once more (after also scouting around for a decent 2D draughting application) and it's working really well with SketchUp too.
• SU import?
• 3D/OpenGL?
• section cuts for creating shop drawings?
• common 3D CAD data exchange formats?
• speed of high poly DXF/DWG files?
• U$ ~300.-huh
Norb.
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