Still looking for a good drafting companion for Sketchup...
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Before LayOut had dimensions in it, I used to do all of my layout documents in good old AutoCAD, is that not an option for you? I used to run huge Sketchup files in AutoCad without an issue...
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Autocad does do the trick. Although still not as fast rotating as Sketchup. Unfortunately I can't afford more than the 30 day demo price...
As a side note, out of frustration I tried Turbocad deluxe again (129.95$) and found that I wasn't using OpenGL acceleration. It sped up quite a bit (actually a little better than Autocad). Still not perfect, but hell... neither am I.Thanks for all your suggestions! Keep em coming. I'm kind of a software slut, i'll try anything once (and then never call it again).
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Could the select Open GL option be the reason for the problems you had with for DoubleCad?
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There was a noticeable improvement on Doublecad as well but I still find Doublecad slower even with OpenGL acceleration. I think it's still Turbocad deluxe for me. Importing materials is a nice bonus as well.
I posed the performance question on the Doublecad forum and William Manning replied saying that they're working on performance improvements though.
Just to be clear: I DID NOT find Doublecad unbearable (glitchy redraws, model hanging for 5 secs on rotate) for navigating high poly models, I just found it slow enough to be frustrating with tight deadlines for drawings. -
@drfabinex said:
As a side note, out of frustration I tried Turbocad deluxe again (129.95$) and found that I wasn't using OpenGL acceleration.
why not just using ViaCAD inkl. SU import, OGL support and bargain pricing
btw, the former TC Mac version were licensed as a OEM made by Punch...
Norbert
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Tried Viacad already as I mentioned in the first post. It's SKP importer doesn't work with SU7 at all, and a DWG export from SU opened in Viacad crawls, complete with hideously choppy redraws while rotating. Not worth the cheap price IMHO.
Too bad because it looked so promising.
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Not sure I mentioned this here before but give this a try (looks promising): http://butterfly.autodesk.com/
Rick
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@drfabinex said:
It's SKP importer doesn't work with SU7 at all...
support for SU v7 format with new VC version 7 (~4-6 weeks), until then just save in SU v6 format...
@drfabinex said:
and a DWG export from SU opened in Viacad crawls...
VC is a NURBS surface/volume modeler not targeted for editing meshes... thought you're looking for a 'drafting companion' for e.g. creating shop drawings based on your section cuts exported from SU.
If you need (another) mesh editor, go for e.g. bonzai3D or MeshLab.
@drfabinex said:
...complete with hideously choppy redraws while rotating.
lame GPU or OGL support of driver, at least for the amount of polys contained.
@drfabinex said:
...IMHO.
sure
anywayz, it's up to you
Norb.
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@drfabinex said:
Tried Viacad already as I mentioned in the first post. It's SKP importer doesn't work with SU7 at all, and a DWG export from SU opened in Viacad crawls, complete with hideously choppy redraws while rotating. Not worth the cheap price IMHO.
Too bad because it looked so promising.
I get the feeling that you don't really know what you want (which I too can also relate to!). All CAD software is a pain in the ar*e. It never does just quite what you want. Then it's a massive investment on top of that. I want a holiday this year, with my kids! You just have to learn the developers ways, and get on with it.
I was going to buy Shark, then I was going to buy SketchUp, then Shark again, then Vectorworks. Then there was whiff that Solidworks were porting to Mac, then they withdrew that statement. It does my friggin swede in!!!
I've got ViaCAD 2D/3D, SketchUp free, MacDraft, QCad and Cheetah3D. I've done pretty damn good with those so far, so I'm sticking with them.
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What I really want is for Layout to grow up a little more
(or become ruby scriptable). Ideally I just want a tool to QUICKLY navigate referenced (therefore update-able) high poly SKP files and allow me to do the following in 2d paperspace:
- choose any perspective and/or parallel view and scale easily
- show it in wireframe, dashed hidden line, or textured style
- generate section views with hatching
- associative coloring, hatching and dimensions,
- turn on/off layers per viewport
- multi-leader and regular text boxes
- basic line, rect, arc, circle, freehand tools
- print any size, output pdf, import raster images
- ability to create resizable 2d blocks
- ability to reference multiple SKP's
- customizable shortcuts
Beyond that I find most tools a distraction.
Most of the programs mentioned will do all of this. But since they navigate so slowly it's still faster for me to use a bunch of workarounds in Layout. I put up this post initially simply to be thorough in my quest for increased productivity/decreased hassle.
Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions! I fear I might have upset some people with my opinions on some of the software, please don't take them personally.
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you could try Alibre Design standard for $97. actually try it for free, pay $97 if you want it.
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Yes, Alibre and SketchUP are awesome combination. Export from Alibre into .skp is excellent:
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very nice. did you use .dwg format into SU?
and could we see a shot with hidden edges shown in SU? -
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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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