CAD Alternative?

Hey guys, does anyone know of a basic program other than CAD that can be used during the design process to layout blueprints? I don't have a Auto CAD, but I really want something similar so that I can have a good design reference. Thanks guys

Not sure exactly of what your looking for, Regular Autocad is very expensive.

Try AXCAD 2008, Powered by IntelliCAD, A Good Choice for AutoCAD Users its alot cheaper but does the same thing, and you can download a free trial version.

For a free drawing program try Inkscape:
Inkscape. Draw Freely.

For 3D modeling use Blender:
blender.org - Home

For 2D CAD try QCAD:
QCAD

Of course there's always Sketchup:
http://sketchup.google.com/

Hope this helps!

Cool - I've been looking for this too!

Sweet, Thanks guys!

Try this.. progeSOFT: progeCAD Smart 2009 works good, it's a free version but it's for non-profit.

i havent worked with google sketch up, but ive heard from friends who have used it say its pretty good. i even heard it from my architectural design professor.

i remember for a while, Autodesk was offering free downloads of their programs, not the full version mind you, but enough to get it going to learn how to use it. it was basically to learn, rather than use it for a profit, because of unemployment on the rise, and they wanted to help people get informed and employed. i dont know if they still offer that. but like i said, its not supposed to be used to gain money in any way from.

Not to sound condescending...but how about a piece of paper, a pencil and a ruler?

Drawings could be scanned in later, and if necessary, converted to vector format through a free raster to vector converter program.

TazMan2000

Thanks for the suggestions guys, several of these are good alternatives!

TazMan2000 said:

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Not to sound condescending...but how about a piece of paper, a pencil and a ruler?

Drawings could be scanned in later, and if necessary, converted to vector format through a free raster to vector converter program.

TazMan2000

I started with this step, sketches, then more detailed drawings, but I wanted to take it just a little further.

Fuzzual said:

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I started with this step, sketches, then more detailed drawings, but I wanted to take it just a little further.

Just my two cents.

A cheaper alternative to Autocad is Rhino 3d. Its quickly becoming the standard in the film industry for prop, vehicle and set design. Its a cadd program that lets you build in 3d or draw in 2d. You can output your 3d files for rapid prototyping or 2d files for lasercutting. If you add the T-Splines plugin you can do sub-d modeling in rhino, very powerful tools.



Rhino 3d
Modeling tools for designers
T-Splines
T-Splines

TazMan2000 said:

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Not to sound condescending...but how about a piece of paper, a pencil and a ruler?

Drawings could be scanned in later, and if necessary, converted to vector format through a free raster to vector converter program.

TazMan2000

I need to know more about the process. Where can you get them scanned?

minieffects said:

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Just my two cents.

A cheaper alternative to Autocad is Rhino 3d. Its quickly becoming the standard in the film industry for prop, vehicle and set design. Its a cadd program that lets you build in 3d or draw in 2d. You can output your 3d files for rapid prototyping or 2d files for lasercutting. If you add the T-Splines plugin you can do sub-d modeling in rhino, very powerful tools.



Rhino 3d
Modeling tools for designers
T-Splines
T-Splines

That's a very cool program my friend. Thanks a ton for the suggestion.

Fuzzual said:

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That's a very cool program my friend. Thanks a ton for the suggestion.

Your welcome