Software recomendation
 

Hi all,
I have a small personal project that I'm working on and for that I need to create simple drawings. The requirements are that measurements can be put in and when printed it will print in scale (1:1 preferred). I'm aware that AutoCAD is something that can do this but is there any freeware out there that can solve this for me ?

Thanks for your time
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PS: I'm mostly in the "WIntel" part of the "world".

Google Sketchup.

I work with professional software--AutoCAD, SolidWorks, ProEngineer--and I can say that all them are real a pain to get to use for simple projects. I use Sketchup for a lot of things and it is fairly easy for me to collaborate with other non-professionals with it.

And, by typing dimensions in the lower-right corner, you can make your drawings accurate. The problem is printing them to scale - Sketchup is a 3D program that shows your project in perspective, which is not to scale. Of course, you can show different Views (plan, front, side, etc.) that simulate 2D. For now, you have to buy Sketchup Pro to get the "Layout" feature, which prints 2D drawings to scale.

However, the next release of the free version (7.0) will include Layout. I don't know when it will be released, though.

In the mean time, don't you know anyone with AutoCad who could draw it for you?
If not, there's always the option of going old school - draw it by hand with a scale, triangle, circle template, and a T-square (or rolling ruler).

If you're going to be doing a lot of this, you might want to check craigslist or eBay for an older version of AutoCAD LT, or another brand - AutoDesk isn't the only manufacturer of CAD software.

Or you could check out this article:
CAD that Won't Break the Bank (Cadalyst Labs Review) - CAD Management

oh . . . I forgot about the free Siemens Solid Edge:
http://www.plm.automation.siemens.co...2d/index.shtml

Thanks both (all).
I have been fiddling with Google SketchUp, layout would have been great. Where did I put the 3-D printer :)

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/members...9-sketchup.png


Yours
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