Delta CAD

Started by Reel 224, October 04, 2018, 04:02:45 AM

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Reel 224

Is anyone using Delta Cad for drawing?.........................Joe
"I don't know the key to success,but the key to failure is trying to please everyone."

Reel 224

I guess not. So does anyone use CAD drawing programs?                   

Joe
"I don't know the key to success,but the key to failure is trying to please everyone."

mhc

#2
Hi Joe,
I do some sketches on a very old program, Autosketch, which is no longer compatible with anything and is not much better than a compass and set squares  :) There was a bit of discussion on this topic a while back in this thread http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=23612.0 but I haven't followed up with any of the suggested programs so I don't have any recommendations.

Mike

Edit: Link  corrected - Thanks Chad!
It can't be too difficult - a lot of people do it.

xjchad

I use SolidWorks at work.  Awesome program, but crazy expensive.
I've just started looking for something cheap that has the ability to transfer the files into other high end programs.
Haven't looked much yet though.
Mike, I seem to remember the thread you're talking about.  I think your link is wrong though.
Husband, Father, Fisherman

Keta

I used a older free version of Delta CAD but was not happy with it, it could be better now.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

droppedit

Joe, I've been using Autocad and Autocad LT. I have a couple of old versions from when I did this for a living. I have these on an old computer that runs Windows XP but that is the system that I need for printing with my Alps printer. It is a win win situation. Autocad is a bit more complicated but I love working the layers when making decals.  All the curves are more defined and the fills are solid when printing.

Dave
Some days the supply of available curse words is insufficient to meet my demands.

http://www.turnerscustomrods.com

xjchad

I think this is the thread that Mike was looking for: http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=23612.0
Husband, Father, Fisherman

jurelometer

Hi Joe,

Some good advice so far, but stepping back:

The first question is what are are you trying to do?  Basic 2D drawings of stuff to manually cut on your mill or bandsaw?  Architectural drawings?  Furniture? Parts to be cut on the waterjet/laser?  Parts that will be cut by a machinist or a CNC mill/lathe?  Stuff for a hobby 3D printer? Designing full mechanical assemblies?

There are lots of CAD choices and many have free options.   They all take some time to learn, and generally,  the more capable the software is, the more time consuming it is to get up to speed.   You want to pick the right one to start with if you can.  It is a good idea to choose one that has lots of good web tutorials.

Your basic choices are 2D vs 3D CAD.   you can make 2D drawings with 3D software, but the 2D software is usually easier to learn. 

for both 2D and 3D,  there is a choice between the more artistic ( free lines, shapes, shading, etc), And the more mechanical  (focus on dimensionally defined objects).   

When you get into the fancier side of 3D,  you start getting features like designing full mechanical assemblies, and integrated CAD software to generate the cut files to load into the CNC machines.

And the final choice is specialty software.  There is stuff out there just for designing waterjet parts, cabinet making, architectural drawings, sign making, etc.

For 2D only,  I like Inkscape (free! open source!). It is very capable on the artistic side, and good enough on the mechanical.  Other examples are  Corel Draw ($, reasonably easy to learn, popular with the hobby laser crowd), vCarve ($$, very basic mechanical,  mostly for the CNC router crowd, includes a good CAM package) , and AutoCAD  ($$$, real support, add-ons for specialties like architectural drawing). .  For super basic mechanical 2D design, there is LibreCAD (free, open source).   I just played around with LibreCAD for an hour or so, so I haven't formed an opinion.  There are competing products at all levels

Getting into 3D mechanical (I don't know about the artistic stuff):  For free, reasonably powerful, and easy to use there was Google's Sketchup.  Sketchup was sold off, but the new vendor still has a free  version that I haven't tried.   There are tons of Sketchup howto videos.  Getting to the next level,  IMHO, the only game in town on the free side (for students/small business) is Autodesk Fusion 360.   (Chad- this is the one you should check out).   Buggy, ridiculous support scheme,  but powerful with a large community of users.  Finally if you are in a commercial setting, you are probably looking at Solidworks, Autodesk Inventor,  and some of the smaller competitors.

I would generally stay away from the older,  small shop packages that are getting left behind.  These still might be worth trying if what you are doing is minimal and you know someone already using it that can show you the ropes.   

For the special-purpose CAD/CAM,  (when I have to use it) I prefer  to use a general purpose program to draw my shapes, and then transfer the files over for the final CAD steps and CAM programming.

I just screw around with this stuff, so I think we are in a similar situation.  The folks that use CAM software to make a living will probably have a different perspective.

My personal usage is mostly Inkscape for  freeform 2D stuff, and Fusion for mechanical 2D and 3D.  The other thread has some good info on folks experiences, but you first want to narrow down your usage if you want to get the most relevant advice.

Go for it!
-J

xjchad

Jurelometer, thanks for the info!
I looked at the Fusion 360 and it looks really nice!  But I can't find out how to download the free version? 
Is it just the free trial that I use?

Have you tried FreeCAD at all?  www.freecadweb.org
Husband, Father, Fisherman

Reel 224

"J" I want to produce dimensional drawings in 3D for mechanical parts to make on the lathe & Milling machine, no CNC. I have Delta CAD now.

Joe
"I don't know the key to success,but the key to failure is trying to please everyone."

jurelometer

Quote from: xjchad on October 05, 2018, 07:34:21 PM
Jurelometer, thanks for the info!
I looked at the Fusion 360 and it looks really nice!  But I can't find out how to download the free version? 
Is it just the free trial that I use?

Have you tried FreeCAD at all?  www.freecadweb.org
Instructions here:  https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/fusion-360-for-hobbyists

If you are used to Solidworks, this is the sort of thing you are looking for.   Fusion is cloud based, so all your files are on their server, and they decide when to update your software.  And  Autodesk is not my favorite company.  I' m not sure I would use Fusion for serious business.   I expect that Autodesk will leave the non-paying  users high and dry at some point in the future.


Haven't ever heard of FreeCAD before.   It looks  like a candidate.  Usually an "a" vs "b" web search yields some data ( e.g. "freecad vs fusion",   or "fusion vs solidworks")

Quote from: Reel 224 on October 05, 2018, 10:18:37 PM
"J" I want to produce dimensional drawings in 3D for mechanical parts to make on the lathe & Milling machine, no CNC. I have Delta CAD now.

Joe

Isn't  Delta CAD 2D only?   2D is all you need for lathe operations, since you are turning the part and can only cut external and internal profiles.  With  manual milling, 2D is good enough, but being able to work off a 3D image is easier, at least for me.  I screw up a lot trying to visualize what I am doing with separate 2d drawings for each layer.   But I screw up a lot of parts anyways,  so it might just be me :)

Let us know what you find out.   I am watching your other thread about setting up your shop.   Looks exciting!

-J

Reel 224

 "J" I have the two CAD programs you mentioned Delta CAD and Free CAD. I find Delta cad much easier to work with, but like you have said the Fee cad is 3d but it is difficult to catch on to. For me anyway.

I have many pokers in the fire setting my shop up and reel & rod work. This winter I hope to finally get some serious work done. HOPE is the operative word here.

Joe   
"I don't know the key to success,but the key to failure is trying to please everyone."

festus

Quote from: Reel 224 on October 04, 2018, 04:02:45 AM
Is anyone using Delta Cad for drawing?.........................Joe

DeltaCAD, no that's one I haven't tried, Joe.

I learned on AutoCAD R12 and LT in the 1990s and pretty much stuck to AutoCAD for years.  It's too expensive nowadays, besides, I'm retired.  Draftsight is free, and almost as good as AutoCAD LT.  Draftsight won't let you customize menus and set up your own commands and macros as advanced as ACAD LT, but it's all I need.  I tried a few more free ones.  LibreCAD would be ok for very simple drawings.  I noticed some glitches.  NanoCAD is another good free one.  It ain't quite up to snuff either, some commands simply don't work. But it's better than LibreCAD  I downloaded the trial/demo version of CorelCAD, several months ago,  that's a nice program but costs $$$$.  Oh yeah, there's another free program out there I call BubbaCAD but it's spelled a little differently.  ;D

One program I really miss and cannot find a functioning copy of is PhotoDRAW. 

Three se7ens

Ive been using draftsight for 6 years now, after using autocad for nearly as many prior.  Its a solid program, and I like it a lot.  It may not be the easiest for a beginner to jump into though.  Ive been using fusion 360 a lot more in the past year, and after some initial frustration at the vastly different work flow, Im very happy with it.  Its probably easier to learn from scratch than draftsight/autocad.  And the benefit to fusion360 is it has a strong comminity backing, with a lot of tutorials available for free, and getting questions answered is as easy as posting on the support forum in most cases.