CAD programs buying used / downloading question

[turbo1889]

Well first off I should say that my CAD college classes were done on AutoCAD 2005. I did not own a computer of my own at that time and thus I did not purchase the student version of the software but just used the system installed on the campus computer system. Now that I'm no longer in school and have my own personal computer system I find myself desiring that program or similar for my own personal use for my own projects. I have checked out most of the free downloads online and haven't found anything that suits my needs, got close with a couple systems but one of them the Snap-Point and Trim functions sucked and the other the dimensioning system sucked. So next up I'm looking into buying the actual AutoCAD software used and have been able to locate several different versions of the 2004, 2005, & 2006 software for reasonable prices I can afford for personal use.

I have run across several descriptions of the items being sold including "Never Installed / New in Box" and "Completely Removed From Previous Computer & No Longer in Use -- Activation Code included". So if I were to buy any of the used systems falling into those descriptions could I successfully install and use it? If it's still new in box will I still be able to activate it with the software componay after such a long time? In the other case,as long as it is true that it has been completely removed from the previous owners computer can I legally install it on mine and use the same activation code. I have no problem buying this particular slightly outdated and used software system because I know it will meet my needs and I am fully trained on all of its functions but want to make sure everything is on the level and I don't get "taken".

 

[FredGarvin]

The cheap ads you see for AutoCAD products are pretty much pirated. To be official, Autodesk is really anal about its licenses. I looked into this not too long ago and for a home use it may not be bad thing, but you could fortget ever getting Autodesk support.

Have you looked at IntelliCAD SE? It's only about $100 and it handles all dwg formats pretty well. There are some quirks to it but for the money you get a non pirated 2D program that will do anything you need. I use it from time to time because of old drawings and Pro-E's 2D sketcher stinks.

 

[mgb_phys]

Intellicad is the underlying CAD engine, they don't sell an actual product anymore
The most popular 'Intellicad' is probably http://www.progesoft.com/

It is very autocad compatible both in reading dwg files and in the commands. I went from Acad13 to various Intellicad packages without noticing a change

 

[FredGarvin]

Sure they do. I just bought the most recent version about two months ago.

http://intellicadms.com/site/

 

[RayRoc]

I always really liked Vdraft. Although it does not seem to be updated any more, the features and ease of use make it a powerful program. It reads and writes DWG and DXF. Without saying much more about it I really like it for all of my 2D stuff (even more then autocad). It costs $100 (I think) for the non-commercial version (limited to 4 drawings open at a time). I wish it had 2D simulation support though like solidworks but oh well.

 

[mgb_phys]

These guys http://www.intellicad.org/ used to have a free 2D intellicad based demo app
I tried to upgrade it and they said they didn't supply it anymore.

Anyway, there are a dozen (pretty similair) Intellicad based apps https://www.intellicad.org/members/products.php

The CMS one Fred mentioned is only $110 The https://store.intellicadms.com/product_info.php?products_id=30