Cheap way to get a CAD programme?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around finding affordable or open-source CAD software alternatives to expensive programs like AutoCAD. Participants share various recommendations and experiences with different CAD programs, focusing on cost-effectiveness and usability.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about affordable CAD programs, expressing reluctance to resort to piracy.
  • Another participant suggests that a search for open-source CAD options yields numerous results, implying that some may meet the original poster's needs.
  • A recommendation is made for SolidEdge 2D as a free CAD program, although its availability in the UK is uncertain.
  • Participants mention ProgeCAD and CADopia as affordable alternatives, noting their compatibility with AutoCAD and the use of the IntelliCAD library, which reportedly handles DXF files better than AutoCAD.
  • One participant shares a link to a previously useful resource for finding cheap or free CAD software, although its current relevance is not confirmed.
  • The original poster expresses a desire for personal recommendations rather than sifting through a vast number of search results, indicating a preference for quality over quantity in suggestions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple options and opinions regarding affordable CAD software, but there is no consensus on a single best solution. The discussion remains open-ended with various suggestions and experiences shared.

Contextual Notes

Some suggestions may depend on geographic availability, and the effectiveness of the recommended software may vary based on individual needs and experiences.

streeters
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Is there a cheap (or OS) CAD programme that one of you could recommend?
If, indeed, such a thing exists. I can't really justify £1,300 for AutoCAD.

I'm trying really hard not to resort to piracy (sort of a New Year's resolution).
 
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streeters said:
Is there a cheap (or OS) CAD programme

Google says " Results 1 - 10 of about 2,050,000 for open source cad. (0.19 seconds) ". Perhaps one of those will suit your needs, whatever they are.
 
http://www.progesoft.com/ or http://www.cadopia.com/ is about $200-$350 and is probably the best cheap autocad clones.
They are based on the same intellicad CAD library with different front ends. They read/write Autocad and have the same Autocad commands

In fact intellicad does a better job of reading DXF than Autocad - we use it to translate bad DXF files from some GIS apps

This used to be the best round up of cheap/free cad
http://www.eland.org.uk/pages/Misc/cadnotes.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vanadium 50 said:
Google says " Results 1 - 10 of about 2,050,000 for open source cad. (0.19 seconds) ". Perhaps one of those will suit your needs, whatever they are.

Thanks for trying to help. You did your best.

I didn't really want to trawl through 2,050,000 pages. Rather, I was after some opinion on which was a good quality option by those who had used one.

Thanks mgb_phys, TVP45
 

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