AutoCAD advice wanted

[Loafer]

Hi,

Been coming to techspot for a long time since it was 3d spotlight in fact and hoping the design heritage of the site is still here.
I've been asked at work to look into getting a basic autocad software in the office to be used for design of heating and solar systems in proposed building work. In doesn't need to be over the top just drawings the builders/installers can work from. I have no experience in this field just am pretty good at teaching myself as I go along. In this case, boss is happy to pay for a couple of days basic training... how generous.
Based in the UK and using windows 7 exclusively.

Any advice on where to start looking, trial software I could try,etc...?

Thanks in advance.

Doug

 

[mike1959]

Hi, I was lookin at some AutoCAD compatible software earlier this year, that I could actually afford, and found this;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Total-CAD-2..._11?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1344241395&sr=1-11

The Focus brand software is available on the rotating stands in W H Smith and PC World, and Maplin if you have one nearby.
They take the slightly older packages, and sell on again for a much reduced price.... really quite a bargain.

 

[Rabbit01]

Perhaps take a look at Google Sketchup. There's a gallery and you can see whether it suits your need. There's also a Pro version. I've only used it (free) briefly a while back. Relatively easy to use. There are some tutorial videos on that site also and those helped me with functions/tools I didn't know.

SolidEdge might be another option. You can try it for free for 45 days. I've only used the 2d version (free) so can't comment on that.

 

[Technochicken]

An (also free) alternative to Sketchup if you need to do solid modeling, rather than surface modeling like sketchup, is Autodesk 123D. Basically, it's like a cut down version of Autodesk Inventor Fusion, which comes with the full version of Inventor.

 

[ravisunny2]

[FONT=Calibri]You can download trial versions here[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]http://usa.autodesk.com/[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri]All these software have a fairly steep learning curve, unless you have already used some CAD software.[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri]A two days basic training won’t help much.[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri]For a cheaper look-alike, you can try these Intellicad based products[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]http://www.hhcadsales.com/home.htm[/FONT][FONT=Calibri] (Gstar Cad)[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri]http://www.progecad.us/ (progeCAD)[/FONT]