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CAD Progams, Whats everyone using?

gotblazers

gotblazers

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We've got alot of creative members here and Several members here have some pretty intricate cages,bumpers and other tubing products that Im sure computer aided Drafting came into play for so im wondering what everyone is using?

After some research i found this to be to my liking
http://www.alibre.com/products/hobby/default.asp

Its really cool and in the free trial i was able to pick it up to the point i was competent enough to start playing with cage designs within a little over 10 hours of watching tutorials and practicing. But before i shell out the money im wondering if anyone knows of anything better in terms of price/capabilities or both. My Step dad has been a machinist for 30 years or so and my friends dad has a mill/precision lathe in his garage and hes a bit of a 4x4 enthusiast :woot:. Unfortunately all of there software is for cutting and not as much for tubing designs.
 
I use AutoCAD, MasterCAM and Solidworks. I tend to lean more towards Solidworks at this point though since that's where the bulk of my experience is. Just depends on what I'm making.
 
Avery4jc said:
I use AutoCAD, MasterCAM and Solidworks. I tend to lean more towards Solidworks at this point though since that's where the bulk of my experience is. Just depends on what I'm making.
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You use 3 :eek1: ,jeez i thought one was hard enough lol. How much did each one cost because looking around CAD programs can get expensive in a big hurry. Its starting to seem like to some extent they all do the same job and its just a matter of which one you prefer or am i way off there? :dunno: How do the 3 differ between eachother in capability or do they?
 
Are you looking to build a cage for your rig? I have Bend Tech EZ3D which is a software program especially designed for roll cage design/building.
 
4X4HIGH said:
Are you looking to build a cage for your rig? I have Bend Tech EZ3D which is a software program especially designed for roll cage design/building.
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Im thinking of building a tubing frame/cage out of the 76 and Turning it into a buggy at some point in the next 6-18 months. I really dont know what else to do with my 76 its crap for a DD and its not worth anything but i wanna keep it around because its the first rig i ever wheeled in and got alotta good memories with it. Got a job interview with goodyear tires tomorrow :woot:so i might even be able to afford all this **** i dream up :popcorn:

In even cooler news my grandpa gave me my first welding lesson on a old lincoln 225 amp arc welder and i didnt completely suck :D. Even better is he has offered to let me borrow it for any projects i need to do since hes around 80 or so now and doesnt use it anymore. And i might have a full shop to work in, a close friend of mine had his grandpa pass away a while ago and they have a huge back yard with a barn. In this barn is a full woodshop room and next to it a full auto shop with spare parts/tools/gaskets/drill press etc... surrounding a open middle area where a suburban could fit. 2 huge barn doors open up to drive a car in. So im having him ask his grandma (who he lives with) if i could use it for such a project because its sitting rotting away right now and i dont think his grandpa woulda liked that.
 
gotblazers said:
We've got alot of creative members here and Several members here have some pretty intricate cages,bumpers and other tubing products that Im sure computer aided Drafting came into play for so im wondering what everyone is using?

After some research i found this to be to my liking
http://www.alibre.com/products/hobby/default.asp

Its really cool and in the free trial i was able to pick it up to the point i was competent enough to start playing with cage designs within a little over 10 hours of watching tutorials and practicing. But before i shell out the money im wondering if anyone knows of anything better in terms of price/capabilities or both. My Step dad has been a machinist for 30 years or so and my friends dad has a mill/precision lathe in his garage and hes a bit of a 4x4 enthusiast :woot:. Unfortunately all of there software is for cutting and not as much for tubing designs.
Click to expand...


This is the program I use. I like it. Will ugrade when I get the extra cash.
 
The version you prob have now is a trial version of their expert program. After 30 days it goes to a limitied version. can only save so many parts. You can ugrade for 100 bucks where you can save as many parts as u want.
 
bronc3buster842001 said:
The version you prob have now is a trial version of their expert program. After 30 days it goes to a limitied version. can only save so many parts. You can ugrade for 100 bucks where you can save as many parts as u want.
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im in a different boat now when i open the program it wont do anything and it gives me a link to register it as a trial priviliges permanently but i forgot my log in info so i had them resend me it and it says ''there is a problem with your acct'' and they want me to call them to reactivate it blehhh. I can actually afford to buy the home version right now so if you dont mind id like to pick your brain a little bit

Im curious as to what your experience with this program is and by that i mean
1.what do you think its capabilitys are starting by asking what have you done with it?.
2.Do you you think that the software would be able to design a full tubing chassis/cage/bumpers/boatsides and things of the sort?
3.Also since i have access to two very experienced machinist would i be able to show them a piece and have them cut it out or would this program suit me poorly in that regard?
4.Can the software give you a list of all the material needed and Does it account for bends in different wall tubings at different degrees?
 
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gotblazers said:
im in a different boat now when i open the program it wont do anything and it gives me a link to register it as a trial priviliges permanently but i forgot my log in info so i had them resend me it and it says ''there is a problem with your acct'' and they want me to call them to reactivate it blehhh. I can actually afford to buy the home version right now so if you dont mind id like to pick your brain a little bit

Im curious though what is your experience with this program and by that i mean
1.what do you think its capabilitys are starting by asking what have you done with it?.
2.Do you you think that the software would be able to design a full tubing chassis/cage/bumpers/boatsides and things of the sort?
3.Also since i have access to two very experienced machinist would i be able to show them a piece and have them cut it out or would this program suit me poorly in that regard?
4.Can the software give you a list of all the material needed and Does it account for bends in different wall tubings at different degrees?
Click to expand...


I havent did much with it. Done a bumper,a few bolts, a header flange and a header collector.

People have done buggies and cages. So ya I think one can do it.

The last 2 I ain't much help on. Only thing bad about the home edition is you can't import or export files.

Here is a list of what you can and cant do. http://www.alibre.com/products/hobby/features.asp

Then if you have any more questions have a look here. http://forum.alibre.com/
 
bronc3buster842001 said:
I havent did much with it. Done a bumper,a few bolts, a header flange and a header collector.

People have done buggies and cages. So ya I think one can do it.

The last 2 I ain't much help on. Only thing bad about the home edition is you can't import or export files.

Here is a list of what you can and cant do. http://www.alibre.com/products/hobby/features.asp

Then if you have any more questions have a look here. http://forum.alibre.com/
Click to expand...

i probably shoulda found those myself :doah:. I really appreciate it though im going to give it a hard look over and i think i may be buying it tonight or tomorrow depending on what i see.
 
gotblazers said:
You use 3 :eek1: ,jeez i thought one was hard enough lol. How much did each one cost because looking around CAD programs can get expensive in a big hurry. Its starting to seem like to some extent they all do the same job and its just a matter of which one you prefer or am i way off there? :dunno: How do the 3 differ between eachother in capability or do they?
Click to expand...

Those are the three I use for school so I get a copy of each while I'm in school. Like 4x4high said Bend Tech is probably your best bet for a dedicated tube CAD program.
 
I have used Microstation (V4, V5), AutoCAD (R14, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2010), SolidEdge, Inventor (V4, V5), and Solidworks (2006,2009). Currently I use AutoCAD 2010 and Soldiworks 2009 for current projects. If you are still a student, look up the prices of student licensed copies of AutoCAD or Solidworks. You can get them very cheap compared to the normal license ($1000+).

Solidworks is great for visualizing the parts your working on. You can even model your truck in there if you have the time... then again, you may be able to find a model someone else did to download too.
 
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