Woodworking Softward

[Charlie Woody]

I found Petermillard's post about workflow - workflow-picture-heavy-t66087.html - very useful and was amazed how he has used tablet computer software to increase his productivity and professional image.

In particular the floor planner and 2D drawing software that he mentions seems very useful.

I have found that Sketchup is too difficult to learn as I do not use it often enough, so I keep forgetting how to do things and then have to relearn

Can anybody recommend something similar for PCs please?

 

[Myfordman]

I use M$ Visio which is part of an old M$office suite of software that I have on my machines.
http://visio.microsoft.com/en-us/preview/default.aspx
It is fairly easy to use and does most of what I want in 2D drawing
It has built in templates for dimensioning which are handy.
The version I have, Visio 2000, defaults to imperial for new documents but I keep a '1:1 metric A4 blank' from which I start new drawings.
It will create DXF files if needed to feed into CAM packages.
I have a friend with a big CNC router and it is easy to make files that he can read and cut panels for me.

Years ago there used to be a package for Macs called McDraw which was ideal. This was written by Claris who did port it onto PC up to version 1.0 but it is no longer available and Claris as a company seem to have disappeared.

 

[Charlie Woody]

I use M$ Visio which is part of an old M$office suite of software that I have on my machines.
http://visio.microsoft.com/en-us/preview/default.aspx
It is fairly easy to use and does most of what I want in 2D drawing
It has built in templates for dimensioning which are handy.
The version I have, Visio 2000, defaults to imperial for new documents but I keep a '1:1 metric A4 blank' from which I start new drawings.
It will create DXF files if needed to feed into CAM packages.
I have a friend with a big CNC router and it is easy to make files that he can read and cut panels for me.

Years ago there used to be a package for Macs called McDraw which was ideal. This was written by Claris who did port it onto PC up to version 1.0 but it is no longer available and Claris as a company seem to have disappeared.

Thanks for the link. Seems they are now on 2013 version and my PC fails the system requirements! It also does not appear to have a free version, which is why I tried Sketchup originally.

I wonder if there are still any 2D drawing packages that are free .... wonder what others use?

 

[Shultzy]

I have found that Sketchup is too difficult to learn as I do not use it often enough, so I keep forgetting how to do things and then have to relearn

Isn't this going to be a problem with any software you use? In fact any process from using Sketchup to cutting a mortice needs to be done regularly in order to "remember" the process. Try this site which has Sketchup Podcasts, Videos, Education, News, Tutorials, and Classes.

http://www.go-2-school.com/podcasts

 

[Charlie Woody]

I have found that Sketchup is too difficult to learn as I do not use it often enough, so I keep forgetting how to do things and then have to relearn

Isn't this going to be a problem with any software you use? In fact any process from using Sketchup to cutting a mortice needs to be done regularly in order to "remember" the process. Try this site which has Sketchup Podcasts, Videos, Education, News, Tutorials, and Classes.

http://www.go-2-school.com/podcasts

Thanks for the link. You may be right. However from petermillard's comments the 2D programme he uses sounds easier. As usual I may be wrong :lol:

 

[CraigyCraigo]

I'm sure there are some version of autocad lite now which are free....... thats as good as it gets for 2d draughting

 

[Myfordman]

Charlie, The original thread lists all the software used so why not follow that same path?

 

[marcros]

the original software was apps for ipdad/iphone i think.

 

[Charlie Woody]

Charlie, The original thread lists all the software used so why not follow that same path?

Yes it does but as Marcros points out I am looking for PC versions, not ipad which is what petermillard uses.

 

[Myfordman]

Sorry all. I missed the platform issue in the OP

 

[petermillard]

I wonder if there are still any 2D drawing packages that are free ....

Hey Charlie

A quick Google search threw up this web page which lists 'five free alternatives to MS Visio' - it's about a year old now, but may be a decent starting point? Otherwise I think CorelDraw was a popular drawing package on the PC - these companies often make older versions available as a free download to encourage users to upgrade to the full bells & whistles versions; might be worth a quick Google??

FWIW I tried a couple of free CAD-type packages as well, and they were all far too complex for my simple needs - anything that wants me to input X,Y co-ordinates just to draw a line is a non-starter for me, personally! One very useful thing to look out for is the ability to work to scale - not sure if Visio and alternatives will do this?

Cheers, Pete.