j-malotky Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 I must be the old timer AutoCAD user here. I use to run it on a Sun box. Then of course in WinNT later on. I think it was ver 2.1. I still use a copy of R14 to do some design work with. My friend Vince, who is a lurker here for a while now is the Midwest Archetectural sales rep for AutoDesk. Maybe this thread will get him to join in the Forum. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 Fini I was a auto tech and now they are putting me through school right now for Mechanical design. I started with auto cad, it doesn't take a very strong computor it all. My laptop runs it fine. Look ahead in the program because most will not run auto cad only. We have moved on to ProE and that requires a much more powerfull computer. When dealing with WC they will only buy you one computer so make sure you get the most powerfull you can justifie. I had to do the samething. I showed them what I will need to run proe. Auto Cad is easy and you will pick it up fast. The guy that used to sit next to me in the class never even turn a computer on before. He is fluid in it now. You can do a lot more fun stuff and 3D in programs like solid works or Pro E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 I've been running AutoCAD (2D stuff) since Version 1 (Yikes!)and now I'm doing Mechanical Engineering design with ProEngineer. AutoCAD will never match the ease of other 3D CAD packages but no one will ever match the simplicity and functionality of AutoCAD. AutoCAD is the McDonalds of CAD systems and it seems to be that no matter what company I move to, they always have a high dollar CAD system(ProE, SolidWorks, CAEDS, etc)........and AutoCAD. It's just too simple and convenient NOT to have around. It's a very intuitive software package that once you learn it....it will stay with you forever. If you want to draw a line, you simply type "l" and it's ready to draw a line. If you want to draw a circle.....you guessed it...."c". It's powerful enough to do lots of things around the house and in business. I have my own liscensed version of AutoCAD LT which is their "2D only" package and I do more house plans and workbenches and (wife's)room layouts and so on! The architectural world seems to love it as well becuase the "rendering" packages can now make a technical drawing/building look like a photograph and it's realtively easy to do. If your an engineer.....take ProE or Solidworks(and AutoCAD).... If your a technician or going into architecture....take AutoCAD.....You won't regret it! It's so easy it's fun! That's my soap box! I'll get off now and let somebody else have at it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 endover what are all the differences between full blown autocad and autocad lt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 Auto Cad lt is a learning and teaching tool. It does not have every little thing in it. You get most of the stuff that you will ever need for home use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtDark Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 ---------------- On 5/6/2004 3:37:27 PM easylistener wrote: Auto Cad lt is a learning and teaching tool. ---------------- But not exclusively, it is sufficient for all our technical 2D drafts at work. Not that we are super high-tech or anything, just trying to say that it is still professionally acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschfoot Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 ---------------- On 5/6/2004 1:26:50 PM j-malotky wrote: I must be the old timer AutoCAD user here. I use to run it on a Sun box. ---------------- You are not alone. I once worked for a company that had it on Apollo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 I'd like to point out that taking a class is better than the best of home study. Usually you get some sort of certificate. Probably an employer would like to see the certificate on a resume. Gee, if a WC employer is paying for this you've got a heck of an opportunity of which you must take advantange. It is like free money. Plus it is free money which will make you more money in the future. You can't beat that. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 For 90% of the techy homeowners, AutoCAD LT is totally acceptable for its 2D capability. It's very powerful for it's price and as I stated in my earlier thread.....EVERYBODY has it so file compatibility is a no-brainer. It's also designed to be able to view drawings from most other AutoCAD packages which means you can at least view (if not work on) drawings from full blown versions. It's designed for "whippin out a design". One letter commands are perfect! When you start using it, you will use the pull down's a lot. When you've got a few hundred hours on it, you'll start to keep your right hand on your mouse(if your right handed) and learn to type one-letter commands with your left hand. You can FLY! The full blown AutoCAD's will do pretty close to the same thing but you have to go in and set it up that way. The full blown AutoCAD also has many splining capabilities (which are sort of like "free-form" curves). If you work at a company, purchase the full blown....but if you just plan on doing stuff at your house....see if you can find a previous version of AutoCAD LT to buy at a reduced price. I'm still using my AutoCAD LT that I purchased back in 1996 and it works great for everything at the house. I've now purchased a student version of ProEngineer(when I was taking that class in college) that I can do 3D designs on my workbenches or other stuff like that at the house but I still can't beat the ease of 2D design of AutoCAD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygmn Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 First take a drafting class.....one that teaches ya how by hand.....this is important so that you can learn the basics of mechanical and architectural drafting.... then learn how to apply those skills using AutoCAD.. I have hired many draftsman.,....that knew how to operate AutoCAD...but knew nothing about drafting...so they would not put good dimensions on a drawing where someone could build it from.... AutoCAD is a tool.....and Drafting is an ART....Knowing how to Draft is more important then AutoCAD..... AutoCAD is just like a wrod proccessor....just cause you know how to use it does not make one an writer hehehehe Good luck.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 Hey fini - I work for an aerospace company and while I don't do grunt design work, I am familiar with some of the so-called CAD (computer aided design) softwares out there. Here, we use CATIA which is a proprietary CAD software developed by Dassault Aerospace. I mention this because I'm not sure what you intend to do with your AutoCAD training, but I'd like to pass along a humble suggestion. Since you live in California and there's a sizeable aerospace business there, after you get through your AutoCAD training, you may want to move to CATIA. Most of the major aerospace companies, as well as their suppliers, use CATIA. Currently most CATIA users are running Sun or IBM work stations for version 4, but there's a new CATIA version 5 that's meant to run in a Windows PC enviroment. In fact, we're probably going to implement version 5 here. But I digress.... My point is just to make you aware of an option for your new second career. Good luck!! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted May 27, 2004 Author Share Posted May 27, 2004 Thanks all for the encouragement! Last night I went ahead and ordered a Dell (, Dude)! It's a Dimension 8300, and here's how I'm having it built: P4 3GHz processor w/"Hyperthreading" (my wife should like this...she sews) XP Home OS 512MB memory 120GB 7200RPM HD 3.5" floppy Dual drives: 16x DVD-ROM & 8x DVD+RW 128MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Graphics card w/ TV out and DVI Sound Blaster Audigy2 sound card (the salesman was REAL surprised when I did NOT order speakers...) standard keyboard, mouse, etc. Free shipping, etc. brought the CPU to $1210 w/ tax. I'm going to buy the CRT locally, leaning toward a 19" Samsung SyncMaster 957MB (around $300), although I haven't had a chance to go look at one. It's got a 0.20 dot pitch... So, how'd I do? I thought everyone here would chide me if I didn't get a souped-up sound card. I am not into gaming, but what else audio-wise is this Audigy2 good for? What am I going to need in terms of speakers? Is there a way to use home speakers with this set-up? I don't think I'd be into the full 5.1 w/sub deal, more like a pair of full-rangers (or tie it into the home system?). BTW, this will be MY COMPUTER, not the family computer, so I will be the only one screwing it up... Oh, almost forgot...Is there a way to "network" a Mac with this computer? Really, what I'd like to do is keep them apart, but have access to the internet (via Comcast cable) with both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Speaker Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 As far as being a cad, don't you have that covered fini? P.S. Congratulations on the Dell. I've had one for almost 7 years, it's still going strong and easy to upgrade and the Dell support is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted May 27, 2004 Author Share Posted May 27, 2004 I'm finding it difficult to locate the Samsung locally. I may have to order online after all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Fini, I recommend the following upgrades: 1) Windows XP Pro. 2) A graphic card with at least 256MB of DDR. 3) Get a flat screen monitor not LCD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erdric Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hi Fini. I'm an architect and have been using AutoCAD since release 13. It's relatively easy to learn the basics of AutoCAD so don't sweat what I say next. It's a very, very deep software and after using it for many years I can tell you that there are still a lot of commands and techniques I don't know. AutoCAD has about 5 different ways to do everything and that's not including the scripts and routines that we've written to improve efficiency. Of those many years, I spent only about 2 really exploring the program and learning new ways of drafting. The rest was spent learning and refining ways to manage drawings, working with blocks, xrefs, viewports, model and paperspace, etc. WRT the basics, most people have the hardest time learning and understanding scale within the files and how model space and paper space interact. Once you get through that it's pretty easy. As for 3D, AutoCAD will get the job done but there are other programs that get used instead. Desktop, 3D Studio, Viz, SolidWorks, etc. I've not used them so I can't give any advice. One last thing, you have to use it or lose it. I'm moving away from drafting into construction administration and it's shocking how quickly you forget some of the less frequently used commands. If you end up with AutoCAD and have questions, feel free to shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted May 27, 2004 Author Share Posted May 27, 2004 Neo33, Thanks for the tips, I think I will stick with the current configuration and see how that goes for a bit. BTW, the Samsung I'm looking for is a flat-screen CRT (recommended by the school, too). erdric, I will be learning Architectural Desktop as well. Sounds like a fun program, actually. I'm thinking my extensive on-the-job experience as a journeyman carpenter (with a BA in Art), combined with this training, should make me fairly marketable. I am considering pre-training offers... Thanks for the offer to help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 i run autocad 2004 with a 32 meg nvidia gts card just fine, my high school used 16 meg cards just fine. Unless your project is huge or small (meaning detailed) you shouldn't go and buy a new graphics card Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 ---------------- On 5/27/2004 11:18:45 PM Jay481985 wrote: i run autocad 2004 with a 32 meg nvidia gts card just fine, my high school used 16 meg cards just fine. Unless your project is huge or small (meaning detailed) you shouldn't go and buy a new graphics card ---------------- My autocad experience has all been with lesser video cards as well... from 8MB with Autocad 14 to the fastest being my current Radeon 9200 128MB with Autocad 2000. Never had a video card bottleneck so I wouldn't worry. Fini, your machine is actually similar to my current DIY box... so I think you'll enjoy screwing it up, and burning DVD coasters (the blueish tint is quite nice... and blends well with my decor ) I've purchased quite a few Samsung screens (mostly the older 955DF) for the office, personal, my GF's business, etc... and find they offer an excellent value for the $. I recently had one screen nearing the end of its guaranty period that could no longer focus correctly. Samsung agree to replace it with a refurbished unit directly at office, very painless, and no DOWN time. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again. BTW, there was no 957 model at the time. Later... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaDude Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 If your considering any type of networking, you should get XP Pro instead of the home version... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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