I thought this might be useful for our contractor Eric since he was talking about getting a 3d drafting package of some sort. Hard to beat free to start… 🙂
3D for EveryoneDeveloped for the conceptual stages of design, SketchUp is powerful yet easy-to-learn 3D software. We think of it as the pencil of digital design. This award-winning software combines a simple, yet robust tool-set that streamlines and simplifies 3D design inside your computer. SketchUp is being used by anyone with the desire to…
2 responses to “SketchUp Home – Google releases free 3d software for Mac and PC”
Unfortunately, SketchUp is totally proprietary, Closed Source. Why not use Blender? It’s GNU free! http://blender.org/— for CAD/CAM stuff you’ll want to use the CAD scripts for blender. That said, the blenderCAD project has stalled for the moment— and the CAD stuff isn’t quite there, but several people use blender for architectural renderings.
TurboCAD is a good CAD system to look at which has the ability to import SketchUp drawings. There is also the added advantage that Renditioner brings to SketchUp transferring bland images into high res images. I represent TurboCAD for the UK market giving training, running exhibitions, answering questions, anything that’s needed. I find that TurboCAD sells well into markets where Solid Works has been before, but where the users are looking for a less expensive solution. It is often the case that many CAD users simply do not need the functionality that is delivered by Solidworks. If you do indeed need it then that’s all there is to it, but if you don’t then TurboCAD gives you the opportunity to save a few thousand. Many of my customers are active retired people who can not justify the cost of Solid Works, but are still involved in engineering projects, or the engineer that needs a professional package for home use.