I have just recently been through the process of comparing
several (many) different 3d CAD packages for hobby use with a CNC
mill. After buying a student version of PTC's Pro/Engineer
(AKA ProE, an otherwise $20,000 CAD program), I discovered that PTC
offers a FREE CAD program called Pro/Desktop Express (AKA ProD).
It is great! I had spent more than 20 hours going through the
tutorial for ProE, and got to the point of being able to enter designs,
but found the interface to be awkward, non-standard, and
inconsistent. I spent 3 hours with ProD and was designing with
some proficiency. It is intuitive, has many amazing features, and
most of all IT'S FREE! There is a pay version of the program,
but it doesn't really add much to the package. The free version is
essentially unlimited. I  prefer and use ProD even though I bought
a copy of ProE. ProD files will not be directly compatible with
any other CAD package, but it can import and export many formats
including .STL, .VRM, .DWG, and .DXF. Most CAD packages can
import/export one or more of these formats. I have attached an
image of a design I'm working on in ProD. You can get ProD at:

Thanks, Harrison. I've encountered this before. At previous jobs I've 
had the opportunity to work with Orcad and Protel, both of which are 
amazing (and expensive) schematic/PCB design applications. However, 
the student version of Circuitmaker is amazingly functional for 
a free application.

I'll check it out. My needs are fairly simple, I just don't want 
to impose on Paul for every visualization task I have (despite his 
apparent glee at 3D modeling things to help others understand things!)

By the way, does anybody know of a simple stress modeling tool for 
static loads? I don't care about vibration analysis and such, just 
simple strength-of-materials calculations. What do you all use for 
stress-modeling engine mounts and such?

Regards,
Chad

Rhino is quicker than MS Paint :)

I use the old fashioned graphical method. Any cad program will help
you out by giving "aligned dimensions".


Paul Lamar
 
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