CAD design

[buggy man]

Hey guys, for my yr12 major metal work I'm making a new comp tray, I need to do a CAD drawing of it, I have tried with google sketch up but I was wondering what other people use for these quite detailed projects? And maybe sxampls? I'm starting a Tafe course in CAD next year but I was hoping to Get started on the drawings now .

[Rhett]

every thing i have ever built has been cad designed. i first give it a sweep, then try and find some chalk. then just draw ot up till i like the look. i try to do it in one to pne scale to get the full picture but sometimes i run out of shed space.

[Rhett]

we are talking concrete assisted drawing yer?

[buggy man]

Haha yep that's the way concrete assisted!! Haha yea I have to do hand drawings aswell as a CAD ill keep trying google sketchup and see how I go..

[JJBigWheels]

Hi Buggy man,

I use cad programs a lot and they are great but do take some time getting used to. Once you have mastered one its generally pretty easy to get the hang of others. You can download a student version of AutoCad at no cost but when you print it will have a watermark. Perfect for what you want as it is the full version with all features. TurboCad is an option as its very cheap and they may do a student version I'm not sure.

Bottom line is if you can draw to scale with ruler, compas etc you should be able to draw with cad..........

[buggy man]

Thanks heaps mate, ill have a look at those programs and have a bit of a play around.

[MikeH]

I use CAD a lot, I find 30 block beer cartons provide ideal material for designing brackets etc.