sharpshooter223

where can i get autoCAD? how much does it cost? how long does it last?

dolanosa

4 grand for the 2007 version. You can get it from autodesk. LT costs $800. While it is the grand daddy of PC CAD, it's really expensive IMO.

Eduardo Lander Jr.

in south america you can get a copy for a few bucks ...only $20 !!!

dolanosa

That's great! You can also get it in Greece for $29, Hong Kong for $15, and anywhere else in SE Asia for $2. It doesn't mean you should be doing it.

CoosBayLumber

My Feedback: (1)

The prices of Acad, are such because for once you become experienced in the use, well then you can get a JOB doing such work. Much like spend a few dollars on an illegal copy, and get back thousands at some engineering firm, instead of going to a trade school. This is one reason even older copies of Autocad are going for high dollars, for you can get back WAY more dollars after a few months than you invested. Sort of like personal banking and loans.

But, Autocad is different. In too many ways to mention here also. Essentially, there is Autodesk, and all the imitators, the CheapCADs, the Freeware versions. Your thought of using it for simple drafting, could also get you a job at some factory at a clean desk which the rest of the workers out there get dirty interpreting your drawings.

My thought is to obtain an older version, five, ten fifteen years old. Learn on that at home first. They still use the commands in current version as in past versions. So what you learn at home will work in that nice clean environment, enven though they use a newer version.

And Autocad is different in that they load on theirown versions of popular drivers to mate hardware in. Most everyone else uses simple Windows drivers. Thus on occasion, you cannot print our or plot out some drawing if it ever went through an Acad computer.

If you have to ask as to where to obtain a legal version of Acad, then you ahve not done much of a search yet. Try going to the telephone book and looking up local engineers and architects, see if they have an obsolete copy to sell. And illegal copied versions can not always be pulled up on to a legal computer due to version checking and serial number checking now in built. You may be stuck in thet what you create has to stay on that computer.

Wm.

mmattockx

Well put. As much as I dislike Autodesk (long story...), theft is theft and there are reasons why AutoCAD costs what it does.

The biggest one is that it is full blown, commercial/professional level software used in industry for real work. It is not a toy, not meant for hobby use or anything else. It is meant for building things that make money and cost money. The cheapo, copycat programs may draw as well, but generally they do not offer the dimensioning capabilities and other functions that are a requirement for industrial use. For home use, they are fine.

For what was asked, you can spend a few $$$ (only $20-$30 for some packages) and get all the functionality required. If you want to play with the big dogs, you get to pay $$$.


Mark

dolanosa

In our hobby, we really don't need the kind of power that AutoCAD has. If you can get an older version, even 2000, you will get all the power you need. Then again, CheapoCAD and other freeware is good enough, even better than enough. Where else but the web can you get free CAD, free DXF to G-code converters and free plans to CNC machines? Myself, I use an old version of IntelliCAD since it has the same feel as older AutoCAD versions. It does everything that I need it to do and more.

My $.02

Jim_Purcha

My Feedback: (8)

Check out this link:

http://www.solidedge.com/free2d/

carlosponti

My Feedback: (1)

turbocad is only 100 bucks or so last time i looked around.

Tall Paul

My AutoCAD is almost 20 years old.. It's incompatible with a Windows computer.
I use TurboCAD nowadays.
For modelling stuff, it has everything anyone should need.

dreadnaut

My Feedback: (5)

Register for a drafting class at your local community college, and you can get an ''educational license'' from Journeyed.com for about 300 bucks. If you want to work in architecture, or civil/structural engineering, it is the way to go. If all you want to do is design models, one of the products mentioned above may be a better choice. Journey ed also sells a special ''non-commercial'' copy of SolidWorks for about $350.

CoosBayLumber

My Feedback: (1)

I think was has been stated by others pretty well sets the claim, for I have used the other softwares as noted also. One thing I found was that there is zero help with non-Acad techies when you want to install a plotter. I just could never find any, but got more help and more possible configurations when Acad was mentioned, for it had been done before.

I also got one of those "So-called" freeware CAD softwares which claims to be 100% compatible to Acad. As you will notice, just about every CAD software claim to be compatible with in some way with the Autodesk product. They do not cite being interchangeable with any other software. Well I found out I could Import an Acad drawing, well about 40% of it. Long as it was on layer zero. And had zero XREFs, active INSERTS, and was not in paperspace. About 50 % of the text did not appear, and something about an O upset it, for none of them ever showed up. Then could play around with it all I wanted. However, you were stuck, for the export feature was flat not compatible with any Autodesk product I ever used. Good thing it was free, for I really would have complained if I had to pay more than $1 for it. A fellow here at RCU is still plugging the software. Wonder how he gets around all the error messages and items that do not show up.

Wm.

Helijack

The biggest difference to me between the TurboCad and the AutoCad is the latter has command line input and the former doesn't. I guess once you learn the general idea, it is all pretty similar.

sharpshooter223

well, my school has a drafting/engineering class, so senior year i will probably take that and get out of it what i can, plus my friend says the teacher let you play halo

1/2Aandbeyond

Sharp

Autodesk is going to ask for 1 leg 1 arm, and 2 of your children for anything they make. Have you looked into Craigslist or ebay. The bay is packed with cad progies. I wouldn't hesitate to grab it free from a friend. Not exactly the most ethical thing you ever did but you'll never go to jail over it. Software co's don't prosicute for possession of outdated material obtained for free. Distributing new stuff and collecting cash for it will land you in the big house for sure. Good luck.

CoosBayLumber

My Feedback: (1)

Well, the thing with most CAD software is that you tend to use the same dozen options over and over again. On occasion, you look for the manual as how to do this or that. Add in yet another 1/2 dozen things you learn then. Most of us use CAD for lines and text. The softwares are designed to be obsolete in 1/2 year, and they add options to which it takes more thought processing than iffn' you were to do it via hand. If you haven't notinced, the older Acad versions R-11/12 to R-14 even at ten years old are going for high dollars. For these were simplier designs, which work on obsolete computers, and use obsolete hardware. Perfect for home use, but I have seen vendors take advantage of this too. You may save lotsa dollars in obtained low cost compatible hardware, but they software sharkies just jack up the costs to compensate for the savings.

I preferr the older version for they had less options for special programming which I seldom use, and as they had fewer commands, the buttons were bigger. It is more speedy to swing that pointer over a visual button and take fifteen seconds to complete, than it is to dig out the manual, go through the index, get the term, find the page, and then use some shortcut. Buy a digitizer for $10, and plotter for less than $100 and you are going.

I wish that CAD companies would come up with an Autocad R-14 version, but with perhaps fewer shortcuts that seldom get used. Even Acad LT is loaded down with shortcut buttons now that you have to stop and aim the pointer. Bigger command buttons make for faster work with me than do shortcuts.

Oh, and as mentioned above I have Intellicad loaded up on the home computer too. It has problems. If you go straight and narrow, standard-wise then no problems. You can then go, go, go. Get fancy and suddenly ? Why? Why did it stop now?

Wm.

SoCal GliderGuider

AutoCAD is a love-hate relationship. One of the founders made a remark that AutoCAD is a "cosmic money making machine" in reference to it's always excessive pricing. This was in the late 80's.

As I own and use it every day I am one that has paid through the shorts for the ongoing updates. About $500 per year. I still use basically the same macros and lisp programs and menu enhancements that I used for version 2.6. The main reason that I update is that the large civil engineering and housing developers I get contract work from update regularly thus changing the drawing file format. Recently I'm being pressed to buy the bloated architectural and civil engineering add-ins. These cost as much individually as the core Acad program. Don't think I will.

I have run into a couple of housing developers that use DesignCAD. A real PITA to translate their drawings into Acad. They like the less than $900 per seat.

Should anyone have Acad 2.6 I sure would like a copy.

dreadnaut

My Feedback: (5)

I haven't been using it quite so long as you, but to paraphrase a popular book title''Everything I Need to Know About AutoCAD, I learned on Version 10''

The last REAL improvements (IMHO) came with ACAD 2000 (I am using 2000i at home, and 2005 at work). I like the multiple layout tabs, and the dynamic properties editing. Most of the other ''improvements'' are like the bigger fins they used to put on cars to make you buy new ones more often.

dolanosa

Heh, you're showing your age. I started with AutoCAD 4 and in college, the latest version was 9. Since then, different packages but not really ACAD. I guess that's why I like ICAD2K since it still has the old feel of ACAD. I do have to agree that there is nothing fancy in there...just the regular CAD stuff. I do miss NURBS and more advanced stuff but since I'm not an engineer anymore so I really can't justify the high cost in good CAD apps. I may need to take classes and get student versions but I fear they may be crippleware.

Betterfly

AutoCAD since V2.5 but for those who have a light pocket book a clone… BricsCad V7 Classic for $350 US or if you are a student $50 US

https://estore.bricscad.com/default.jsp?site=1

dolanosa

Gotta love the IntelliCAD consortium. Brics is also based on ICAD but they added their own bells and whistles. Looks good though.

dreadnaut

My Feedback: (5)

''Crippleware?'' Thats a new one on me. I like it, very appropriate.

My 2000i is an educational version I got when I was working for ''the technical institute that shall not be named''. I have not noticed any loss of functionality. It is crippleware only in that it is not upgradeable. Having said that, I have to say that it was an ''instructors copy''. The AutoDESK rep I got it from said that the only difference between it and the ''student version'' was the license agreement. (The student copy was a ''one seat'' license, and the instructor copy was a ''one user'' license. That meant I could put it my home PC, Laptop, and one work PC that only I had access to.)

AutoDESK has used several ''crippleware'' strategies. When I was a student, ACAD 10 was the standard version. The student version lacked much of the 3d capability. They still have a similar product, but now they have the gall to sell it for $800 bucks and call it ACAD LT. The latest I have seen involves ''renting'' the license. You pay $300 bucks for a program that turns into a pumpkin in a year, or less.

As far as pirate software is concerned. . . AutoDESK will not admit it, but they have greatly benefited from the proliferation of bootleg software. I make decent money doing ACAD for a living. I got good using a not so legal version of ACAD 12 to draw toy airplanes. AutoDESK owes much of their market share to the fact that there is a large labor pool of guys like me. I got licensed during a brief period of sanity when they offering full blown ACAD 2000 (not LT) for $850, and licensed copies to instructors for $150.

What should they charge for ACAD? They should charge what the market will bear. Should they offer it really cheep to non-commercial users, student or not? If they're smart, absolutely.