This may be an old topic but I'm new. My LHS sells Model Cad. Is this a good program or are there better ones with just the model airplane builder in mind? TIA

You're right this is a common topic around here. I suggest you experiment with the Search function (the button is in the golden colored command button strip in the header) and select this forum as the forum of search with model cad as the search term. You'll turn up lots of threads about Model CAD and other CAD's in the results.

Then come back if you need anything more. I'm not trying to sluff you off but it's all been said in so many ways before. Happy hunting.

That's really a tough question and has been hit on around here for a long time. What it really boils down to is that the program is only as good as the user of the program. ModelCad will produce good results as long as you the designer know the capabilities of the program. In other word you need to learn how to use the program to get your desired results. That statement reflects almost all CAD programs. I personally love Drawing Board, however it is no longer available as a commercial product. I like AutoCad2kI along with TotalCad and TurboCad. Simply the last on my list is Garden Designer however it could and has been used to design model airplanes.

So, if you purchase a CAD system be sure it fits YOUR needs by trying a couple of trial versions before you make a commitment.

I'm using Deltacad and I simply love it. You can download the trial version for 45 days and give it a try. I believe the full version is about $40. You can get more info at www.deltacad.com. Hope its warm and dry where you are.

In Christ,

Joel Chavez

Inventor myself, but that's beause I use it alsmost every day, along with Acad, and Mech desktop...

True, get it [cad package] that fit you, your intended work,a nd your budget. Most reputable ones have a 'trial period'

and ask questions!!

I suggest you shop by first deciding what product you want to end up with, then selecting the software that will accomplish it.

There are many of us who use CAD to produce visualization images, and to show our designs to people, but do not actually produce printed plans from the files, for example. If you want to produce (2D) drafting-style plans and patterns for laser cutting, that calls for a type of software for which AutoCad seems to be the industry standard.

If, on the other hand, you just want to dream up some designs, create some 3D renderings, show them to people, etc., then there are many choices. ( I use "Carrara Studio", which runs on PC or Mac. - Image attached )

Some of these will only run on either PC or Mac, so of course check that, too. Good luck.

Yep, modelcad is sitting in it's box under my desk.[&o] I continue to use Turbocad. That is just a personal choice. Get some demos of the cad programs you come across and play with them. And find some really good manuals to help out. That is the biggest time saver. CAD is a hobby all by itself.

A long while back I won a copy of model cad from the mfg at one of our club meeings here in OKC . Nice simple little program. has lots of things that could be done better. Mirror images for one thing are rough. Scaleing can be another and I have a LOT of problems trying to export the image to any other format.

Just picked up a copy of Turbocad for under $20. Will start playing with it in Mar.

I believe model cad addressed those issues in the latest version.

The Model Cad 2000 that I looked at looked great, had stuff I'd like to have. I still use Modelcad '95, and really like it. I have 2 versions of Turbocad including version 8, and don't really care for it...but it works fine for very many people. I find Model cad to be the easiest to use of the several that I've tried, except for Autosketch, but Autosketch lacks a lot of features. Modelcad '95 imports and exports .dxf files just fine, but not much else, don't know about the newest version. The only thing I'd like to have really, is the ability to add wood grain, or textures to my drawings, modelcad doesn't have that(at least not '95) and Turbocad does. One of the nice things about Model cad is if you click the right mouse button, it will automatically snap to the nearest point, you can still choose other point snap options. I don't have any problems with mirroring or scaling, don't know where that comes from.