Looking for free online CAD software suitable for knife-design..

James Sass

James Sass

Joined
Aug 28, 1999
Messages
519
Anyone used any of the free CAD software for knife design? I would be interested in over the counter software too....sick of using paper pencil and erasers....!

Looking for input from anyone using CAD for knife design.

Please post links if you have them.

Thanks in advance.
 
Donno what to get but I can tell ya what NOT to get. AUTOCAD 2000 is bad for 3D handles and such. On 2D mode its fine. Although a little hard to draw curves.
 
Well, they are all gonna take some practice to get decent with them. I have been using Solid Edge to play around with some designs and haven't had much trouble with it, but it wasn't a free one. They have used it to do quite a bit of engineering work around here, or so I am told.

I have also seen some decent work done in this one, http://www.rhino3d.com./ , but have yet to play with it myself. It is a free trial, but you eventually have to buy a copy.
 
Thanks for the input>

Wow $750.00, thats a little more than I need. Looks good though.

Just something simple, no frills, easy to use. Knives with no moving parts. Anyone tried the freeware out there? It takes forever to download, install, and evaluate each one. Just wondering if someone has already found a good one.

PS: Im running Windows ME.
 
I use AutoCAD 2000. Its a very intimidating software. DDR swears by BobCAD, I will be trying it out. I am also playing with SurfaceCAM and designer add-on.
 
Sorry about the price thing, guess I'm used to the nice discount I get cause of college. I think the Solid Edge runs about that too, but it was for a class and I got the nice discount.

I think just about any software that is primariliy set up for 3-D modeling should work for drawing non moving knives. It will probably take a bit to learn though.
 
I'm using QuickCAD, cheap and cheerful, well featured 2D program for the money (I think it runs about $35 over there).
 
hello there,
3-D modeling will take practice and it is difficult even with a user manual. I use 4 different types of software at work but I primarily do 2-D civil engineering drawings.
For 2-D plan drawings, any inexpensive CAD software from your local computer store should be fine for knife design. QuickCad or something like that should work. For a little more cash, AutoCad LT would work nicely and drawing tangent arcs is fairly easy with this software.
woody

[This message has been edited by woody (edited 03-01-2001).]
 
Thanks guys for the input. Feedback saves time and money that can be devoted to more important things. Much appreciated!
 
I'm tinkering around with CADVance...they have a freeware demo that seems to be pretty useful...unfortunately I'm having trouble with getting my scaling right...

Last blade I designed with it came out just a tad over 425' long...illegal in most jurisdictions (qualifies as illegal under the SALT Treaties...)!!!

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Vaya con Queso!!!
 
Actually I was looking for the same thing - so I just did a search and downloaded the free version of Design Workshop. The link is http://www.artifice.com/ you can buy the CD for as little of $9-95 if you don't want to download for free.

Sorry I don't know if it's any good - but it had good reviews from other sites, so give it a whirl!

I'm sure there's a learning curve, but it could be the start of a new career
smile.gif
(dreaming of becoming a knife designer and making lots of money! hmm.....)
 
I have been using IntelliCAD 2000 at work. It is pretty good, 2D only, 37 Mb FREE download from www.download.com, no time limit, full version. This package works just like AutoCAD Lt, haven't tried using CAD for knife design yet.

I have AutoCAD 14 and MechDesktop3, and they do solid models but I own that I cannot see the point for hobby making. It is so easy to sketch knives by hand, then make a model from foam and balsa-wood. That way you know how it will feel.

CAD takes a long while to learn for 3D solids and few packages like complex 3D curved surfaces, but I guess for folders it would be good.

Good luck with it.

Chris
 
I haven't downloaded anything off of it yet but I know there's a site called www.freeware.com that you can find a lot of free CAD stuff. If you find a good one please post about which one you found I'd like to try one out.
 
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