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Where can i get a decent cad program cheap?
- Thread starter Belstain
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 8, 1999
- Messages
- 103
Me too I want some info on a cool inexpensive cad program.
I emailed you both thanks for the help blade brothers.
Jim
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The warrior will endure great personal hardship in order to stand on a hill, howl at the moon, and proclaim his domain over all he surveys. Fredrick Lovert- Author
I emailed you both thanks for the help blade brothers.
Jim
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The warrior will endure great personal hardship in order to stand on a hill, howl at the moon, and proclaim his domain over all he surveys. Fredrick Lovert- Author
How usefule are CAD programs in knife design, and how hard is it to learn the program well enough to be able to design a good looking knife? Is this a good way to design fixed and folding blade knives, or is it overkill for fixed blades?
Let's put it this way, my school requires all engineering majors to own Autodesk's AutoCAD2000/Mechanical Desktop (at a VERY reduced price of course), would it be worth my time (I'm still trying to learn the ropes, ie. make A knife) to figure out how to use this program in knife design?
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-- Mark Ciampalio
Let's put it this way, my school requires all engineering majors to own Autodesk's AutoCAD2000/Mechanical Desktop (at a VERY reduced price of course), would it be worth my time (I'm still trying to learn the ropes, ie. make A knife) to figure out how to use this program in knife design?
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-- Mark Ciampalio
- Joined
- Jun 22, 1999
- Messages
- 67
Mark Ciampalio
I've been working with CAD programs for many years. I've been using Pro/Engineer in my consulting business for the last 6. I do think that CAD can be very useful for folders and even fixed blades. Some of the potential advantages are:
The ability to predict the center of mass of the finished knife.
The ability to move features like holes easily.
The ability to output directly in electronic form to many shops for services like laser or water jet cutting.
Easy scaleing of designs.
The ability to plot paper templates full size.
That said, there are some things that need to be evaluated in a package in order to judge its utility for designing knives. These include:
How easy is it to create part outlines that are not straight lines or arc sections? Can you easily create outlines that are "splines" or mathematical curves? Can these be modified easily (including adjusting a curve manually)? My first CAD designs were all lines and arc sections. None will likely ever be made. They are "clunky" compared with the stuff I've done more recently using splines. Pro/E has a lot of capability in using splines, but it's not as easy to use as some other programs. If you're going to make a lot of knives of one design, it's worth the effort. If I need to make one knife, based on someones sketch, I'll generally use the drawing board and french curves. I suspect that AutoCAD may prove similar. Some low end programs are simple in this regard. Some don't even have the capability.
How easy is it to manipulate and move parts in an assembly? If you move the blade slightly, can you easily display it in the open and closed positions? This can be important with folders when you need to adjust the pivot point, or locate a stop pin based on a blade's final position. If you can't do this, you may end up making paper templates and "noodleing" the pivot point position as described in the Lake/Centofante/Clay book on making folding knives.
There are probably many things I've forgotten on both sides of the balance sheet. I still think that the advantages outweigh the dis-advantages. The problem is that this stuff is never discussed on the outside of the software packaging.
Good Luck,
Bob Couture
I've been working with CAD programs for many years. I've been using Pro/Engineer in my consulting business for the last 6. I do think that CAD can be very useful for folders and even fixed blades. Some of the potential advantages are:
The ability to predict the center of mass of the finished knife.
The ability to move features like holes easily.
The ability to output directly in electronic form to many shops for services like laser or water jet cutting.
Easy scaleing of designs.
The ability to plot paper templates full size.
That said, there are some things that need to be evaluated in a package in order to judge its utility for designing knives. These include:
How easy is it to create part outlines that are not straight lines or arc sections? Can you easily create outlines that are "splines" or mathematical curves? Can these be modified easily (including adjusting a curve manually)? My first CAD designs were all lines and arc sections. None will likely ever be made. They are "clunky" compared with the stuff I've done more recently using splines. Pro/E has a lot of capability in using splines, but it's not as easy to use as some other programs. If you're going to make a lot of knives of one design, it's worth the effort. If I need to make one knife, based on someones sketch, I'll generally use the drawing board and french curves. I suspect that AutoCAD may prove similar. Some low end programs are simple in this regard. Some don't even have the capability.
How easy is it to manipulate and move parts in an assembly? If you move the blade slightly, can you easily display it in the open and closed positions? This can be important with folders when you need to adjust the pivot point, or locate a stop pin based on a blade's final position. If you can't do this, you may end up making paper templates and "noodleing" the pivot point position as described in the Lake/Centofante/Clay book on making folding knives.
There are probably many things I've forgotten on both sides of the balance sheet. I still think that the advantages outweigh the dis-advantages. The problem is that this stuff is never discussed on the outside of the software packaging.
Good Luck,
Bob Couture
- Joined
- Jun 22, 1999
- Messages
- 67
Belstain (and others)
Someone on The Firing Line forum has TurboCAD 4.0 3D CAD program for $20 (along with a bunch of other neat stuff including How to Make Knives by Barny & Loveless). The URL is:
http://www.thefiringline.com/NonCGI/Forum17/HTML/000873.html
I've used TurboCAD. It's worth its normal price of $100. For twenty bucks, it's a steal.
Good Luck,
Bob Couture
Someone on The Firing Line forum has TurboCAD 4.0 3D CAD program for $20 (along with a bunch of other neat stuff including How to Make Knives by Barny & Loveless). The URL is:
http://www.thefiringline.com/NonCGI/Forum17/HTML/000873.html
I've used TurboCAD. It's worth its normal price of $100. For twenty bucks, it's a steal.
Good Luck,
Bob Couture
- Joined
- Dec 14, 1998
- Messages
- 4,870
Otha
Autocad is great. I like the simple cad systems for ease of use. I DO NOT like living in the past using dos commands to do my work. Has 2000 change for the best ?
I have 14.1 What about a cam program with it?
I have just recieved a pro e demo I am trying for solids.. Looks easy..
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Web Site At www.infinet.com/~browzer/bldesmth.html
New Web at www.darrelralph.com
Autocad is great. I like the simple cad systems for ease of use. I DO NOT like living in the past using dos commands to do my work. Has 2000 change for the best ?
I have 14.1 What about a cam program with it?
I have just recieved a pro e demo I am trying for solids.. Looks easy..
------------------
Web Site At www.infinet.com/~browzer/bldesmth.html
New Web at www.darrelralph.com