Which CAD Software do you folks use?

Drafix Cad by Softdesk is a GUI Based Archetechtural/mechanical CAD. Easy to use and significantly cheaper than AutoCad
 
AutoCAD r14 w/ Architectural, Civil, Structural add-on's. No I'm not a knifemaker.

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JerryO
 
IMSI Turbocad V5 Professional version, what I like about it is I can sketch a knife by hand, scan and import to the program, and then trace the draing and make any changes on radia etc. The e-mail the drawing to the Water Jet cutting oufit and viola!

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www.simonichknives.com
 
Rob,

how are the drawing tools in TurboCad? I'm used to illustration programs like Adobe Illustrator where the drawing tools are really advanced and trying to draw anything with MocroStation 95 - yes. I bought the program and have the handbooks :-) - is like returning to the stoneage. I've had pretty good luck transfering the Illustrtor files onto a CAD platform for water jet cutting, but if I want to make a folding knife, I need to do the drawings in a cad program to start with.

Are you running TurboCad on a Windows platform? What kinda Windows do you use?

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www.wilkins-knives.com


 
Dont quite know how to answer that Kevin, its the only thing I have used. I get along with it well though. You can download a trial version from their website, www.imsi.com. I am running it on windows 95, it is 98 compatible. I am working on a folder with it now, one that I have scanned and imported and it is doing all right, I am trying it in 3D but I may give that up!
Brian, my program cost around $275, dont know what the others run but have seen quite a few under $100 but I think you get what you pay for......

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www.simonichknives.com
 
Hello Rob,

tried to acess that turbo CAD host but got a server error. Must be down I'll try and get the demo tomorrow.

BTW. That smooth contact wheel got it's first test this afternoon and I must say it's the cat's meow for grinding a nice smooth edge. I did my first D2 blade after having done 11 knives in CPM 420 V and maybe I'm just happy not to have been fighting that CPM steel. D2 grinds like butter in comparison and I think it cuts just about as well too...

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www.wilkins-knives.com


 
To answer the original question:
To me a knife is an organic thing so I use my brains and good old fashioned hand and eye coordination, pencil and paper! Never had the need for CAD.

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I use Autocad 14.1 and sometimes Delatcad.
If you have never used a Cad program before I suggest downloading Deltacad from their site, it's a shareware program, but you can purchase it for $39.95 for full features. Kevin, this program is a breeze to use and perfect for a beginner. Address is deltacad@dcad.com. Try it out, it's cheaper than ACAD and it will give you a good feel for using a CAD program. Good luck!
 
I use a program called Cadra. It's a great drafting program. I like it much better for mechanical design than Autocad (which I try to avoid but use on occasion). It is a more efficient program in my opinion.

The drawback is that it costs between $2500.00 to $4500.00. So it's not much of a home program.

I have been impressed by Turbocad and at about $100.00 or less, so much the better.

I will advise anybody to stay away from Autocad LT. I had it at one company I worked for and begged them to dump it, they did. I was less than impressed with it. Even tough it's an Autocad product it was severely lacking in functionality i.e. simple ordinary task's were very difficult to execute.

Chris
 
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