CAD programs

Dan E

My company is having more call to produce tubing layout on CAD plan sets. Is there a reasonably priced program that would allow me to download a plan set sent as an attachment on E mail, add a tubing layout to the floor plan and send that revision back? The last plan sent to me has a "dwg" suffix and I can't even figure out how to open it, let alone add anything to it. I'm sure this says more about my computer illiteracy than it does about the program, never the less, it would be great if I could have a program that allowed me to create a library of often used symbols and layouts that could drag & click to a plan set. Is "AutoCAD Light" my only option? Thanks in advance for any input.

Aidan (UK)

Autocad LT

The .dwg suffix indicates the file is an AutoCad drawing file. There are other programs which can access these files, TurboCad for instance, but I've no experience of these and can't comment.

I think you'd find AutoCad LT a good investment. You could soon accumulate a library of symbols from every drawing you receive or produce.

Unknown

Cad Programs

If you are looking for programs that will allow you to create commonly used symbols, TurboCad from IMSI and Visio from Microsoft are both excellent programs. You can download a free trial version of TurboCad at www.turbocad.com. I have been using it for about 12 years and love it! It honors .dwg, .dxf, .bmp and numerous other formats. I do all of my drawings for the seminars I conduct with this. Here is a sample.

Glenn Stanton

Burnham Corp.

Unknown

Cad Programs

If you are looking for more affordable and extremely user-friendly Cad programs that allow you to create and library your commonly used symbols, TurboCad from IMSI and Microsoft Visio are both good choices. I have been using TurboCad for over 12 years now and create all of the mages that I use in my Training Seminars with it. You can download a fully operational trial version at www.turbocad.com and see for yourself before spending the money. TurboCad honors .dwg, .dxf, .bmp and many other formats.Here is a sample of a drawing created with TurboCad and saved in .jpg format with Paint Shop Pro.

Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Corp.

Tom Anderson

Auto Cad is perhaps the most commonly used drawing program in the industry. However, even using Autocad Light, you will find it a difficult program to learn. A lot of effort is required just to do very simple drawings. A long steep learning curve.

Unless you plan to use it a lot and frequently, stick with one of the other programs suggested, such as Visio or other. They allow you to draw in that programs respective format, then convert the format to autocad .dwg should you wish to give the drawing to another party.