Choosing CAD software

It is possible to use a wide range of different software on Windows based computers to produce Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings. The software available ranges in price from free software, to shareware software (often costing less than $100 when you register it), to $395.00 for IntelliCAD, an AutoCAD clone, solid modelling software (SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor) and finally to software that costs as much as $30,000 a seat requiring very powerful computer workstations in order to run it. 

CAD software available

There are many different CAD programs on the Australian market – AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, Caddsman, IntelliCAD, Design Cad 3D, TurboCAD, Qikdraw, Catia, Solidworks, IronCAD, MicroStation, MiniCAD, Foresight, LisCAD, WESCOM, Adobe Illustrator to name but a few. They all have various strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps the most important thing to note is that they mostly save their drawing file in their own particular file formats, variously called .DWG, .DGN, .CTA etc. Because the file format differs, moving data from one CAD program to another is not necessarily a trivial task, so you need to 'get it right' when making the choice.

If you are running a business, it is obviously important to make the correct choice of software. This article attempts to help you make an informed judgement?In Australia, there is no question that IntelliCAD and Autodesk’s AutoCAD software dominate the market. Our guess is that >80% of CAD files created in Australia use the  .DWG format. Let's discuss these CAD programs before attempting to choose a particular piece of software.

Costs - software saving files as dwg

IntelliCAD costs $A395, AutoCAD LT $2200 and the full version of AutoCAD ($6500). Rather obviously, one needs to know the limitations of each.

AutoCAD/IntelliCAD - what can they do?

AutoCAD and IntelliCAD software in their native form what are called are surface modellers. The figure below shows a typical 2D drawing produced using IntelliCAD.

Learn 2D drafting with AutoCAD or IntelliCAD

Here is a link to our eLearning web site where you can learn to produce models such as these. Choose the blue link alongside the 'Introduction to CAD - QuickStart CAD' course in the CAD group to view the syllabus.

Back to CAD software - what can it do in 3D?

This is a common question. When it comes to 3D work, AutoCAD and IntelliCAD these programs work in what is called a surface modelling mode. The figure below shows what one can do in IntelliCAD when you learn to model in 3D.

3D model created and rendered in IntelliCAD.

Models created in AutoCAD or IntelliCAD can be moved into other software for rendering, 'fly throughs' and 'walk arounds'. Here the model has been moved to Google SketchUp a modeller free for non-commercial use.

You should dismiss AutoCAD LT if you want to do 3D work. AutoCAD LT does not render 3D objects properly. The choice is between IntelliCAD at $395 and AutoCAD at $6500. Download a free trail copy of IntelliCAD from http://www.siacad.com.

Learning to draft in 3D

Here is a link to our eLearning web site where you can learn to produce models such as these. Choose the blue link alongside the 3d course in the CAD group.

Add-ons to CAD software

There are also a number specialty architectural and building CAD programs - some of these are 'add-ons' to the above CAD 'engines', while others are stand alone products. Examples of software of this type are: KarelCAD, DRCAuto, AutoPLAN, SmartArchitect, SIACAD and ArchiCAD, Form Z, etc.

  These add-on architectural CAD packages are sometimes sold by the developer to another company. When this happens, there is often a change of  name - AutoPLAN is, we believe, in this category, and has been sold to a Canadian firm and renamed.

Autodesk (the makers of AutoCAD) also produce two of its own architectural products - REVIT and AutoCAD Architect, but they use the AutoCAD engine. By that we mean that the underlying program is AutoCAD which you use to place lines, circles etc. but when it comes to (say) inserting a window in a wall and automatically cutting the wall as you do so, these add on program do just that. [The base CAD program can also do it, you just have to learn how - so we do not think that the extra expense incurred in buying these add-ons is justified].

  There is a strong possibility that only one of these (REVIT and Auto Architect) will survive in the market place.

An example

A set of 2D plans for a simple dwelling created using AutoCAD LT 2005. No add on tools were used, just the base program itself. These are plans in what is called model space. Paper space (or layout) is used when a 'proper' printed set of plans is required.

The same drawing in IntelliCAD. Although IntelliCAD will open most AutoCAD drawings without difficulty, you should not take it as axiomatic that this will always occur perfectly.

The very same set of plans can be viewed from above if the external walls are extruded.  No special 'add on' architectural software is required.

An architectural add-on in use in the IntelliCAD environment. This makes cutting in doors and windows very easy.

Some advice on choosing software

The first step is to decide exactly what it is that you want to achieve with your use of CAD software. It is important to write this down along the lines set out below:

"Our company needs a simple 2D CAD drafting tool to create shop drawings. We will not need to exchange drawings with any third party". 

or

"Our company needs a 2D drafting tool to create shop drawings. We will certainly need to exchange drawings with third parties and have a real need to export drawings to a laser cutting firm". 

or

"We are determined to work in 3 dimensions, but only require wire frame models of our designs. We wish to be able to generate 2D views directly from the model."

or

"We work closely with automotive manufacturers who use the solid modelling software package called CATIA. Any product that we choose must be able to generate solid models and accept CATIA drawing files from our clients."

Can you see that there are very many possibilities? You need to write these down and communicate the information to management!

Example 1

If for example, your company was a group of professional planners who wanted to generate and present concept plans quickly and easily so that clients could interpret planning proposals, the CAD tool that they might select should be strong in generating 2D drawings and have good presentation capability. The diagram below shows part of a plan created using CAD software that we believe is appropriate for a planner. This example consists of a base map (which was scanned from a street directory) with lines and text overlaying the base map produced by the CAD program. The drawing was constructed very quickly indeed because the drafter was relying on a lot of pre-existing information which was simply scanned in and acted as a back drop.

Although not used in the example above, we find the combination of aerial photographs of a site combined with vector information a particularly useful way of conveying information to non-technical people. 

It is possible to combine photographs taken with a digital camera with drawing data as shown below.

Our mythical company might want to dress their designs up with some interesting graphics. We find Adobe Illustrator an invaluable tool for this purpose.

Our firm needs to consider the output requirements

If our hypothetical planning firm needed to produce high quality reports on (say) an ISO size A3 sheet, then CAD software tool chosen might need to be combined with with an application such as Adobe's InDesign and PhotoShop to produce a result similar to that shown below.

So in this case, the company needed the right choice of CAD software and a number of software tools to satisfy their aims.

Example 2

A designer of industrial products would certainly have an entirely different set of criteria for selecting software in order to produce an image similar to that shown below.

Here the software might need to be capable of solid modelling and have built in ray-tracing facilities when rendering the image. It is likely that such software will be quite expensive. Some software of this type even requires the user to type in the dimensions of the design and when (and only when) enough dimensional information has been entered, the model is suddenly built.

Example 3 - architectural design drafting

If we were an architect and wanted to model our new company car (grin), we might model the new car using software with surface modelling capabilities, render it and superimpose the model onto a photo of the staff car park!

Wire frame image rendered and blended with a background photograph of our car park.

Summary

The choice of software is of course yours, but we cannot stress enough, the value of writing down your requirements and communicating this to management. The table below may assist in this.

Training

We are of course biased, but once you have chosen and installed your software, we believe that you need to be taught to use it correctly. Considerable increases in productivity can come if the software is utilized to its full potential. Visit our courses pages for more information. 

Flexible delivery

Many of our courses allow you to take them using our unique broadband or distance learning system - it's time and cost-efficient.