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Software recommendation |
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marvins
Newbie Joined: 31.Jan.2017 Location: Canada Using: none Status: Offline Points: 2 |
Topic: Software recommendation Posted: 31.Jan.2017 at 20:58 |
Hi there,
I was wondering if there are some options for software which edits basic CAD 2D drawings. Our company does construction equipment rentals, and we'll need a user to be able to open a dwg file, and be able to insert our own dwg (blocks) into the drawing to plan where each piece of equipment goes. I'm assuming everything scales automatically? Free would be nice, but something not too costly? Thanks in advance.
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Robert_D
Senior Member Joined: 21.Oct.2013 Location: United States Using: BricsCAD v21, AutoCAD2006 Status: Offline Points: 207 |
Posted: 31.Jan.2017 at 23:50 |
Draftsight (free) is well respected.
(There are many other reasonably priced paid alternatives as well) "assuming everything scales automatically?" Not necessarily. Depends on the drawing units of the native dwg. Once you've taken time to tutor yourself in the basics of your CAD program's units, you should have no problem scaling either YOUR drawings, or the NATIVE drawing to make everything compatible. |
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John Connor
Senior Member Joined: 01.Feb.2011 Location: United States Using: AutoCAD 2018 Status: Offline Points: 7175 |
Posted: 01.Feb.2017 at 00:25 |
Were your blocks done in a 1:1 scale (i.e. - full size)? Draftsight is a free 2D CAD program by Dassault Systemes makers of Solidworks. There is also a Draftsight Pro version now but it will cost you. I'm not sure what the price is. Draftsight is an AutoCAD clone and is pretty similar to AutoCAD LT not full AutoCAD. The website where you download DS also has a Getting Started guide for new users and DS has an online forum for users to ask questions, get help and exchange ideas. |
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"Humans have a strength that cannot be measured. This is John Connor. If you are reading this, you are the resistance."
<<AutoCAD 2015>> |
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Vladimir Michl
Moderator Group Arkance Systems CZ Joined: 26.Jul.2007 Location: Czech Republic Using: Autodesk software Status: Offline Points: 2018 |
Posted: 01.Feb.2017 at 12:04 |
Unfortunately Draftsight does not read or write full DWGs (not 100% compatible files). So you may consider AutoCAD LT or AutoCAD Mobile (AutoCAD 360).
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Vladimir Michl (moderator)
Arkance Systems - arkance-systems.cz - Autodesk reseller |
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John Connor
Senior Member Joined: 01.Feb.2011 Location: United States Using: AutoCAD 2018 Status: Offline Points: 7175 |
Posted: 01.Feb.2017 at 12:17 |
Please clarify as that sounds like total BS to me. What is your definition of a "full" drawing? Maybe you were referring to the version of AutoCAD that Draftsight can read? It is a known fact Draftsight can read .dwg and .dxf versions as early as 2.5 and at least to 2010. Personally, I haven't tested it for the ability to read 2013 file formats but that would be immaterial to many users like the OP above. Addendum: Just tested. DS cannot open an AutoCAD drawing saved in 2013 file format. Re: Price of Draftsight Pro. It is being sold for $299 U.S. and that includes the first year subscription. To renew the subscription a yearly fee of $99 U.S. will be charged. For comparison, AutoCAD LT 2017 current sells for $360 for a single year license, $685 for a two year license, and $970 for a three year license. Edited by John Connor - 01.Feb.2017 at 12:37 |
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"Humans have a strength that cannot be measured. This is John Connor. If you are reading this, you are the resistance."
<<AutoCAD 2015>> |
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Vladimir Michl
Moderator Group Arkance Systems CZ Joined: 26.Jul.2007 Location: Czech Republic Using: Autodesk software Status: Offline Points: 2018 |
Posted: 01.Feb.2017 at 12:56 |
Draftsight and other "clones" (fakes) do not fully understand all DWG entities (read) and it does not create fully compatible DWG files (write). The use a .DWG extension, not DWG format. While it may be sufficient for simple drawings, there is a risk of losing information when a standard (genuine) DWG is processed (read and written) in Draftsight.
You can test it yourself with our older benchmark drawing - BUDWEISER.DWG - www.cadstudio.cz/budweiser |
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Vladimir Michl (moderator)
Arkance Systems - arkance-systems.cz - Autodesk reseller |
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John Connor
Senior Member Joined: 01.Feb.2011 Location: United States Using: AutoCAD 2018 Status: Offline Points: 7175 |
Posted: 01.Feb.2017 at 13:18 |
Most users are not going to experience that problem. I can open any 2D drawing I've created with AutoCAD using the latest version of Draftsight without the loss of information. These drawings can be site plans, P&ID's, PFD's, block diagrams, electrical schematics, architectural floor plans, elevations and sections as well as any tank fabrication drawings sent to us by outside vendors who also use AutoCAD. And if the drawings have been saved to 2013 file format I could, if I really needed (obviously I don't), use DWG Trueview to open and save the drawing to the 2010 file format and then open them. On the other hand I've had AutoCAD 2017 refuse to open drawings created using AutoCAD 2013 (one of the worst releases ever) yet I've been able to open the drawings using Draftsight. The drawings were saved to 2010 file format too. That got AutoDesk's attention when I sent them a sample file. To this day no one at AutoDesk has been able to come up with an explanation for the problem.
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"Humans have a strength that cannot be measured. This is John Connor. If you are reading this, you are the resistance."
<<AutoCAD 2015>> |
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Robert_D
Senior Member Joined: 21.Oct.2013 Location: United States Using: BricsCAD v21, AutoCAD2006 Status: Offline Points: 207 |
Posted: 01.Feb.2017 at 14:22 |
I'm confused. OP is asking for software options, but later poster qualifies only Autodesk products.
"They use a .DWG extension, not DWG format" Not true; they use dwg format. "Unfortunately Draftsight does not read or write full DWGs" Don't understand this either. If you're looking for "software which edits basic CAD 2D drawings." you should have no problems at all. I've been using one of the "fake / clones" for years. I've collaborated with dozens of associates around the world, and they with me (most I assume are using Autodesk) and I (or they) have never had an issue. PS: I DL'd the BUDWEISER.DWG and didn't see what the point is..everything appeared fine. Edited by Robert_D - 01.Feb.2017 at 14:25 |
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John Connor
Senior Member Joined: 01.Feb.2011 Location: United States Using: AutoCAD 2018 Status: Offline Points: 7175 |
Posted: 01.Feb.2017 at 14:38 |
I think Vlad is making reference to the Open Design Alliance and the various .DWG formats they have come up with. From one of the alliance's own reports...
Originating in the late 1970s, drawing files created with microcomputer based computer aided design software were saved with the .dwg extension. In the early 1980s, Autodesk® released AutoCAD® which eventually became the most used CAD software in the world and which used Autodesk’s undocumented and proprietary DWG™ file format (using the .dwg extension). The Open Design Specification for .dwg files serves AutoCAD’s undocumented and proprietary DWG file format. This specification includes DWG file format versions 13 up to and including version 2013. Further, the Open Design
Specification for .dwg files serves the Teigha® software development platform of the Open Design Alliance. While our Open Design Specification for .dwg files
is able to read and write .dwg files with excellent AutoCAD compatibility, we continue to work to
improve our understanding of all the data in a .dwg file. https://www.opendesign.com/files/guestdownloads/OpenDesign_Specification_for_.dwg_files.pdf Edited by John Connor - 01.Feb.2017 at 16:09 |
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"Humans have a strength that cannot be measured. This is John Connor. If you are reading this, you are the resistance."
<<AutoCAD 2015>> |
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Vladimir Michl
Moderator Group Arkance Systems CZ Joined: 26.Jul.2007 Location: Czech Republic Using: Autodesk software Status: Offline Points: 2018 |
Posted: 01.Feb.2017 at 21:51 |
We are dealing (support calls) with faked .DWG files quite frequently - they are causing various incompatibilities both in other "cloned" CAD software (each one uses its subvariant of the genuine DWG file format) and in AutoCAD itself. The Budweiser test shows some of the usual incompatibilities - if you open it in non-AutoCAD software, the test-case pairs (images) differ.
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Vladimir Michl (moderator)
Arkance Systems - arkance-systems.cz - Autodesk reseller |
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