Hi all,I am very new to CAD. I am looking for a new skill to learn and I think CAD would be a great asset to my skill set. That said, I have been looking at which program to learn on. I want one that is used widely and translates easily to other programs. Also I would like it to save to STL for 3D printing and it allows for the simulation of mechanical motion. It does not have to do complex simulations.I was looking at Sketchup and Rivet though as I researched more the more options I found.Any advice would be appreciated!Thanks in advance.Mike

I'd suggest a MCAD program like Inventor or Solidworks. 

I'll look into these. Thank you. Have you had experience with either one or both? And if so which did you prefer?

Download trial versions of both and check them out yourself then make your decision.  It may also help to look at the field you are interested working in and see what programs employers are asking prospective applicants to be skilled in.  Or check a couple of job boards and do a search on both Inventor and Solidworks and see which one gets the most hits.

 I have had every version since version 1.  My last version is 2011.  When I got a scratch on the install disk, I could not get a replacement disk. So I was stuck without any help.  I went thru my old versions and decided on version 2000 to install.  Main reason is that it does 95% of every thing I needed to do.  AND the authorization is simple and does not have to go thru AutoCAD every time I get a new computer and need to reinstall the AutoCAD program.  AND I can no longer afford to keep up on the newer versions.  My biggest problem is now AutoCAD does not provide any help if I have a question.  I would like to find any of the old tutorials on Land Desktop and Civil Design.  AutoCAD does not offer any help.  If you can find an older version of AutoCAD (2000-2002) I would suggest you start with that.

RDF: Your tale of woe has no bearing on the question that was asked.  Why did you even bother to post to this thread?

I do agree with John, solidworks in particular will do justice due to its robustness.

Hello all!I did not want to open a new thread.I have been asked to work on a piping system whose isometrics have been sent to me. Since the system is about 20 years old, I presume the drawing format (.brd and .i01, i02, etc.) is also old. Maybe that's why I could not find the right software to open them. Do you have any idea as to which software I am supposed to be getting?Thanks a lot in advance!

Perhaps CadSoft?