Need help to draw my custom made case on the computer

[vedge_boy]

I am thinking of making my own cube case for a while now and I have some ideas in mind and some on paper. I am thinking of tranfering all my ideas on computer to have an idea of how it looks like. I am trying to find a program that can draw the case in 3d and generate a 2d version for each side. I've tried autoCAD but it is REALLY too hard to use.

Does anybody has ever done this before and what program do you suggest me?

 

[vedge_boy]

I could also like that the program can let me draw my case with the same mesurement as in real life size.

 

[Iron Hawk]

You are asking for alot out of a program. I think your best bet is going to be AutoCAD. You could also use IntiliCad. Its just like autocad (except the buttons look diferent) and uses the same comands. The best part about it is that it has a free (unlimited) demo. No time limits or anything.

 

[Mike K]

autoCAD is not that hard. All you have to do is learn it. If you do get it, you can ask me and I will try to help you. I just started learning how to draft in 3D, and 2D drawings are really easy. You cannot get drawings in real life size but you can scale them down and keep the same dimensions.

 

[Iron Hawk]

I beg to differ, with autocad you always draw in full scale, if you are drawing a road 5km then you draw it 5km and scale it down when you print (unless you have a printer that will print something 5km long) atleast thats what my drafting teacher says. all I know is 2d (i have played with 3d a little but have never had any instructions with it)

Auto cad is easy once you get the hang of it and learn a few basic commands. I am willing to help you learn it too if you want.

just pm me or send me an email.

 

[Captain Slug]

If you want something free and easy to just plan out cubic dimensions try Milkshape 3D.

http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/

It's free for 30 days and is a piece of cake to learn. I use it for small scale projects where I just want to see if everything will fit where I want it to. It saves alot of working time and I end up with a much cleaner finished product.

 

[vedge_boy]

After few hours of research on the net, I found a program that I found easy to use, IMSI TurboCAD Professional v8. Even though it is only a free trial, I found what I wanted. It is easy and you just need to draw the 2d drawind for the front , side and top and it will geneate a 3d drawing while having everythig in the right scale. Thanks anyway for the help but I personally find that AutoCAD is too hard to learn fast (especially undersanding all the commands) in my spare time with all the school work I have to do. I might learn it in the summer or something like that. I just downloaded Milkshape to see what it is and play around with it just for fun and it might be usefull. Thanks a lot for your suggestions.

 

[h20link]

if you want to use a 3d program to do this stuff check out

www.discreet.com for Gmax, the free version of 3dsmax.

or

http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/Tm...ity/Special/maya_ple/index.jhtml&style=normal

for the free version of Maya

you can also get the free version of Strata 3d at www.strata.com

There's also blender at www.blender3d.com

anyways, somebody else here on the forum rendered a 3d version of their prototype, it was pretty cool. good luck.

 

[Matthew1001]

Has anybody heard of DeltaCad? It is a fairly old progam. I bought it a few years ago in Office Depot for about $9.

 

[vedge_boy]

I tried Milk Shape 3D and I don't really like it. I am presently getting 3D studio max and I will give it a try. thanx for you suggestions.

 

[Mike K]

I beg to differ, with autocad you always draw in full scale, if you are drawing a road 5km then you draw it 5km and scale it down when you print (unless you have a printer that will print something 5km long) atleast thats what my drafting teacher says. all I know is 2d (i have played with 3d a little but have never had any instructions with it)

Auto cad is easy once you get the hang of it and learn a few basic commands. I am willing to help you learn it too if you want.

just pm me or send me an email.

sorry should have been more clear. You can draw in full scale, I thought he meant he wanted to see the actual size of his case on the monitor. He would need a huge monitor or probably a TV do display that size.

 

[Mike K]

heres what I found after digging around so you know why you can' t find it:

Editor's Note: Feb 2002 -The free version of IntelliCAD is no longer available and has been superceded by IntelliCAD Standard Edition.

I found it here -- nothing exciting