box "drawing" program?

[mat3833 10+ year member]

what do you guys use to draw out your boxes? if i still had AutoCad i would be all for it, but id prefer something simple that i can post a pic of on here to get feedback.

Matt

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[DakotaSPL 10+ year member]

I use google sketchup it works pretty well and best of all its free.

 

[DakotaSPL 10+ year member]

and cad makes me want to punch babies and kick small kittens.... just sayin

 

[mat3833 10+ year member]

i was in the engineering academy in high school. so i used autocad and a few 3D modeling programs for 4 years. but ill check out sketchup thanks!

Matt

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

i was in the engineering academy in high school. so i used autocad and a few 3D modeling programs for 4 years. but ill check out sketchup thanks!
Matt

If you have any cad programs you will find sketchup pretty easy and at times it will just seem to not work like you want it too. However, it is a bit quicker to work with some times do to it's simplicity.

 

[mat3833 10+ year member]

hell hopefully i can get all my calculations done today and model a box so i can have it complete when the subs get here.

Matt

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Google SketchUp...

 

[skylineTT 10+ year member]

I don't like SketchUp but I've been using Autodesk Inventor for 4+ years.

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

SketchUp is so easy, it's ridiculous. And you can make stuff look great too, if you know how to do it.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

SketchUp is so easy, it's ridiculous. And you can make stuff look great too, if you know how to do it.

I agree, but bouncing back and forth between programs I get to where I'm about to no longer use sketchup do to it's lack of ability to always do exactly what I want and how I want it. Sketch up is a great tool for sure. The simple truth is it is hard to compare a free(or cheap if you paid) program(sketchup) to a high end programs that cost far to much.

My truthful answer is this.

If you have other programs that you are good with, you will likely get upset with sketchup and I see no reason to both with it. If you don't have a program and want something free or very cheap then sketchup is your program and you will love it.

 

[skylineTT 10+ year member]

SketchUp is so easy, it's ridiculous. And you can make stuff look great too, if you know how to do it.

If you've never used another modeling software before, I think sketchup is great. It is easy, free, etc. I get Inventor Pro for free every year though and I've been using it for modeling, flow/stress analysis, etc. for years so I just use it much more quickly than if I was to fart around with sketchup. Lol It costs $7300 to buy it outright so I download the newest version every year and make sure I use it as much as possible.

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

I agree, but bouncing back and forth between programs I get to where I'm about to no longer use sketchup do to it's lack of ability to always do exactly what I want and how I want it.

What exactly does it not do the way you want it to?

 

[mat3833 10+ year member]

sketchup wasnt too bad to work with. not a fan of how the "extrude" works to make and remove material tho. anyways i got the box finished. anyone with Sketchup care to take a look at it for me and see if i messed up anything?

Matt

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

I have DesignCAD that I use for mechanical drawings. It's less than $60 for the 3D version and even cheaper for 2D. It has more stuff than I'll ever use.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

What exactly does it not do the way you want it to?

It just doesn't always feel as smooth or comfortable as I like mainly. Rotating the design around can become "clunky" and such.