Hello Brian,
When I was working, my employer had furnished me a notebook computer with AutoCad installed.
I ran ACad for some 15 years as a sketch-up and drawing reading tool.
When I was looking at retirement, I realized I would loose access to ACad.
I then realized how much I had used ACad for work at home: everything from parts design, to furniture layout to landscape designing, etc.
Even a basic AutoCad LT license is well over $1000. I could not justify that much for use at home.
I tried several demo versions of other CAD programs and settled on ProgeCad.
One of the benefits to me was that the ProgeCad user interface can be configured to work a lot like AutoCad.
ProgeCad has a demo version - like most Cads. They have a pretty good collection of on-line videos for training.
You can buy their pCAD Standard for $300. It is similar to AutoCad LT.
pCAD standard is mostly a 2-D program. It will do 3-D work, but it takes more to learn the 3-D.
I guess I am from the era where everything was on 2-D. I use sections and alternate views for 3-D work.
Anyways, if you want to look at another CAD program, here's a link:
http://www.progecad.us/shop/index.php?cPath=21_56
and
http://www.progesoft.com/en/list
You have probably found that most CAD programs run totally different than the average Microsoft product.
You need some help to learn to think the way the CAD programs think. But, once it clicks, it all becomes very intuitive.
Something you will probably find is that just about all CAD programs kind of work the same.
Once you have learned to make one CAD program work, it's usually fairly easy to learn a competitor.
I often take on even simple design tasks with CAD.
CAD keeps you honest. With a pad and pencil, it is easy to make the part look like you wish it would, rather than what it has to be.
The CAD process is only slightly slower than drawing with pencil and paper, and it forces you to use real-life dimensions.
The real power for me is the ease of making multiple copies of a part and then being able to quickly compare modifications or alternate designs for the part.
Plus, a CAD program makes short work of designs which would require a lot of trig or high powered math if you were doing it the old way.
Regards,
Terry S