What Do You Use To Draw/design Projects?

Holescreek said:
I just left a message on the Progcad site requesting pricing info, it sounds like just what I need. I have a licensed copy of ACAD 2002 but it won't load on my computers without giving a fatal error after the program boots up.
What does a copy of ProjCAD cost?

Never mind, I found it. $500 is pretty steep for a home gamer like myself. It'd be different if I had a small business that could write it off.
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With your version of 2002 are you attempting to run it on Windows7 or Windows10?
 
If you're looking for 3D CAD software check out "Design Spark Mechanical". It seems quite comprehensive to me, and it's free (at least for now). There's lots of tutorials on YouTube. I think it's produced by the On Shape people.

If you're looking for 2D CAD, I think most of the suppliers have gone to the subscription model. Thankfully, I purchased a perpetual license of DraftSight a couple years ago so I'm good probably for the "duration".
 
We have SolidWorks at home, my wife is a Unigraphics design, so have (limited) access at her workplace.

One of my "winter projects" is learning how to poke the tube in both SolidWorks and Fusion. I have a Tormach 1100 and would like to have an integrated CAM package too. RJ clued me in that there's something called HSM Express which is a CAM package that works with SW.

The current issue of Home Shop Machinist has an article on getting started with CAD. The author is using Onshape and mentions that it was created by a couple of former SW employees. According to the article, it is cloud based and all of your projects are stored on line and are not private. Others can view them with no restrictions; just read-only access. So if you are working on something headed toward a patent, you may want to shy away from the free version of Onshape. One would hope that Onshape would be close enough to SW that HSM Express would be compatible.

I currently do all of my drawing & programming by hand. Graph paper for the drawing, G-edit or Notepad for G-code. Tormach has a virtual version of PathPilot (their control software) on line which is wonderful in my case writing and debugging from the office instead of typing on my deplorable mini-waterproof keyboard in the shop.

Bruce
 
middle.road said:
With your version of 2002 are you attempting to run it on Windows7 or Windows10?
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It runs on a very old Desktop computer out in the shop that is running WindowsXP service pack2 but it won't run on either windows 7 or 10 on any of the updated computers in the house. It boots up like it's going to work then an eo6d7363h error pops up and shuts it down.
I've tried as many fixes as I could find on the internet with no success.
My current solution is to dig an old desktop computer out of the pile in the garage that more than likely will still have ACAD2002 on it and see if it works. That will hold me over until some forward thinking company realizes they can still make a fair amount of money selling a 2D CAD program to all of us non-business types. I would have preferred to use a laptop for the sake of space but I have a project I need to tackle quickly.
 
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Holescreek said:
It runs on a very old Desktop computer out in the shop that is running WindowsXP service pack2 but it won't run on either windows 7 or 10 on any of the updated computers in the house. It boots up like it's going to work then an eo6d7363h error pops up and shuts it down.
I've tried as many fixes as I could find on the internet with no success.
My current solution is to dig an old desktop computer out of the pile in the garage that more than likely will still have ACAD2002 on it and see if it works. That will hold me over until some forward thinking company realizes they can still make a fair amount of money selling a 2D CAD program to all of us non-business types. I would have preferred to use a laptop for the sake of space but I have a project I need to tackle quickly.
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<Scratching my head...>
I have had 2000i running on a Win7-32bit station up until around '15.
2002 should run fine on an XP box.
Going to chew on this and come up with a solution. $500 is too d*mn much for home use.
 
Shortly after I posted I removed and reinstalled ACAD 2002 on an older laptop with Win7 on it and it appears to be stable for now. Before I launched the program I made sure to get into the properties and checked the "run program as administrator" box since I've read that this is one of the tricks people have used to stop the error code in the past.
This will buy me some more time to find a permanent solution if needed down the road.
 
Holescreek said:
Shortly after I posted I removed and reinstalled ACAD 2002 on an older laptop with Win7 on it and it appears to be stable for now. Before I launched the program I made sure to get into the properties and checked the "run program as administrator" box since I've read that this is one of the tricks people have used to stop the error code in the past.
This will buy me some more time to find a permanent solution if needed down the road.
Click to expand...
Also might need to set the compatibility mode under 'Properties' on the shortcut - to XP if any issues crop up.
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BGHansen said:
We have SolidWorks at home, my wife is a Unigraphics design, so have (limited) access at her workplace.

One of my "winter projects" is learning how to poke the tube in both SolidWorks and Fusion. I have a Tormach 1100 and would like to have an integrated CAM package too. RJ clued me in that there's something called HSM Express which is a CAM package that works with SW.

The current issue of Home Shop Machinist has an article on getting started with CAD. The author is using Onshape and mentions that it was created by a couple of former SW employees. According to the article, it is cloud based and all of your projects are stored on line and are not private. Others can view them with no restrictions; just read-only access. So if you are working on something headed toward a patent, you may want to shy away from the free version of Onshape. One would hope that Onshape would be close enough to SW that HSM Express would be compatible.

I currently do all of my drawing & programming by hand. Graph paper for the drawing, G-edit or Notepad for G-code. Tormach has a virtual version of PathPilot (their control software) on line which is wonderful in my case writing and debugging from the office instead of typing on my deplorable mini-waterproof keyboard in the shop.

Bruce
Click to expand...

FYI Fusion 360 has HSM baked into it. It is (supposedly) a seamless flow from workspace to machine. I have used it with my 3D printer and it works well.
I now use mostly SW though because of the free subscription with my EAA membership.
 
Holescreek said:
Shortly after I posted I removed and reinstalled ACAD 2002 on an older laptop with Win7 on it and it appears to be stable for now. Before I launched the program I made sure to get into the properties and checked the "run program as administrator" box since I've read that this is one of the tricks people have used to stop the error code in the past.
This will buy me some more time to find a permanent solution if needed down the road.
Click to expand...

It looks like that Punch ViaCad for $69 would be a great 2D option. Trying to resurrect computers with an OS that is 20 years old is just a study in frustration.
 
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