Drafting program

[Maine Guide]

Hello,

Anyone know of a free drafting app for drawing woodworking prints. I use to use Sketchup free. But now, it’s not usable on my Mac. All dimensions are mirrored back wards and the program doesn’t work like it use to. I’m looking for something simple. I don’t have a drafting table or I’d do it there as I have an associates degree in mechanical drafting. I’ve looked at some of the free downloads but they’re way more than I want to deal with and a lot say try it then they want you to buy it. I don’t want to have to pay $100 a year for something simple and basic. Any help appreciate. I like the push pull etc on SketchUp, something similar would be nice.

Maine Guide

 

[BWhitney]

If you find something let us all know. I've been trying stuff for a looong time and hadn't/haven't found any thing like Sketchup. I do use Sketchup 2017 which doesn't have all the bells and whistle but isn't costing me an arm and leg.
Now if I could only learn to build the plan as well as plan the build.

 

[Millmarks]

If you find something let us all know. I've been trying stuff for a looong time and hadn't/haven't found any thing like Sketchup. I do use Sketchup 2017 which doesn't have all the bells and whistle but isn't costing me an arm and leg.
Now if I could only learn to build the plan as well as plan the build.

Yup, I have the same issue!!!

 

[PeteM]

FWIW - I still use Sketchup Make Ver. 17.3.116 on my Mac and it works fine. I do get a warning message when I open it:
"SketchUp Make has not been updated since 2017, making it vulnerable to security issues. Make sure to upgrade to a more secure version of SketchUp" but I don't worry too much about the supposed "security issues".

 

[Dave Richards]

Hello,

Anyone know of a free drafting app for drawing woodworking prints. I use to use Sketchup free. But now, it’s not usable on my Mac. All dimensions are mirrored back wards and the program doesn’t work like it use to. I’m looking for something simple. I don’t have a drafting table or I’d do it there as I have an associates degree in mechanical drafting. I’ve looked at some of the free downloads but they’re way more than I want to deal with and a lot say try it then they want you to but it. I don’t want to have to pay $100 a year for something simple and basic. Any help appreciate. I like the push pull etc on SketchUp, something similar would be nice.

Maine Guide

Hopefully Apple will fix the graphics driver issues for your graphics card that result in the reversed dimensions. The updates to the operating system affected different graphics cards differently. Not all models show the reversed dimensions.

For the average hobbyist such as yourself I would expect that SketchUp Free would give you what you need.

 

[pop-pop]

Anyone know of a free drafting app for drawing woodworking prints.

I have been using DeltaCad for almost 20 years. It's 2D (not 3D) but so is that side of my drafting brain.

Most CAD programs have a fairly steep learning curve. DeltaCad has a built-in tutorial where you draw a five-function calculator and I periodically go back to it and usually pick up something.

Initial price is a flat $39.95 and occasional upgrades are $29.95. These days, I consider anything that costs less than a tank of gas affordable. Both Winduhs and Mac versions are available. I run the Winduhs version on Linux via Oracle’s VirtualBox. A 30-day free trial is available.

As an example, here is a partial layout of the X-cross in my tall vise design that I drew with DeltaCad. Also, the 2021 tall vise drawings in the resources section on this site were drawn with DeltaCad.

 

[Wilsoncb]

I’ve not tried it yet but am thinking about giving Fusion 360 a try. If using it for hobby or personal use you can get it free. Looks like a lot of capabilities, but that usually means hard to learn.

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal

 

[pop-pop]

I’ve not tried it yet but am thinking about giving Fusion 360 a try. If using it for hobby or personal use you can get it free. Looks like a lot of capabilities, but that usually means hard to learn.

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal

Usually “CAD program” and “easy to learn” doesn’t compute. With dogged persistence one can prevail.

 

[ssmith]

I’ve not tried it yet but am thinking about giving Fusion 360 a try.

I'm already trying Fusion out. For those that are pondering that or SketchUp, perhaps I can pass on some limited experience. FWIW, these are my initial impressions and at best I’m an advanced beginner. I’m more than willing to be corrected by anyone having a longer track record.

Cost:

Both apps are available as a free version for personal use. Your files are saved to the cloud by default, but it is possible to get a local copy with some caveats.

SketchUp Free is browser based and is what I use. Beyond that is the "Go" version @ $119/yr and the Pro version @ $300/yr. No huge difference between "free" and "go" IMO. The pro version is quite a bit different. It runs on your PC (vice in a browser) and you can use extensions to give it more capability.

Fusion 360 has no tiers - it is what it is. It also runs on your PC. If you plan to use it professionally though i.e. beyond what “personal use” allows, cost is higher at $409/yr.


How they work;

IMO, both apps function very much the same way if all you want to do is draw. Typically, you draw a 2D sketch, then extrude it into 3D and manipulate it. The learning curve for both apps is similar (if you don't dive into Fusion's extended capabilities).


SketchUp free;

• works well for woodworking or architectural drawings
• allows free access to their “3D warehouse”, which is an immense number of pre-drawn items
• is a bit difficult to use when trying to create a dimensional drawing. It’s possible, but clunky.
• cannot do photorealistic renderings.
• is more flexible than Fusion if you like to draw first, then tweak what you have until everything fits.

The caveat with SketchUp is, it IS possible to use extensions that will do almost anything, including renderings, but that requires the “Pro” subscription.


Fusion 360;

• has far more capability out of the box than Sketchup
• is really designed to be a mechanical engineering aid and manufacturing program, so it understands materials and how to drive things like CNCs. Still, if you only want a drawing and layout program, Fusion will do that without all the other capability getting in the way.
• can do photorealistic renderings out of the box (see one below).
• can generate dimensional drawings you can take to the shop fairly easily.
• is designed for parametric modeling i.e. it works better if you know the dimensions of your parts before you draw them.

For me, there are certain things that each of the two apps do really well. Because of that I’m still on the fence and plan to continue experimenting with both on new projects. If you're interested in either, there are lots of training videos on YT you may want to check out.

 

[Dave Richards]

Fusion 360 has no tiers - it is what it is. It also runs on your PC.

From https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview?term=1-YEAR&tab=subscription

FWIW, the $300/year subscription for SketchUp Pro includes LayOut, SketchUp Go, SketchUp for iPad, Augmented Reality viewer, unlimited cloud storage, online viewer, XR Headset viewer, Mobile viewer, and more.

 

[ssmith]

View attachment 213888

@Dave Richards - indeed, they do say that but in fact the app is installed on my PC and takes up about 120 MB.

I think maybe they're referring to the collaborative part of the application (shared workflow, etc.) and the default data storage, both of which are cloud based.

FWIW - I have a pretty capable computer but both SketchUp and Fusion run quickly, despite the fact one is local and one cloud based.

 

[Craptastic]

@Dave Richards - indeed, they do say that but in fact the app is installed on my PC and takes up about 120 MB.

I think what you have there is what is known as a thin client. Local software that interacts with the cloud based program. Just because you aren't accessing the software via a browser does not mean the program is local.

Thin clients can allow local compute resources to be used much more efficiently by packaging up the changes and shipping them to the cloud server in a more streamlined manner than web based can do.

 

[ssmith]

I think what you have there is what is known as a thin client.

@Craptastic - Matt - I'm pretty experienced with computers, and aside from the presence of the program, there are other clues. For one thing, when I push the app hard i.e. rendering, it drives my CPU utilization (an 8 core Intel) to 100%. That shouldn't occur if it's rendering in the cloud.

Having said that, you got me wondering if the work was being done server side, so I unplugged my PC from the network then started Fusion. It ran fine - I was still able to draw. When you start it though, it does warn you that collaboration functions and data saves won't work until connectivity is restored.

 

[chris_goris]

@Craptastic - Matt - I'm pretty experienced with computers, and aside from the presence of the program, there are other clues. For one thing, when I push the app hard i.e. rendering, it drives my CPU utilization (an 8 core Intel) to 100%. That shouldn't occur if it's rendering in the cloud.

Having said that, you got me wondering if the work was being done server side, so I unplugged my PC from the network then started Fusion. It ran fine - I was still able to draw. When you start it though, it does warn you that collaboration functions and data saves won't work until connectivity is restored.

The server connection is probably getting licensing remotely.

 

[NOTW]

Draftsight used to be a free alternative to AutoCAD but it appears now they charge $99 for the standard version. I've been an AutoCAD user for about 24 years so any questions with AutoCAD I can help with and Draftsight has most of the same commands and features.

 

[Charlie]

Draftsight used to be a free alternative to AutoCAD but it appears now they charge $99 for the standard version. I've been an AutoCAD user for about 24 years so any questions with AutoCAD I can help with and Draftsight has most of the same commands and features.

I just went to the Draftsight website. It is now 249/yr

 

[NOTW]

Thats odd, this is from their chat screen

 

[Charlie]

I didn't go on chat.
But what they show on their site is Professional @ 249 and Premium @ 599.
They also state that they have incorporated Standard with Professional.
I will stick with my 2004 version of AutoCad which is free from when I was working. Lol.

 

[NOTW]

I didn't go on chat.
But what they show on their site is Professional @ 249 and Premium @ 599.
They also state that they have incorporated Standard with Professional.
I will stick with my 2004 version of AutoCad which is free from when I was working. Lol.

I don't blame you, I'll stick with all the AutoDesk programs I have on my work computer

 

[Craptastic]

@Craptastic - Matt - I'm pretty experienced with computers, and aside from the presence of the program, there are other clues. For one thing, when I push the app hard i.e. rendering, it drives my CPU utilization (an 8 core Intel) to 100%. That shouldn't occur if it's rendering in the cloud.

Having said that, you got me wondering if the work was being done server side, so I unplugged my PC from the network then started Fusion. It ran fine - I was still able to draw. When you start it though, it does warn you that collaboration functions and data saves won't work until connectivity is restored.

The server connection is probably getting licensing remotely.

That would be a pretty crappy way of deploying a program.