CAD programme comparisons

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simon
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2010 6:06 pm

CAD programme comparisons

Post by simon »

I ve been using HD now for just under a year. I had absolutely no CAD experience until then but as a construction professional of some 20 years I wanted to broaden my skills base. After looking at the cost of CAD training courses at local colleges (+£1200) I decided to have a go at a bit of self training. Had a look at the minefield of packages out there and plumped for HD after having a very quick look at macdraft as the other possible optionl. I needed a 2d package to produce plans for planning and building regulations submissions and HD seems to provide this, however I have no comparison and just wondered what you more experienced CAD users out there think, is autocad archicad etc worth a look at? are they better? are the skills I ve learnt on HD transferrable to these other packages or are they completely different. (there certainly considerably more expensive) or will I just be wasting money and time?

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matthew.Stanfield
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Re: CAD programme comparisons

Post by matthew.Stanfield »

I went through a similar thing several years ago before settling on HD. At the time i had extensive AutoCAD experience, but was looking for something to use natively on a Mac. In my ignorance of anything not AutoCAD at the time, i downloaded all the free trials i could and tested them in accordance with my AutoCAD experience. Basically if it did not operate like AutoCAD, i quickly dismissed it. That included HD the first time around. After not finding an AutoCAD clone, though, i went back through to re-evaluate.

I have limited exposure to MacDraft, but found it very difficult to get into and use. As and Architect, i was attracted to HD because of its emphasis on Architectural drafting. So i gave it a more serious look and absolutely love it. I would not go back to AutoCAD now unless it became absolutely necessary (which i cannot see how that would be). For 2D drafting, it is my opinion, that HD just cannot be beat. Once i overcame my AutoCAD prejudices, i found that HD is relatively intuitive and simple to use compared to other CAD packages i have tried. As a seasoned user of AutoCAD and after having used HD for over two years now, i would not recommend bothering with AutoCAD. The additional cost does bring some additional features, but most of those i have found to be fluff and really get in the way of production more than aiding it.

I cannot speak with experience about ArchiCAD, or Vectorworks for that matter, but as those are BIM packages, i think they might be more than what you are looking for.

I do think the skills you have picked up using HD will transfer on a general level to other CAD packages, but it certainly will not be a 1:1 transfer. Each package will have its own idiosyncrasies and i think you will find you will have a bit of retraining to do as well learning new things that HD may not offer. This, at least, was my experience in the switch from AutoCAD to HD.
matthew.Stanfield
Principal Architect
FiELD9: architecture
Mansfield, OHio
http://www.field9architecture.com

simon
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2010 6:06 pm

Re: CAD programme comparisons

Post by simon »

mathew thanks for taking the time for that informative reply, I myself find HD a really powerful tool and the few autocad users I have spoken to do seem to complain that its not that friendly for architects/building designers. Its reassuring that I appear to be heading in the right direction. I did find it ironic that when I bought a mac which I always assumed was for the designer types that the industry standard CAD package was not Mac compatible. Still HD seems to be better by the sounds of it so i'll just carry on learning.
Many thanks

axys
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Re: CAD programme comparisons

Post by axys »

Arguably the industry standard in architecture is VectorWorks, but it all depends on what you want to achieve and how much you want to spend/invest. Autocad is of course now available for the Mac, at a price, and it, along with VWorks, Archicad and so on will all handle multi million pound/dollar projects with varying degrees on competency - if you're not in that field and only want 2D then why spend time and money on it? I believe the perfect 2D program has yet to emerge - for too long CAD has been stuck in a rut - at one time, before selling out to Google, it looked like SketchUp could do something. Some have pushed the envelope with its Layout add-on but its not there yet. I have VectorWorks, mainly so I can talk to other consultants. Its not particularly intuitive and the interface is a mess, some of it dating back to OS 9 days. There are bugs and omissions, some years old, but they press on each year adding more bloat. BIM is the new buzz word - at a sole trader/small practice level its never going to happen. Just use SketchUp if you want a few perspectives. HD is so nearly there, the interface is gorgeous, its simple and intuitive. Its missing some very basic things, such as boolean operations and cavity walls, which would make it so much better - I really hope Ilexsoft can deliver these sooner rather than later.
OS X Monterey - iMac Retina 5k, 27 inch, late 2015 with 27 inch second screen

simon
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2010 6:06 pm

Re: CAD programme comparisons

Post by simon »

thanks axsys again very helpful and informative, notice your from the uk, how are you finding business at the mo, i m from the midlands and the building industry round here is really dire, I'm considering starting up as a small design service but holding out in my full time job for now as I think it would be pretty hard to survive.

axys
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Re: CAD programme comparisons

Post by axys »

simon wrote:thanks axsys again very helpful and informative, notice your from the uk, how are you finding business at the mo, i m from the midlands and the building industry round here is really dire, I'm considering starting up as a small design service but holding out in my full time job for now as I think it would be pretty hard to survive.
I'm over in Herefordshire. I've been a sole trader for 18 years now, with 7 years employment before that, all here, so I have plenty of contacts and, I like to think, a good reputation. I don't advertise at all and I always have plenty of work - I do only housing/domestic work - from one-off houses to small estates to barn conversions to quality extensions. If you're thinking of going it alone, I would say the single most important thing to have is contacts. When I left employment, several clients came over to me, enabling me to hit the ground running. Without that it would have been really hard and now probably impossible. The other key thing is to keep your overheads low - I work from home, have no staff, no leased equipment - all I have to pay for is my PI insurance. Everything else is paid for.

I occasionally need casual help with Building Reg drawings - do you want to drop me a pm to see if this might be of interest?
OS X Monterey - iMac Retina 5k, 27 inch, late 2015 with 27 inch second screen

simon
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2010 6:06 pm

Re: CAD programme comparisons

Post by simon »

i ve pm d you but don t know whether its worked as its not shown in my sent messages let me know of you don t get it.

Cheers

SurfingAlien
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Re: CAD programme comparisons

Post by SurfingAlien »

Here in Italy AutoCAD is THE standard in architectural drafting. I've never been able to fall in love though (and price is only one of the issues).
Working on a Mac I've tried almost any CAD around but, although I've bought a couple of others too, I think HD is really different from anything else and when you get the grip on it you can produce amazing designs (I *love* macitect's style, for example). Sure it still misses some must have features and probably it will need one or two major updates to be considered totally mature but it has more potential than everything else in this price league (and above imho).

BTW, since I saw this has become an unofficial employment exchange I am available for 3d modeling and rendering... (just kiddin' but not completely... let's call it "contacts" :wink: )

cheers,
Alessandro

axys
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Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:48 pm
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Re: CAD programme comparisons

Post by axys »

simon wrote:i ve pm d you but don t know whether its worked as its not shown in my sent messages let me know of you don t get it.
Cheers
Not showing in my Inbox, but I got an email copy - will respond shortly.
OS X Monterey - iMac Retina 5k, 27 inch, late 2015 with 27 inch second screen

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