New Small Business Needs CAD Software

[magic_man1]

I am currently a drafter at an engineering firm during the day, but I have been thinking of starting a small business from home for which I would need to purchase a single registered version of Autocad 2005 or 2006 (not LT).

Does anyone know a place where I could find a fair price on the software for such a small application? I found several "fishy" websites that have "downloadable" versions that have no support, etc. So frankly, I am a bit skeptical of that.

Any information you can give is much appreciated.

[CADTutor]

AutoCAD (full version) is only available through an Autodesk authorised reseller. It is not available from anywhere else, neither can it be bought second-hand, the licence is not transferrable.

I suggest you contact 2 or 3 local resellers and get them to quote you. The price is not dependent on the type of work you do so you'll have to pay the same as any other user.

Also, please don't cross post :wink:

[hendie]

I'd suggest that you also look at IntelliCAD ~ it's a sort of autocad clone but a full version costs less then $300 and it's fully autocad compatible, also uses the dwg format

[gcp310]

i would look into Autodesks subscription service. you pay for the use of autocad year by year, and have the ability to upgrade for free as new updates come out. worth a look.

G

[magic_man1]

I keep seeing things like this website online... http://www.oem-cd.net/
They claim that everything is legal, and full versions but CADTutor has mentioned that it is not possible to purchase outside of Autodesk. If this is true, can anyone confirm that the above site is a hoax?

GCP310- You mention a subscription service. I assume that I would need to contact Autodesk directly for that, rather than an authorized reseller of the software packages. Is that correct?[/url]

[f700es]

I keep seeing things like this website online... http://www.oem-cd.net/
They claim that everything is legal, and full versions but CADTutor has mentioned that it is not possible to purchase outside of Autodesk. If this is true, can anyone confirm that the above site is a hoax?

GCP310- You mention a subscription service. I assume that I would need to contact Autodesk directly for that, rather than an authorized reseller of the software packages. Is that correct?[/url]

No, you can contact an authorized re-seller for that service.

As for that OEM place..umm $110 for AutoCAD 2006??!! No way that is legal. Sorry, but the student price is more than that. I would not buy from them.

[magic_man1]

Great, thanks for the info.

Yeah, I looked a little closer at that site and it is an unsecured site... Thanks.

[f700es]

Great, thanks for the info.

Yeah, I looked a little closer at that site and it is an unsecured site... Thanks.

Question, why will LT not work for you? Are you going to be doing some 3D stuff? Database or LISP routines?

F7

[magic_man1]

Well, since LT does not allow for 3D, I was thinking that LT would reduce an already quite limited customer base. That being folks who are looking for a telecommuting freelance / contract CAD drafter. I was hoping to be able to offer all possible services that I have knowledge in. I will call and find out pricing, etc. for the subscription service and see if that is a better choice for my purposes.

Thanks

[f700es]

Well, since LT does not allow for 3D, I was thinking that LT would reduce an already quite limited customer base. That being folks who are looking for a telecommuting freelance / contract CAD drafter. I was hoping to be able to offer all possible services that I have knowledge in. I will call and find out pricing, etc. for the subscription service and see if that is a better choice for my purposes.

Thanks

Well if you are looking for 3D and CAD I would suggust you look at LT for your 2D work and SketchUp for your 3D work. Here's a model I did for work in SketchUp...

http://mars.walagata.com/w/f700es/su-image.jpg

and here is the 2D file I exported into AutoCAD....

http://mars.walagata.com/w/f700es/acad-image.jpg

Let's see AutoCAD full costs $3,760 USD.

AutoCAD LT costs $799
SketchUp costs $500

You can do the math there ;)

I would switch at work but we already bought full copies but no need to do 3D in AutoCAD when SU can do it better and faster. Now there are some things that SketchUp can't do, like solids but I believe that it's strengths out weigh the negatives. Go to www.sketchup.com and download the demo and watch the tutorial movies and see for your self.

Good luck :)

[rkmcswain]

Let's see AutoCAD full costs $3,760 USD.

More like $3000-$3250 depending on your reseller. Unless a person just wants to pay list.

[f700es]

Let's see AutoCAD full costs $3,760 USD.

More like $3000-$3250 depending on your reseller. Unless a person just wants to pay list.

That's true but that was direct from their (AutoDesk) on-line store.

[johnnybond]

Let's see AutoCAD full costs $3,760 USD.

More like $3000-$3250 depending on your reseller. Unless a person just wants to pay list.

but isnt the point that you save like $2000 ??????? :?

:P

[rkmcswain]

Let's see AutoCAD full costs $3,760 USD.

More like $3000-$3250 depending on your reseller. Unless a person just wants to pay list.

but isnt the point that you save like $2000 ??????? :?



I wasn't questioning that point. I was only pointing out that nobody is paying $3760 for AutoCAD.

[johnnybond]

I no i must apologise for taking the mic. :oops:
sorry! :cry: