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Need advice on CAD software to buy.


neuri

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A little background so you can understand my situation better. We are not professional CAD drafters. We learned it ourselves or through courses and that is it, we did not take the certification.

 

 

 

We are moving away from hiring drafters, we are in project mgmt and we plan to sort of "incorporate" drafting in to our skill set so we can do everything independently instead of relying on a drafter to do the shop dwgs, layouts etc.

 

 

Now, there is a government subsidy coming and we are upgrading the PCs and software.

 

 

The PC is simple enough, but software wise, right now I am on 2014 Autocad LT and i hate it.

 

 

My work flow consists of layouts, m&e, shop drawings and pretty soon, i might have to take up CAM.

 

Right now on LT, when i do shop drawings, I have to update in every single layout file + draw different angles separately (because there is no 3D) and it is really bogging me down, especially when there are a million changes to do.

 

 

 

I am looking at Revit, or ACAD 2018. No matter what software we use, I think we need to stay with Autodesk because everyone is using it, we want to reduce the issue of different file formats or incompatibility.

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What sort of work do you do? You mentioned CAM so I assume you're in the machining/manufacturing industry? If so, Revit isn't really the right program for you. I would suggest you look at Inventor.

 

Take a look at the Product Design & Manufacturing Collection. It includes Inventor, Autocad and Fusion 360: https://www.autodesk.com/collections/product-design-manufacturing/overview

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Try a trial version of Bricscad. It is a lot cheaper than Autodesk products and is fully compatible and in my opinion, just plain better, there is also the option to use BIM (think Revit) still using dwg and much easier to learn. And it has a version for mechanical (Inventor) still using dwg.

You also can buy a license and use it forever unlike the new Autodesk policy of only offering the software on a rental basis.

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I am in the commercial kitchen industry. We do need to fabricate our own stainless steel tables, exhausts etc. but the bulk of our work comes from layout planning.

 

 

I want a software that lets me do layout plans, m&e, make plot files etc. etc. AND do shop drawings (CAM... not so much atm, it is a very big investment, not sure if we are actually going for it) and maybe LISP macros when the time comes to learn those.

 

So for example, I do a layout, client approves, i then go to my layouts(or paperspace), drag a table or sink into focus and extract 4 different views to print for fabrication.

 

Does a software like that exist?

 

I just want changes made in 1 place to be updated everywhere else, that's the biggest issue or selling point. I once had to make changes to 10 files because of 1 tiny amendment, that is just dumb, I saw Revit can do auto updates but can Inventor/BricsCAD?

 

 

I'm asking because it is impossible for me to really get a feel of the software in a few days. I need at least a month to get comfortable and start exploring.

 

 

 

Any issues with BricsCAD in day to day usage? Because almost all our contractors use ACAD or some form of AutoDesk, i really don't want to risk something going wrong.

 

 

I will check out their trial.. see what it's like.

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Revit can be used and is probably the best overall option but it'll require some heavy support and someone to set up all of the content. Once the content is created and a good template is in place, Revit could be the fastest product for producing outputs. Especially when there is a change. I'm actually scheduled to introduce Revit to a kitchen design company next week. They are excited about it and probably for good reason.

 

But make no mistake, Revit has a learning curve and professional training and time to lean the program will need to take place.

 

-TZ

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bricscad uses 3D so any changes made in the model are automatically adjusted to any layout drawings, it's also lisp compatible so lisps that work in autocad also work in bricscad

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bricscad uses 3D so any changes made in the model are automatically adjusted to any layout drawings, it's also lisp compatible so lisps that work in autocad also work in bricscad
BricsCAD is a great option it seems. I'm excited for this company.

 

One thing to consider is Revit can import DWG easily, making the platform compatible with Revit and DWG based files within the native environment. AutoCAD and/or BricsCAD cannot import native Revit projects in easily - it requires an export first. Since most architects are now using Revit, it makes the most sense using Revit if you can. Also, I've yet to see a true out-of-the-box option for BOM's and data handling in AutoCAD. Not sure how BricsCAD works but hopefully way better than AutoCAD. Revit's data handling, tabulated data and reporting features are versatile since everything can be populated from a data standpoint.

 

But that all depends on needs of the company, first. I've seen great things from AutoCAD and LISP so it'll just come down to weighing the differences.

 

-TZ

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I’d start by looking at Fusion 360 1st. Sign up with a startup license, which will give you time to try it out for free. I agree with Tanner in a Revit suite might be your final choice once you get it all set up. Another option might be an AutoCAD 20/20 setup.

 

https://www.2020spaces.com/

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Interesting, so from what I gather, platforms can soon expect to openly import native *.RVT file format without a translation process? Do I have this right?

 

This would open doors for non-Revit users, something long overdue in my opinion. Revit has forever been too tight of a platform in this realm.

 

-TZ

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Revit can be used and is probably the best overall option but it'll require some heavy support and someone to set up all of the content. Once the content is created and a good template is in place, Revit could be the fastest product for producing outputs. Especially when there is a change. I'm actually scheduled to introduce Revit to a kitchen design company next week. They are excited about it and probably for good reason.

 

But make no mistake, Revit has a learning curve and professional training and time to lean the program will need to take place.

 

-TZ

 

 

Interestingly enough, I am looking at Revit because of 1 such sales pitch to us by a software company.

 

 

They pitched us their software, but we decided to just use revit/acad alone without their "plug in".

 

 

Are you by any chance working for Specifi? :P

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Never heard of them. Don't rule out a good add on package. Revit can be a surprising animal to certain designers. Add ons exists for a reason.

 

-TZ

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If you want brilliance search here for David Bethel he designs kitchens and most of his work is 3d, there are lots of images and its just plain AutoCAD but years of smart lisps backing it. I have one of his lisps and its amazing just answer questions and you end up with a full 3d stove and the level of detail has to be seen given how fast it is created.

 

Search here David Bethel & Kitchen I found a few images.

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?93951-New-Restaurant-Concept&highlight=Kitchen

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?77349-Can-t-see-the-kitchen-for-the-columns&highlight=Kitchen

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?86464-Lower-School-Student-Cafeteria&highlight=Kitchen

 

 

Yes it should work in Briscad that would be an inexpensive way to go. Davids were done in a old version of Autocad, Briscad is vastly improved.

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