AutoCAD For My Son

My son is 12 years old and has proven to be extremly talented (in my mind) with Google SketchUp, I was wondering if there were any other programs out there that I could get for him, free or otherwise, that would help feed his creative mind. I realize SketchUp is a far cry from any decent AutoCAD program, but it definately seems to have awaken something in him that I didn't know was there. I don't mind paying for a program if he's going to be able to use it, and it will help build a foundation for him.

Thanks for the help.

That is great to hear your son has a talent for CAD apps. SketchUp is a great tool and I would say it is far from a non-decent CAD application. SketchUp is VERY powerful. In our Showcase and SketchUP forums on this board, you can see how good SketchUP can be.

There are many CAD applications out there. The main thing is to find what your son loves designing. CAD applications are getting much more advanced, and are not "general CAD apps" anymore, but now are becoming CAD applications with a true purpose. For instance, in the field of architectural design, Revit is the platform that is and will be the standard, leaving AutoCAD behind in many ways. If your son likes architectural design, then learning Revit would put him to be a huge leap ahead when he gets old enough to take serious schooling.

What's cool is that there is a "free" CAD program called Project Spark, that is a much more simplified version of Revit. This would be a great stepping stone. Link here: http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/spark/

Try to seek out some type of schooling program when he gets old enough. If you do then you get access to the educational versions of most CAD software from Autodesk, which gives you the full program for free with certain limitations only in the outputted file or print with watermarks identifying that it was made with an educational product.

Hope this helps some.

*EDIT* Also note, that there is a really good AutoCAD style CAD application that is free too from Dassault Systemes called Draftsight: http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/overview/

Get this as well. This will help your son understand AutoCAD without actually buying it, and it too is very powerful, although it won't be as fun as SketchUP.

Have your son sign up on this board too, this is a huge resource and since this board is heavily moderated, he won't be exposed to anything indecent whatsoever.

Much will depend on what sort of drawing he likes. If he leans more to the artistic side, then cad programs might not be the best choice. If precision is what trips his trigger, then cad is the way to go. There are several free ones...Draftsight is good, but is 2d only. There's Doublecad XT, Turbocad, and several others. For 3d, there's Wings, which is free, and Bricscad which is available for around $600 for the top of the line. Goes on up from there to as much as you'd ever care to spend.

Any student of any age anywhere in the world can download AutoCAD and most other Autodesk product for FREE from http://www.autodesk.com/edcommunity

All Autodesk software initially installs in 30-day trial mode to give you some weeks to make sure it is installed correctly.

Once you are sure all is well be sure to click Activate on the Trial/Activate splash screen and follow the on-screen instructions to activate FREE 3-yr license.

Students can download any and all Autodesk titles available on the student community (I once added up over $100k value - now that's a Christmas present) available from the Autodesk student community. Each year my students simply download the next release - so it is really more like a perpetual FREE license as long as still a student.

I recommend your son spend his time learning one of the next-generation Autodesk tools (like Revit Architectural or Inventor for mechanical design) rather than spend valuable time learning an ancient program like AutoCAD.

I recommend your son spend his time learning one of the next-generation Autodesk tools (like Revit Architectural or Inventor for mechanical design) rather than spend valuable time learning an ancient program like AutoCAD.

Yes, AutoCAD is ancient and there are lots snazzier programs out there, and 2/3 of the cad world or more still uses it with no plans to change. Learn the new stuff first, but don't limit your options.

....2/3 of the cad world or more still uses it with no plans to change. ....

Considering AutoCAD has been around more than twice as long as the kid' date=' unless the kid is a history (of CAD) buff, might as well look at what those who [b']do have plans of change[/b] see in the future. By the time this kid graduates from college anything we consider modern, or even next-generation tools, will be ancient technology.

Considering AutoCAD has been around more than twice as long as the kid, unless the kid is a history (of CAD) buff, might as well look at what those who do have plans of change see in the future. By the time this kid graduates from college anything we consider modern, or even next-generation tools, will be ancient technology.

By the time he's through college or trade school or which ever path he chooses, there's no telling what the world will be like. Software is just like everything else. There's always something newer and better, but that doesn't mean everyone runs out and grabs it. New models of cars and trucks pop up every year like clockwork, but not everybody runs out and buys one.