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Down grade utilities or drawing sources or any advice


Bilbo

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I am not entirely new to AutoCAD.

I am currently a developer at Citi, writing in VB, .NET, andC++

 

However, in a former life I ran my own Electronics Installationbusiness quite successfully for 24 years.

During the course of running my business, by myself, I hadto learn and use a multitude of various programs in the beginning of the computerexplosion period. This is where I firstlearned to start writing my own code, first basic macros in the original ExcelMacro language, and then VBA and VB, etc.

 

Also included in the mix of applications I taught myself wasAutoCAD. If memory serves, release 2.5or something like that. I used it to draw installations and design integrations andeventually got good enough that I also did some freelance for other installers. I used it quite happily until I got the 3d rendering and modelingbug and bought the full AutoCAD Release 12 with Renderman in 1994.

 

Again, hunting and pecking by myself to learn how to use it,I managed to use it quite successfully for business and also to design somevery cool jewelry for my wife and subsequent girlfriends after my then wife gottired of feeling like she was competing with the computer for my time (but thatis a whole other story).

 

Anyway, using my acquired and polished skills, I designedand invented and invested a huge amount of money in a silly thing calledInternet TV back in the mid-90s and bankrupted my business because it was soexpensive only the fabulously wealthy could then afford it. If I had left it at a one-off installationprospect, again for only the fabulously wealthy, I would have been fine. However I had this vision of bring it to themasses. So I used my CAD skills todesign and redesign a whole array of components necessary. I talked with several patent attorneys andthey ALL said, without exception most of my designs were certainly patentable,but the major manufacturers would steal it anyway and then bankrupt medefending my patents in court. So , no,I didn’t bother with that expensive and lengthy process. Besides, by that time, I had so much moneyinvested, I had to start getting ROI and could not wait.

 

So, long story short, the system turned out to be about 20years ahead of its time.

Now adays ypui can't throw a dead cat without it landing on an Internet TV.

ugh...

 

Yes it worked, but the biggest problem was that high-speedinternet just wasn’t saturated enough and there wasn’t initial understanding bythe public masses about the benefits of being able to have the internet on theirTVs.

 

So, bust I went.

And it was ugly too.

 

I had to go and work for real corporations for the firsttime.

I tried to get CAD jobs but since my skills were notdocumented with certifications and had no verifiable work history, that didn’twork out.

Same was true of trying development jobs, no verifiable workhistory.

 

I had to settle for a entry level (ugh) hardware supportposition.

Soon enough though, the managers and directors recognizedwhat they had in me, and started moving me up the food chain.

 

The trouble was though, it wasn’t CAD, it was development,writing code, building databases, etc. And the longer I stayed away from CAD, the harder it became.

 

Sure, I tried to stay sharp in it. I did some house remodeling projects and somemore jewelry and some minor inventions, but by 2005 (still running my Release12 version) my time was just far too wrapped up in development languages. Let’s face it, that is where the money wasavailable to me.

So, my usage dropped off and then I think the last time Ieven opened AutoCAD (until recently) was in 2007.

 

The good news is, that I have been quite successful in mydevelopment projects and building on those skills constantly. Although I am no longer my own boss, I havemanaged to find contentment and a decent income.

 

Which brings me to why I am now here.

 

My son is now 12 and will be driving in a few years and Iinsist he have some deep background in cars and their functionality beyond justopening the door and inserting the key and pushing the gas and brake.

 

We’ve talked about a car building project and he is excited toget engaged and start learning.

When it comes to automotive customization projects I get agood internal chuckle when I see so much of it being built by sight and hackedtogether using tape measures and angles and then finding out they forgot aboutsome other major consideration and have to start all over.

 

So, obviously, my goal would be to design and plan all ourcustom project in AutoCAD.

 

But, as I’m sure you all know, Autodesk as move FAAAAAARbeyond my lowly and practically ancient Release 12 with Renderman.

It wouldn’t surprise me if some of you readers yourself gota good chuckle when you read what version I have.

 

Still though, frankly, it really does what I need. Perhaps minimally, but it does it.

 

I can run it on my x86 Windows 7 partition. Well, honestly, Renderman doesn’t likeWindows 7, but the AutoCAD program itself runs and runs fine.

I still have an old x86 XP box and on it I can do everythingI used to do.

Granted, my skills are rusty, but I have a feeling it willall come back to me.

 

The real functional problem is, the designs.

Sure, I can draw car parts no problem, but honestly, as weall know, cars these days have tens of thousands of parts.

 

While I don’t think we have to draw an entire car, still,there will be a lot of drawing unless I can find a source for existing drawingsfor the cars on which we’ll be working.

 

Also, I’ve already tried to locate some drawings for thecars on which we want to work, mostly just surface renderings.

Naturally, I get a message saying the drawing was created ina version of AutoCAD no longer compatible with my version.

 

I’m never been, am not now, and don’t feature myself everbeing a LT kind of guy, but I also can’t see myself plunking down 5K for thecurrent version (since my old version no longer qualifies for upgrade pricing).

 

So, now I come here looking for insights from the currentmasters.

 

We’re looking at an initial project working with the lateryears of the C5 series of Audi cars, principally taking the best parts of theA6 Avant, allroad, and RS6 Avant and bringing them together (yes, I know there willneed to be some redesign).

 

So, sources of compatible drawings (including actual partsas opposed to just exterior surfaced projections) and or anybody know of aservice for or utility to achieve compatibility with Release 12?

 

Any other insights or suggestions based on my story visa via the current worldof AutoCAD will gratefully be appreciated.

 

For the Admins:

I’m really not sure where this post should go.

I noticed the basement location of the “AutoCAD Museum” buthopefully you won’t relegate me to the basement where there are only 26 threads…

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You said a mouthful there Bilbo. None-the-less welcome to the CADTutor forum.

 

This is not a project for AutoCAD r12 unless you plan on drawing everything in 2D which I would not recommend. I think you want to go 3D and extract the 2D views you need. In that regards I would recommend a program like Inventor. The downside to that is the cost. Probably far too expensive. So where does that leave you? Well, you are back looking at AutoCAD but the latest (legal) version you can buy is still thousands of dollars. Is there an alternative? Yes. Look at purchasing one of the AutoCAD clone programs such as Bricscad. Far cheaper and because it is a clone the learning curve for you won't be as steep. That's my opinion for what it's worth. I can provide you with a link to a thread I put together a while back that lists a number of low cost CAD programs (almost all are AutoCAD clones). BTW...there are a handful of free CAD programs but most (not all) are limited to 2D. One of them is called Draftsight and it is available via Dassault Systemes. It will, as many of the clones, read and write to the 2010 DWG file format.

 

I wrote this up almost one year ago so the prices shown may not be the most up-to-date.

 

Low Cost CAD Programs....http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?77642-Low-cost-CAD-programs.&highlight=VersaCAD

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I'm not sure what you mean.

 

I draw in 3d in R12 just fine.

And added with renderman I can set view and specific camera locations and lenses and look at any 3d view I want from almost any perspective.

 

What gives you the idea I can't draw in 3d with R12 for Windows?

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Can you extract the needed 2D views directly from the 3D model in r12?

 

If you find drawings online that you want to open using r12 then you'll most likely have to use DWG Trueview to save them down to a file format you can open. DWG Trueview is a free download from the AutoDesk website.

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I can extract from r12 what ever I need to.

 

My problem primarily is, getting current drawings imnported INTo r12.

 

I found a cool blueprints site which purports to have several intersting drawings that might just be useful in our project.

However., I am dubious of being able to import them to R12.

 

what are the versions, revisions to the DWG format?

 

Do current versions allow for saving in an older format?

 

For example, in Microsoft Excel, you can open a current version and then save it as an earlier version.

Of course, it admonishes you and informs you of the features you'll strip off if you do it, but it can be done.

 

Can that be done with current versions of AutoCAD?

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No need to get defensive. It's not like a lot of us are still running AutoCAD r12 and my total recall abilities are a bit rusty.

 

Every three years AutoDesk changes (upgrades) the DWG file format. The last change was when 2013 was introduced. Before that it was 2010. I don't know exactly what the differences are between formats.

 

I run 2013 at home. The only r12 file type I can save to is DXF not DWG. I don't recall what DWG Trueview allows a user to save to in regards to r12. Could be DWG and DXF file formats are supported. Download it from here....

 

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?id=6703438&siteID=123112

 

What file formats does r12 support when it comes to importing? Is there even an IMPORT command?

 

Assuming you can't find everything you need and have to draw some of your parts...

 

Can you cut sections, 3D rotate, loft, or sweep in r12?

Edited by ReMark
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I apologize.

 

I didn't intend to come off defensive.

 

I did a poor job of assuming there is something different about 3d capabilities inherent in newer versions of AutoCAD.

 

Sorry.

 

Well, import, as you know, is an ambiguous term.

 

My use of the word would ahve to do with adding (importing) something to an existing drawing (a blank drawing or not blank).

With that in mind, for actual importing, I can import DXF, DXB, IGES and then strictly 2d stuff is PostScript, and WMF.

 

On the other hand, for plain opening (some might consider importing when the versions might be radically different) I'm limited to DWG and BMP (2d).

 

Sure, I can cut sections and do 3d views and 3d rotations on any axis I define.

 

I'm not sure (but could hazard a guess) at "Loft" and Sweep" so I'm assuming R12 doesn't have those tools.

I've searched the help file and no hits for them as key words.

 

So, in your current version, when you save a file as DWG (2013), it is automatically no longer backwards compatible and there is no drop down to save as earlier DWG (2010 or earlier) formats?

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I just realized I used an unfortunate and innappropriate choice of words in an earlier post.

 

I mentioned I'm dubious of my abilty to import files from this other site.

 

I should have written open.

I am dubious of my ability to open files from the site.

However, it does look like the site also provides DXF so if that is still the same, perhaps there may be hope here after all.

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In AutoCAD 2013 I can do a "save as" to earlier DWG file formats if I choose to do so. For example, if I have a client who is running AutoCAD 2000 I can "save as" to that DWG file format. If I have a client who can only open drawings saved to the 2010 file format I can do that too.

 

Does the site you are referring to provide DXF files in a release 12 file format? If it doesn't I don't think you will be able to open their files.

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Give me a moment to fire up my CAD computer. I did mention an option available to you in my previous post.

 

Yes, I can open the drawing. AutoCAD informs me the drawing was not originally done using an AutoDesk product. I have it open on my CAD computer as I type.

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…wife got tired of feeling like she was competing with the computer for my time (but thatis a whole other story).

 

Probably a long one. No wonder, if it takes so long to get to the point. The signal to noise ratio is pretty bad.

 

Which brings me to why I am now here.

 

My son is now 12

 

Any student over the age of 11 anywhere in the world can download over $100k worth of FREE Autodesk design software including AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor and Autodesk Alias Automotive for free. Did I mention for free?

 

Forget AutoCAD - that is so last century. You should be looking at Autodesk Inventor (mechanical internals) and Alias (body panels, seats, trim).

 

http://www.autodesk.com/edcommunity

 

I can't believe someone didn't mention this along with all the other noise.

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Yeah, I hear a lot of wind in here too. Must be a southeaster from PA.

 

Bilbo: I saved the file in r12 DXF file format but it weights in at a whooping 43.8MBs.

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...I did a poor job of assuming there is something different about 3d capabilities inherent in newer versions of AutoCAD.

 

The 3D capabilities in newer versions of AutoCAD are as different as the internet of the last century and the internet of this century, but it is still AutoCAD (with the legacy code left over from the last century).

 

Do your boy a favor and help him prepare for the 21st Century, forget AutoCAD and get a modern design tool.

http://www.autodesk.com/edcommunity

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His bedside manner needs some work.:shock:

 

I too mentioned using Inventor early on but I think JDM missed that post. He is correct about AutoDesk giving students, via the Educational Community, access to many of its best programs absolutely free. So have your son download and install the latest version and you could teach him how to use it.;)

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