JustJax Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Hi. I'm new to CAD and I'm trying to find out which version I would need. I'm going to use the software to design windows and doors. Does anyone have a suggestion on where I should start? Thanks in advance for your replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Ferral Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 If you have standard designs of Windows and doors that you want to reconfigure for each customer, I would go straight for Inventor. You can set this up to give you a cutting list and material bulk orders etc If you just want to draw up some profiles and do all the working out on the bench, you can make do with AutoCAD Do you need to share drawings with architects, or customers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustJax Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 Thank you Pablo! At some point I will probably be sharing with customers. If I start with AutoCAD, can I eventually upgrade to better versions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I'd look at the Product Design Suite if I were you. I mean AutoCAD itself is $4,195 but the Product Design Suite Premium is $5,775 which includes, AutoCAD, Inventor, AutoCAD Mechanical, 3D Max and a few other products. On Desktop Subscription it is $290 a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustJax Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 So if I purchase the Product Design Suite Premium do I also have to pay $290 a month subscription fee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I would agree that if you work for, or own a company that has been humming along for a while, then I would invest in Autodesk Inventor instead of AutoCAD. However, if you're a part of a start-up or attempting a freelance venture, maybe try a free AutoCAD clone for a while to establish the basics and get a feel for the procedural side of drafting before blindly dropping thousands of dollars. Can we get the back-story to this venture into designing windows and doors? Are you currently employed at a company seeking to dive into the world of computer aided design? Or is this a start-up company? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Well if you buy the perpetual license you do not pay the $290/month you only pay the $5,775 price (yes, expensive) and subscription (if you want to). Different options for different situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustJax Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 Thanks again, to everyone. This is very helpful. This is a small company that has been in business for over a decade. Well established. We are looking at diving into the world of computer aided design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Thanks again, to everyone. This is very helpful. This is a small company that has been in business for over a decade. Well established. We are looking at diving into the world of computer aided design. That is great to hear! Most people that run through this forum with inquiries like yours are inexperienced people who think freelancing is easy-peasy. Learn a few tutorials, rip off a $5k piece of software and let the work just roll on in, right? haha Now that we know this is a company investment, I'll be honest... AutoCAD is 30+ years old and is a legacy application. Lots of people here have used it for decades, and their entire process would be interrupted if they switched platforms. You, on the other hand, are in a unique position to start fresh, which is why it's been recommended that you start with a much more intuitive and versatile CAD application that would immediately lead to more accuracy and production from the start: Inventor, or any other equivalent such as SolidWorks. Purchasing an Autodesk Suite will include AutoCAD for "miscellaneous" drafting and modeling purposes. AutoCAD can still be very relevant, but I would advise against surrounding and entire company investment decision with just the AutoCAD platform. Contact a local reseller, and look into pricing up training options, and maintain your member account on a public community such as this one for help and assistance, which is so valuable it transcends any monetary value of any sort. Hope this helps. -TZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Can the company afford to shell out for a perpetual license? Would it even need one based on the volume of design work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustJax Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 TZ - that does help. Thank you! Based on ROI, I believe this is something the company can afford. I just want to make sure we are looking at all of our options before diving into anything. Our volume of design work is extremely high - all work is custom. Next step... find a local reseller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Make sure that whatever you buy/lease in the way of software that your hardware exceeds the minimum system requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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