SX2002 Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Hi to all on these pages. This is my first post as a newbie. I have used Autocad in its various versions (2000 - 2008 ) for many years at work. Now I'm retired, I'd like to get a free to download and use basic 2D drawing programme for use in basic drawings for home projects. Unfortunately, AutoCad is no longer affordable to me. I downloaded Google Sketch-Up but it's a 3D only programme. Has anyone got any suggestions? Cheers, Ron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icadsales Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 I tried to respond to tell you about free progeCAD smart charityware for non commercial use only. Was going to send you a link to download it. But . Try looking on the intellicad download page on icadsales.com for the progecad smart in the menu on the left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Ferral Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 (edited) You can use Sketchup in 2D mode only, but If you need to create paper drawings the free version doesn't really cut it. Autocad LT is a lot cheaper than Autocad: http://www.autodesk.co.uk/products/autodesk-autocad-lt/overview Autodesk have recently released (or re-released) a program called 'Autosketch', which isn't free but it is cheaper than Autocad LT: http://www.autodesk.co.uk/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=452932&id=15440229 (I've never used Autosketch, so if you go this route, why not let us know what it's like) You could also check out 'Project Draw' (Free On-Line simple diagram tool) or 'Project Cooper' (free DWG drawing tool) or 'Project Butterfly' (free on-line DWG editor) on Autodesk Labs: http://labs.autodesk.com/ If you are thinking about going back to school in your retirement (it could happen!) you could look at the Autocad educational version: http://students.autodesk.com/ And don't forget that all Autodesk products come with a 30 day free trial. Edited June 10, 2013 by CADTutor Links updated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugha Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 AFAIK, these are FREE to use 2D drafting systems Project Cooper http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=14039474 IMSI DoubleCAD http://www.doublecad.com/Products/DoubleCADXT/tabid/1100/Default.aspx AllyCAD http://www.allycad.com/freeware.asp FelixCAD http://www.graebert.com/index.php?option=com_cad&Itemid=52&id=Desktop%20%26%20UMPC&lang= hth Hugh Adamson Cadro Pty Ltd www.hatchkit.com.au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noahma Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 That's right, now I remember why I haven't been back since March of 08... Besides your overly charming personality, ya CAN'T POST A LINK, DOH! I mean dude, how arrogant to think people would want to spam this BULLETIN BOARD when they don't have to ask mommy to post a link on Twitter, Facebook, Any Ning social group, linked in, etc. etc... Oh, and those sites are pretty close to extinction due to spam... See ya in a few years... There was a problem a couple years ago with bots posting links to pirated software. This is what instituted the post rule for being able to post links. CAD64 would have not posted his post if the post before his was not so rude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strix Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 See ya in a few years... Yes, we do tend to find that this board is kind of self-regulating from that point of view :wink: I've edited the abuse out of your earlier post in line with forum rules, which you should have read upon sign up This forum is a workplace tool for AutoCAD users, and as such, we expect posts to be suitable for reading in ANY workplace or college. Our standards here mean our address is permitted access on many servers where forums have a blanket ban - and we intend that it remain so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Take a look at DoubleCAD XT, free for personal and professional use. LINK Oops, hugha beat me Hi to all on these pages.This is my first post as a newbie. I have used Autocad in its various versions (2000 - 2008 ) for many years at work. Now I'm retired, I'd like to get a free to download and use basic 2D drawing programme for use in basic drawings for home projects. Unfortunately, AutoCad is no longer affordable to me. I downloaded Google Sketch-Up but it's a 3D only programme. Has anyone got any suggestions? Cheers, Ron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coosbaylumber Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 I have been finding that certian software vendors tend to use same words in their advertisement of the features they are hawking, and one of which is 100% compatible. I have used one of secondary softwares before, and found that the menu is different, and the "saved to:" file structure is different. First thing that pops up to my attention, is the error message of a non-compatible MENU type. It will take in an Autocad file, but beyond that you are sort of limited. Even if you simply type in the command to pan here to there for a quick look at. Not everything works. Especially the BASE point and look for file name/types. They seem to look in to places I ahd never thougth of. I would rather then get some error mesage that says the feature (or command) is not-supported, than to continue on thinking all is 100% OK. Wm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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