Peter_Lam Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Hi all, I would like to purchase an AutoCAD LT for our company, our business focuses on electrical engineering, e.g. motor, transformer, power transmission. Before purchasing, I concern if the LT version includes any library or graphical inventory, so that drawing electrical layout and circuit diagram would be much easier. Thank you for your help in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I wouldn't rely upon AutoCAD LT for creating electrical layouts and circuit diagrams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_Lam Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 I wouldn't rely upon AutoCAD LT for creating electrical layouts and circuit diagrams. Thanks man, Any more advice ? Just the full Autocad is a bit expensive for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqphillips Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 I hate to say it, but with AutoCAD being pretty much the industry standard, you may not have a choice without going to some obscure software, and many clients won't even consider you if you don't use AutoCAD or Microstation. AutoCAD knows it's got the market by the cojones, so they can charge whatever they want. Thankfully, they aren't complete d-bags and actually offer pretty steep discounts for buying design suites. Your company should consider purchasing a design suite from Autodesk. A good example would be the Product Design Suite. You'll likely want the Premium suite, as it comes with Inventor Pro, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, and AutoCAD Mechanical (plus 3DS Max and other software), which can all be useful in the industry. Sure it costs about $7500, but you get a crapton of software for a bit more than the cost of Inventor Pro by itself. Also, Autodesk does have financing options on their software, so your company could get the design suite without having to shell out that massive amount of cash up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_Lam Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 I hate to say it, but with AutoCAD being pretty much the industry standard, you may not have a choice without going to some obscure software, and many clients won't even consider you if you don't use AutoCAD or Microstation. AutoCAD knows it's got the market by the cojones, so they can charge whatever they want. Thankfully, they aren't complete d-bags and actually offer pretty steep discounts for buying design suites. Your company should consider purchasing a design suite from Autodesk. A good example would be the Product Design Suite. You'll likely want the Premium suite, as it comes with Inventor Pro, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, and AutoCAD Mechanical (plus 3DS Max and other software), which can all be useful in the industry. Sure it costs about $7500, but you get a crapton of software for a bit more than the cost of Inventor Pro by itself. Also, Autodesk does have financing options on their software, so your company could get the design suite without having to shell out that massive amount of cash up front. Thank you for your comment. I myself am very familiar with Autocad, but I am not sure about the Inventor Pro. How different could it be ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Thank you for your comment. I myself am very familiar with Autocad, but I am not sure about the Inventor Pro. How different could it be ? Very different. They are both CAD-software, but that is about it. Check out the trial-versions from Autodesk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqphillips Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Thank you for your comment. I myself am very familiar with Autocad, but I am not sure about the Inventor Pro. How different could it be ? It is quite different in both form and function. Basically, Inventor is, if you don't already know, a 3D modeling program that works best with parts and small to medium assemblies (such as PLC cabinets or mechanical components). The easiest way to compare Inventor to AutoCAD is like this: With AutoCAD, you draw the 2D first, then manipulate it into 3D (provided you have the patience... AutoCAD's 3D capabilities are extremely precise, but notoriously user unfriendly). With Inventor, you build the 3D object first, then have it projected onto a 2D view. Inventor's 3D is much easier to use than AutoCAD's. The reason I suggested the suite that has Inventor is that I imagine that your engineering departmemt will find a use for it (we use Inventor to virtually build an enclosure with all the parts and then run stress tests to see how the cabinet behaves under pressure and such), and the same for AutoCAD Electrical. Trust me, when you learn to use AutoCAD Electrical correctly, you'll never want to do a schematic, one line, or PLC drawings on regular AutoCAD ever again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 If your company would balk at the price of full AutoCAD what makes you think they would purchase a Suite? If you want a full CAD program at a fraction of the cost of AutoCAD look no further than Bricscad (an AutoCAD clone). It is very similar in form and function to overpriced AutoCAD you'll be wondering why you spent all that extra cash. Yes, the program reads and writes to the DWG file standard. Anyone you share your drawings with will be able to open them too. I don't see much use for Inventor when doing electrical layouts either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 I used to know a guy that used AutoCAD Electrical and he said that cost was soon out weighted by how much easier it made his work. He designed and built custom coffee bean roasters. I know the $5,775 is a large pill to swallow but it will be worth it in the end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqphillips Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 I don't see much use for Inventor when doing electrical layouts either. No, but it's handy for mechanical layouts. I used to know a guy that used AutoCAD Electrical and he said that cost was soon out weighted by how much easier it made his work. He designed and built custom coffee bean roasters. I know the $5,775 is a large pill to swallow but it will be worth it in the end I cannot agree more. Electrical's benefits are amazing... automatic component and wire numbering (preventing doubling up) alone makes it worth it. Combine it with the fact that the drawings in a project are electronically linked via smart arrows (so if you change a wire number on a source drawing, it'll update on the destination drawing), project-wide update tools, and the ability to extract BOMs, reports, and point to point wiring lists just makes it a must have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 (edited) It's up to the OP and the company he works for as to how much functionality they really require. Who knows? Inventor or ACADE could be overkill or just the ticket. Here is another option by Bentley... http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Products/promise/ You'll love this program called EZ Schematics. Why? It's FREE! http://ez-schematics.software.informer.com/ Or how about Elecworks 2D? http://www.elecworks.com/ew/en/index.asp?EmailingRef=Adwords&gclid=CJzOjbCV0rcCFYyY4Aodsj8AWQ Want some FREE symbols? Find them here... http://www.sprecherschuh.com/library/autocad/symbols/electricalcontrol.html Then there is SEE Electrical LT.... http://www.ige-xao.com/en/corp/products/see_electrical_lt.php Edited June 7, 2013 by ReMark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 It will probably pay for itself the 1st year you use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Good options Remark. It never hurts to look before you leap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.