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C A D for Mac

C A D for Mac

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Bob Dennis29/05/2009 09:31:51
5 forum posts
Hi All,
I have just changed my computer from a PC to a Mac, I used to use Turbo CAD 15 bought a the Bristol ME show last year.  I would like to use the same program again and have been in contact with Avanquest the company who supplies it.  I have been informed by them that the Mac version bears no resemblance to the PC version and that it has problems. Has anyone got any more info how does it differ what are the problems? There are programs out their ie Bootcamp to enable me to run a PC program on a Mac, but this would then mean adding Norton etc and I do not want to go down that road.
As a final solution can anyone recommend a CAD program that will run on a Mac in the lower price bracket.
Regards Bob 
David Clark 129/05/2009 13:07:49
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3357 forum posts
112 photos
10 articles
Hi There
The Mac version is quite an old version I think.
regards David
 
 
ChrisH29/05/2009 22:43:38
1018 forum posts
30 photos
I also have converted to Mac - and it is money very well spent, would definitely NOT go back to Microsoft - but also struggled to find a suitable CAD package for the Mac.  I used an old version of AutoCad LT previously and found it sufficient for my needs.

To get round the problem I obtained an old microsoft laptop and put my copy of AutoCad LT on that.  I use my Mac for everything but the AutoCad, and keep the old laptop just for CAD.  Old Microsoft laptops can be found quite reasonable and, not being used on the internet, doesn't need antivirus, just like a Mac on the internet!

Just a suggested other way to get round the problem.

Regards, 
ChrisH 
Ian Abbott30/05/2009 09:58:13
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279 forum posts
21 photos
If you ever have the spare cash, get hold of Vectorworks for the Mac.  It'll work with pretty much any program that will import and export DXF and EPS files PC or Mac.
It's one of those things that you don't regret investing in once you have it.

I do also keep an old Windows laptop for my boat design software, but like most things PC it won't transfer to anything, even on the same computer. 

Check on the web, as there used to be some free draughting software for pre-Intel Macs and I would imagine that there should be something upgraded by now.  I do have copies of the free stuff on my G5 Mac and it should be ok to pass it on.

I'll take a look around and if I see anything for Intel Macs, I'll post the URL.

Ian 
Ian Abbott30/05/2009 10:08:38
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279 forum posts
21 photos
Ok, go to....

http://www.freebyte.com/cad/cad.htm

There is a whole page of free CAD stuff.  I haven't checked any out yet, but I'll troll through some, for my own information.  If I see anything else, I'll post it here.

Ian 
Ian Abbott30/05/2009 10:11:15
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279 forum posts
21 photos
Sorry, hold that thought, the search engine lied, it's Windows stuff.

Handy for you PC guys though.

Ian 
Ian Abbott31/05/2009 09:47:49
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279 forum posts
21 photos
I found a couple of programs for the Mac.  Google Sketchup isn't so much of a CAD program as a 3D modeling one.  It looks as though it could have some use though. 
It's at   <http://sketchup.google.com/product/gsu.html>

Another is FreeCad  which apparently has programs for both Mac and PC. I haven't tried it yet, but from reading the gumph, it seems to need something like Parallels, which makes it a bit pointless.

I'll keep looking 

Ian 
Ian Abbott31/05/2009 20:54:48
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279 forum posts
21 photos
Try this one.  It's shareware at $30 US, that's about £12 I guess.
I've downloaded a copy to try, but I use their other products such as Graphic Converter and they are good.
It's only 2D, but perhaps in conjunction with the 3D Google Sketchup it might work.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11417

Ian 
Britannia.06/06/2009 07:52:59
1 forum posts

Congratulations on choosing a Mac.

I have used mine for two years & do not regret the choice.

I use "Eazy Draw", a 2D programme compatable with Mac. I find it meets my needs & I have created workshop drawings with it. It is apparently compatable with most C.A.D. I have imported downloaded drawings to it and made changes to scale & dimentions (imperial to metric etc.)

I recently found this site & was impressed with rhe demo vidio. it is 3D & perhaps more  usefull ?

http://www.punchcad.com/products/viacad2d3dV6.htm

The usual disclaimers apply as I have no connection with any of the above.

I hope this helps, I had trouble finding Mac C.A.D. when I first got mine.

Cheers Barry.

Edited By Britannia. on 06/06/2009 08:02:21

Clive Foster06/06/2009 16:33:01
3103 forum posts
107 photos
As I understand matters IMSI buy in the code base for Turbo-CAD and the Mac version is completely different under the hood to the PC one.  IMSI simply altering the interface for commonality and ensure that the files are, pretty much, transferrable.   Apparently the people who now produce PunchCAD purchased the rights to the underlying Mac code base used in the older Turbo-CAD Mac and Turbo-CAD Mac Pro some time last year so IMSI had to transfer their interface to another code base.  Like everything to do with computers working out the bugs takes pretty much for ever.

Clearly this is bad news for users of PowerPC Macs because neither supplier has much incentive to seriously support a now obsolete platform.  I've tried Turbo-CAD a couple of times over the years, starting with the early iteration on an SE30, mainly because the price / feature ratio seemed very good but have always found it less than impressive in practice.  Currently I have, and use, Turbo-CAD MAC and MAC Pro on my G4 Dual 1.25 GHz desktop with OK results but there are many areas that I don't really like.  Formatting in particular is totally counter-intuitive and its habit of re-dimensioning drawings to suit what the current preferences are when you open them can be "foot through the screen" frustrating.

I bought VectorWorks Mechanical 10 on redundancy a few years back, exploiting the computing equipment for new business help then available, but never really got going with it.  Upgrading is very expensive and help, in the UK poor.

Fact is for a casual user seeking a pencil and drawing board replacement Claris-Draw / Mac-Draw Pro remains a pretty much unbeatable combination for ease of use and just enough features.  Pity its two processors out of date.  Easy-Draw bills itself as the modern replacement.  In a way it is but the file sizes are huge and its dog slow being just about fast enough to use on my system.  In comparison Mac-Draw Pro flies on an SE30 nominally 50 times slower.  A major reason why I've never really got into mainstream CAD is that 20 + years of experience with Claris and Mac Draw meant that I could make it do pretty much everything I need.

Clive 
Ian Abbott06/06/2009 20:47:01
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279 forum posts
21 photos
I ran the CADintosh trial on my Intel MacBook and it seems to have a shallow learning curve, with some interesting tools.  It's not Vectorworks, but neither is the price and if I were looking for a simple drawing program I'd give it a go.

 http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11417

On Vectorworks, my V11 works equally well on the Dual G5 tower and the Intel, if anyone needs to consider that for upgrading in the future.

Ian 
Steph20/12/2009 16:45:52
9 forum posts
Recently after getting totaly frustrated with Microsoft and there blue screens of death etc, I changed over to mac and have not regreted it for one nano second, ut finding a CAD program took a while.
I came upon the program TURBOCAD for MAC Deluxe edition v4,(on good old ebay)  Cost £12.43, Yes Twelve Pounds 43pence, although it came all the way from the USA, it took 6 days from the time I hit the BUY IT NOW button and paid to delivery at my home in the UK.
 
However, version 3 is plentyfull in the UK and prices are all over the place, but keep looking as version 4 comes up at least once a day.
 
And what a brilliant program, this one came with the program disc and activation code PLUS a full manual and yes, it came in a sealed NEW BOX.
 
A real bargain and just as easy to use as any of the more expensive programs.
 
Macs are Just brilliant, No blue screens of death and no go slows either.....
 
Now its time to look for a larger screen.
 
Regards
steph
Gaspode18/01/2011 15:53:25
8 forum posts
If you want to carry on running TurboCAD for windows on your Mac, you could consider buying some virtual machine software like Parallels, this will let you run a copy of windows on your Mac. You'll have to have a legitimate copy of windows, as well.
 
I do this with my MacBook Pro, I run TurboCAD 17 under Parallels
Gaspode18/01/2011 15:53:40
8 forum posts
If you want to carry on running TurboCAD for windows on your Mac, you could consider buying some virtual machine software like Parallels, this will let you run a copy of windows on your Mac. You'll have to have a legitimate copy of windows, as well.
 
I do this with my MacBook Pro, I run TurboCAD 17 under Parallels
Alex gibson18/01/2011 16:09:35
35 forum posts
Hi all,
            You do not have to buy "virtual machine software" for your mac. If the mac in question has an Intel processor you can download "bootcamp" directly from Apple for free. This software allows you to install windows on to a separate partition  on your Mac's hard drive  and then boot between the two. 
 
regards
alex 
Mark Dickinson18/01/2011 18:48:39
48 forum posts
4 photos
An alternative virtual pc is Virtualbox. I have used it at work to allow a Mac operator to use windoze software. It is free for private use.
 
mark 
Michael Ellis 118/01/2011 19:22:47
13 forum posts
I have been running a PC only CAD program with Bootcamp for two years without any problem. Use the program you know already.
 
ellis 

Alex gibson18/01/2011 20:30:23
35 forum posts
Hi all,
            the problem with running virtual pc emulators on a mac is that the emulator itself uses resources to run. This can have a detrimental effect on performance mostly in terms of speed. Bootcamp sets aside a portion of the hard drive for windows use and when you boot into it it becomes a windows pc (not an emulator) you can then load any pc software you want and it will run in a native windows environment. As Michael Ellis has already said it runs without any problems. However when you are in windows you are exposed to all the usual windows foibles/threats therefore you should install virus protection software. 
 
kind regfards
alex 
Gaspode19/01/2011 08:35:56
8 forum posts
Bootcamp is fine, if you don't mind rebooting. On the downside, you don't get to be able to use any of the fancy interoperability functionality like being able to cut and paste between Mac and Windows apps. With Snow Leopard and 8GB RAM I don't find any performance issues.
Graeme Barton19/01/2011 10:20:29
11 forum posts
Just my tuppence worth,
i'd be cautious about using parallels. I got some PC CAD from work to learn the basics and when trying to use it with parallels it just crashed the programme (2.4Ghz Macbook, 4GB Ram). I use Bootcamp now and yes it's free with your Mac but i find it a pain to keep re-booting. As somebody else has mentioned perhaps a designated cheap PC for CAD is the way to go
graeme 
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