Ask HN: What CAD program is worth learning, if any?

8 points by idheitmann 15 years ago | 12 comments

I've learned that in order to get what I want from graphic designers, it's really worth it to know Photoshop, even if I have no interest in being a PS monkey. As a corollary, can I plan ahead and learn the rudiments of CAD if I have aspirations of pursuing product development? Would that be a useful endeavor for a biz-guy?

MrDunham 15 years ago |

Try solidworks. It's the only one I learned in engineering school but is really intuitive for a CAD (autocad sucks, but that's because it was hard for me and I never learned it).

Also sketchup will give you the fundamentals for free.

I'd say it is worth it to learn the basics of anything you'll be having employees do for you. It's good to know what you're asking for and the scope so that you can connect to your employees more easily. I wouldn't become an expert at it though if you are not planning on using it too much.

gregpilling 15 years ago |

Yes it would be a useful endeavor. You will save hours of time on each new product. I would suggest that Google SketchUp is easier to learn (and free) but SolidWorks is very common in manufacturing. Doing a quick mockup in SketchUp is the new version of the cocktail napkin sketch, but with 3 dimensions instead of two. I recently used it to explain to a contractor how I wanted my bathroom remodeled (keeping my wife happy) and the time it save in discussions was immense. The contractor could immediately see what I wanted to do - move a wall, change a doorway, move a sink. Easy.

Make sure you learn how to specify dimension in SketchUp when you learn it. That will save you a lot of effort, and find video tutorials on YouTube. It was much easier for me to understand it by watching the video than by reading Google's documentation.

morganpyne 15 years ago | |

+1 for SketchUp. It has many limitations but it so easy to get started with compared to the popular giants of 3d. Follow some of the tutorial videos.

It has a hugely active community writing custom plugins for just about everything you could imagine. My tipping point was finding all these plugins are written in Ruby :-) As a programmer I loved being able to hack together new extensions based on examining the source to other peoples work.

If you plan to do anything regarding animation, physics engines, or spline-based surface modeling etc then you'll need to look elsewhere of course. Blender is free and has a massive amount of features but a steep learning curve (and I personally dislike the interface).

roxstar 15 years ago |

I don't know that even your first point holds true, communication and the willing to compromise is what is probably most key.

CAD isn't really going to help you much unless you are planning on building prototypes yourself (even then you would probably end up having to start over if you hired someone else with actual experience.)

If you want to learn a program still, Solidworks is probably the most widely used, the two other big players for 3D are Pro/Engineer Wildfire (though I think they changed what it is called now) and Autodesk Inventor (not quite as used, also lacked major integration with FEA last time I looked).

retroafroman 15 years ago |

I've learned and used many of the major players and some minor ones in the CAD market: AutoCAD (currently using at job), ProE, NX, Catia, SolidWorks (school), Alibre (internship), Sketchup, OpenSCAD (personal). Once you've picked up the ideas, it's mostly just learning the interface and use of a program. They all will do extrusion, you'll just have to learn the command for each one. I would say spend a good bit of time with 2-3 different programs. This will give you flexibility, just like knowing more than one programming languages is useful for programmers.

CyberFonic 15 years ago |

May I suggest that you learn to draw. The old pencil and paper way. Technology marches on, but core skills will hold up well. You'd really communicate more effectively with visually oriented people if you can sketch on paper or a whiteboard to illustrate what you are trying to convey. You can always scan your work or use a tablet to create directly on the computer.

Take a look at Betty Edward's book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". It's probably the best intro around.

As a "Biz Guy" your enduring quality and contribution is to hold the vision and communicate it effectively to the specialists, be they PhotoShop or CAD skilled.

brudgers 15 years ago |

>"Would that be a useful endeavor for a biz-guy?"

No. Learning CAD would be a highly inefficient way to improve your communication of ideas due to the steep learning curve associated with professional level products.

Playing around with Sketchup might have some benefit, so long as one recognizes that Sketchup models typically have substantial limitations as technical documents.

curt 15 years ago |

If you want to do consumer products learn Solidworks. Once you understand and grasp it, it's amazing how quickly you can produce a product, I've gone from concept to prototype within a couple days. The important part is to learn what you can and can't do design wise (drafts, angles, thicknesses, etc), there are quite a lot of limitations but most can be worked around.

sharman 15 years ago |

Google SketchUp is the awesomest for initial stage prototyping! And if you know how to use a keyboard and mouse, it won't take more than a couple minutes before you create your first model! Goodluck.

Also the 3D warehouse on it is awesome, for pre-loading community developed models into your own.

mcotton 15 years ago |

My boss does everything Visio. It imports and exports to CAD so we can communicate with the rest of the world. It might be worth looking into.

phlux 15 years ago | |

I dont know why you're being downvoted. I design in autocad, revit, sketchup, visio and inkscape.

I do network designs in visio, 3d BIM models in revit, small home stuff in sketchup, presentation graphics and icons in inkscape.

I export visio stencils to .dwg format which we then bring into revit and turn into 3D blocks for rack elevations etc...

There are so many tools to use.

phlux 15 years ago |

What are you looking to build/make?

If you want professional architecture Autodesk Revit is the best for this.

If you want quick and dirty modeling, even for products, use google sketchup!

There are a lot of product designs that have been done in sketchup.