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Bud in wv 09-02-2012 10:58:23 173.80.243.75 Report to Moderator	I know there's a lot of free "shareware" programs out. Has anyone had good or bad experiences with any of them? I need to lay out a storage shed for a neighbor. I can do it with a drawing board and figure the materials but is there a program that will do it easier? Thanks! [Reply]   [No Email]
Hoby 09-02-2012 13:59:49 98.206.92.65 Report to Moderator	Re: Free mechanical drawing program? in reply to Bud in wv, 09-02-2012 10:58:23   Try Print Key, it"s free. It will do several things the best is draw a box around any object on your screen and save it as a jpeg. Also handy when the right mouse click is inop. [Reply]  [No Email]
jaden 09-02-2012 13:34:12 69.76.138.62 Report to Moderator	Re: Free mechanical drawing program? in reply to Bud in wv, 09-02-2012 10:58:23   Try ACAD 9. They offer several versions, including a free basic one. [Reply]  [No Email]
Puddles 09-02-2012 11:40:13 24.113.77.208 Report to Moderator	Re: Free mechanical drawing program? in reply to AtlasHayCo, 09-02-2012 10:58:23   This is the kind of drawings I use to do for work. Auto-Cad saved my behind so many times when trying to figure out if a derrick could reach up on the beach to drive a pile. Or if a derrick could make a heavy lift. [URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/827/dblajpg.jpg/][/URL] [Reply]  [No Email]
Puddles 09-02-2012 11:23:02 24.113.77.208 Report to Moderator	Re: Free mechanical drawing program? in reply to Diydave, 09-02-2012 10:58:23   I learned Auto-Cad years ago. But when I started joining all these forums I couldn't save my drawings as a jpeg to post them. Someone suggested buying a cheap copy of TurboCad, which you can save a dwg or dxf drawing to a jpeg using TurboCad. I did buy a copy but never got the hang of using it, just like to use my old Auto-Cad too much to change now. But it is cheap enough if you wanted to buy a version. http://www.ebay.com/itm/TURBOCAD-15-Deluxe-2D-3D-New-XP-Vista-7-Turbo-CAD-Software-CAD-Design-/380464524376?pt=US_Image_Video_Audio_Software&hash=item589573ec58 [Reply]  [No Email]
OHReader 09-02-2012 16:30:15 96.24.176.207 Report to Moderator	Re: Free mechanical drawing program? in reply to Puddles, 09-02-2012 11:23:02   Same company also offers DesignCad. It's now in Version 22. I've used it since V2.0. Was handed a couple of disks at work, asked "Where's the manual?" - was told I didn't need it - and that advice was spot on. Have bought nearly every version since about 4.0. Price is as good as TurboCad, too. [Reply]  [No Email]
Bud in WV 09-02-2012 11:32:04 173.80.243.75 Report to Moderator	Re: Free mechanical drawing program? in reply to Puddles, 09-02-2012 11:23:02   Looks like what I need to do. I learned with a Tee square, parallel bar and drafting machine...and 30º/60º, 45º & adjustable triangles - all ancient artifacts now! I made the transition from slide rules to calculators to Lotus to Excel so I guess maybe I need to go ahead and learn a CAD program. I think I afford the one you showed, too! Thanks for the info! [Reply]  [No Email]