Hey Old Farts,it,s time to learn CAD.

Hi Folks,
It,s soon 2012 and there is solutions today for making bracket,flanges etc.
in a better way then with that old grinder you find on a swap-meet 20 years ago.

I run a waterjet for a living and I often get the question from my customers if there is any less expensive cad program out there that they also can learn without to much effort so they can do there own drawings.

I search it and found this :
http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/download-draftsight/

Its free and after downloading it they ask for a email adress, they will send comercial adds to it. Use a junk adress

Very easy to learn and there is even lessons on youtube for it,.
Use this thread to ask questions and help eachother out here.

If you spend some evenings struggeling with this program you will very soon sending drawings to your local water/lazer cutter and get some awsome parts for you ride.

Maybe there is local HAMB,ers here that works with cutting that can help you out making parts out of your drawings.

/Martin

 

Thanks, but I'm still trying to figure out how to use a cell phone. Cost of water jetting one or two parts sure must cost more that making them at home.

 

Thats cool iwaslooking for something like this quite a while now.

 

Thanks for that Martin, I've been looking to learn that stuff, It will save me badgering my mate to draw stuff for me.

Cheers
Steve.

 

I was wondering the same thing. What are the economics of having single or pairs of parts cut?

 

i like your moxie young man!

 

Thank you Go-Twichy

 

Sure depends how complicated the part is, easy simple thin brackets are for sure cheeper to make at home.

But generaly it is cheep compared to effort and time of making the part at home.

For example, stainless 3/8 thick cylinder head exhaust flanges for your odd motor taks a LOT of time milling in the garage.
Cost at waterjet ~ 80-120 bucks a pair.

Usally the companys have a starting cost so it gets cheeper if you make more parts in the same material.

And you can also think like this, a car that the owner think is worth 40.000 dollars when finished maybe is worth spending some money on

 

But generaly it is cheep compared to effort and time of making the part at home.

Us Old farts derive something special from using our time & effort to make a part at home...Its called ......Pride !

 

Well mr Fart, you are my HERO

 

Is it okay if I use my 4 axis machining center instead?

 

You know whats better than learning CAD when your 55? Having a Son that knows how and is a metal fabricator and has access to a water jet. BUT I still make things at home because it`s fun ! He and his buddies get a kick out of the patterns that I send him. They are full size and made out of wood!

 

So I have never done any cad stuff before downloaded this system and have been playing with it for the last 2 hours it is very easy to use. Thanks for the link tmfcracing. can't wait to have my first parts cut.

 

nice.. but is it limited to 2d?

 

I design all my exhaust flanges, engine girdles, gussets and brackets using 2D or 3D CAD. A basic 2D system can easily do complex arcs like French curves, etc. Also, once you've designed something you can use it in the future as many times as you like.

I'll make a plug for Pops29 as well - he will cut your parts for a very fair price and he is fantastic to work with.

B&S

 

Hah! Thats nothing. I'm a highly experienced cad...Just ask any woman I know.

 

Did they have water-jetted parts "back in the day"?

 

No - I think the term was "Flame Wrench Jetted"

 

Thats great.
If you get stucked on something in the drawings you make , mail me the file and I'll try to help you out with it
[email protected]

 

Cool thanks

 

I went to download it, when I looked in my .../software/cad/ folder, I noticed it already contains a file called draftsight.exe.

I wonder if I've played with it? I can't keep this stuff straight any more...

 

Thanks, Looks like works Plasma cutter will be on OT

 

This is how I do my brackets and stuff . Its especially handy when your fitting a few parts together. You can test it all before making a single cut . And nothing beats the clean cut lines of a laser or waterjet .

 

Thanks for the link. I used to use AutoCad Light a very long time ago, but lost interest, this looks like a good (CHEAP) way to get back into it.

 

Thanks for the link, been wanting to get into this for a while.

 

I almost dropped my file..............

 

Fore the clueless can someone post a photo or two of the stuff you are designing?

 

All sorts of stuff - here is just some 2D examples that I have done for my 34 chassis - I've included a 'flat' skidplate design (under transmission) as well as some of the final products. You can do a heck of a lot without a huge amount of work.

Tip: When you're doing a design, print it out 1 to 1 on a printer -- then you can check the actual fit of the part/sketch . . . before you have it made.

Here yah go:













Give it a try!

 

Hey, I am an Engineer by trade and I draw stuff all day long, well almost all day...I do use Mainly 3D Inventor, but I learned AutoCAD in about 1986, or so...The 3D cad is pretty neat. I can draw a sheet metal part and it'll 'flatten' it for you, so you know the stock size and hole locations...

Gary

 

Great minds must think alike. Just this morning I was sketching a drawing of a new design modification for a product that I manufactured back in the 70's and early 80's. I've decided to bring it back onto the market. I built hundreds of these items, not auto related, and made a small fortune in doing so. I had used Auto Cad and Auto Sketch back in the late 80's, and stopped when the latest Auto Cad 10 at the time was $3,000.
This free Cad set up will do the job that I'm looking to do. I have a friend that has a plasma cutting set up. I bring him hand drawings, and he has to convert it to Cad for me taking up his time.
I've loaded the free Cad and started playing with it. Thanks for the inspirational idea.
You have to appreciate most of the guys on HAMB excluding the tramps.
Thanks again for the information, and yes I'm an Old Fart at 66.
Johnny Sweet