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Old 12-18-2023, 03:37 PM
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tdracer tdracer is offline
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Default Suggestions for simple CAD software

I have a buddy who is willing to try out his professional water jet equipment to cut 1/4 modeling plywood for high-power rocketry centering rings and fins. He seems to think that it'll cut fast enough that he can avoid significant water damage and warping to the resultant parts.

The catch is I need to create some CAD files - preferably .dwg or .dwx output files. I have zero experience, and in the old dogs/new tricks department, I need something simple and preferably cheap (or freeware).

Any suggestions?
TIA

Tim
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Old 12-18-2023, 04:17 PM
SolarYellow SolarYellow is offline
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https://www.google.com/search?q=free+2d+cad+software

The water jet should be OK on quality plywood.

Still, I'd lean more toward G10 or carbon fiber for that equipment. I tried pricing out some water jet work for small c.f. parts in thin carbon fiber/G10 sheet about a year ago. I'm in a big, very industrial city and couldn't find a local shop willing to touch it for less than a few hundred bucks, and they wouldn't promise a level of dimensional control that would lead me to expect reliable production of useful parts.
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Old 12-18-2023, 04:18 PM
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HenryMac HenryMac is offline
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I made a career out of CAD / Solid Modeling using Autodesk products which is not free.

FreeCAD is really a great product but it needs a pretty substantial computer to run. You might try that one.

SketchUp is a product that many folks use... you might give that a try.

Hope that helps.

John
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Old 12-18-2023, 04:28 PM
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tdracer tdracer is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SolarYellow
https://www.google.com/search?q=free+2d+cad+software

The water jet should be OK on quality plywood.

Still, I'd lean more toward G10 or carbon fiber for that equipment. I tried pricing out some water jet work for small c.f. parts in thin carbon fiber/G10 sheet about a year ago. I'm in a big, very industrial city and couldn't find a local shop willing to touch it for less than a few hundred bucks, and they wouldn't promise a level of dimensional control that would lead me to expect reliable production of useful parts.


G10 or other composites are often overkill for what I'm looking for (paper or Bluetube body tubes) - plus when doing scale stuff, I often need the thickness of plywood - but it takes a pretty powerful laser cutter for 3/32 and 1/4 ply which is outside the realm of what most hobby suppliers have available.

The guy in question is an old racing buddy - and the company gave me some sponsorship help back then. He also thinks my rocketry stuff is pretty cool (I'd sometimes launch a few mid-power rockets at the race track when we were done for the day). So he's willing to help and should give me reasonable prices.
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Old 12-19-2023, 10:47 AM
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Check and see if he can take a .DXF file.
If all you need is outlines of the shapes you want, you can use Inkscape to draw your rings, and save the file as DXF.

There are some online converters that you can use to change an SVG to DWG if you need to.
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Old 12-19-2023, 05:25 PM
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bernomatic bernomatic is offline
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I've had ProgeCAD since 2017. It was a lot cheaper than any of the AutoDesk stuff and you didn't need to buy a seat every year.
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