Craft Edge

Thanks to Dassault Systems, DraftSight is a FREEEEEEEE CAD program that you can use to import or create new DWG, DXF, IGES files. It exports to SVG! No more need for AutoCAD!

You can also import image files and trace over them.

If you are new to CAD software, when you register, (registration is FREEEEE), you can download the getting started guide.

Did I mention it is FREEEEE?

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/ ... raftsight/

That looks pretty cool. And there's a Mac version, too. I will definitely pull it down and play around.

- Jasen.

I am so ignorant about other software and what it does so can I ask: What does it do (in simple language) and do I need to get this to do simple things I might need for SCAL? Thanks

TOASTER wrote:I am so ignorant about other software and what it does so can I ask: What does it do (in simple language) and do I need to get this to do simple things I might need for SCAL? Thanks

It's a drawing program - like Inkscape or Illustrator. And, no, for simple things, you don't need it.

- Jasen.

Thanks for the information!

Sounds complicated to me.

Note that Draftsite is no longer free. However there are several other comparable programs. Note that if you can save a DXF file, Inkscape can import it. The DWG file format is mostly important for people who do drafting.

nanoCAD https://nanocad.com It saves its files in the native DWG file format. Will allow you to import Raster Images. And most importantly for CAD guys, it can run Lisp programs.

QCAD https://www.qcad.org/, Their free version saves its files as DXF format only. But, the Pro version can save SVG format. Their Pro version (33 Euros) does DWG and many other formats.

LibreCAD, https://librecad.org Its native format is DXF. Can export DXF and SVG. Can import Raster Images, No programming language.

-joe