AutoCAD Inventor Professional Software for FREE?

[Baby Grand]

I say both plasma and water jet do an excellent job at cutting steel if you have someone with that capability and quantity of work. Me...I cut with a torch then grind, grind, grind!:laughing:

Amen to that, sdkub!
I just spent the afternoon with a good friend OA cutting, grinding and welding. With a little practice and after some twiddling to get the torch set right, the amount of grinding is really very small. Plus, there's something very satisfying about the way it cuts when you have it dialed in right. I have an old Cutmaster torch that I think was already old when I got it, several decades ago. Hope I never have to replace it.

 

[Rob-D]

Amen to that, sdkub!
I just spent the afternoon with a good friend OA cutting, grinding and welding. With a little practice and after some twiddling to get the torch set right, the amount of grinding is really very small. Plus, there's something very satisfying about the way it cuts when you have it dialed in right. I have an old Cutmaster torch that I think was already old when I got it, several decades ago. Hope I never have to replace it.

Have you ever used plasma? No grinding and it's fast and clean.

Rob

 

[mjncad]

I was an avid Autocad user and proficient with their Land Development Desktop. Then they changed everything to Civil 3D which I consider to be a nightmare. Their software design got more and more complicated to operate and now takes full time technicians to use with constant re-training. I wish software firms would manufacture products easy to use and yet powerful in their capability.

What you describe with AutoCAD Civil 3d is the same problem Autodesk had with Mechanical Desktop, and still has with Architectural Desktop. All of these vertical discipline specific flavors of AutoCAD are based on AutoCAD. Inventor took over Mechanical Desktop and isn't AutoCAD based. Revit is taking over for Architectural Desktop, and rightfully so. However; AutoCAD still shines when it comes to doing schematic drawings and simple 2D drafting. What is needed for the civil discipline is for Autodesk to take the same approach to dirt pushing as they do with mechanical and architectural design.

Thanks for all the input and help, Chris

One last question guys, what is the cheapest way and best format to have parts cut from steel? CNC plasma, water jet???? And what formats are common for this? What are some good companies you guys ahve used in the past? Im in Michigan if any have suggestions here.

Generally DXF is what plasma, water, laser cutting shops want. I've had stuff laser and water cut using DXF files I sent the cutting service company. I had to clean them up in AutoCAD to get rid of any third dimension stuff that isn't needed to cut out 2D parts. For plastic models done via 3D printer, I believe STL (STereo Lithography) is the file format of choice.