CAD Career Guide and Counseling

Question: What is the best jewelry CAD software in terms of ease of learning and creating good designs to manufacture? I am new to jewelry design. And would like to design jewelry with a CAD software which is easy to learn, allows you to draw and modify 3 D designs easily such that a jeweler can manufacture them. Can I learn the tool myself or do I need to take a class? If a class, where can I take it?

Answer: It depends on how complex your designs will be and your budget. A typical full-feature 3D software will range from 3500.00-4500.00 dollars. There are of course many other options that are even free (blender.org), but from experience they aren't always the most user friendly. I would definitely recommend taking professional classes online or at an authorized training center. Online: http://www.lynda.com http://au.autodesk.com There is a software called Matrix 6 by Gemvision that has many great features and support.

Question: How do you gain experience once qualified in 2D CAD? I have recently qualified in 2D CAD city and guilds and I would like to become an architectural CAD technician. I am planning on studying the inventor course in parametric modelling. Is it just a case of writing to companies? Would a company take me on as a trainee and then how far can you progress in your career? Would they for example allow you leave to study?

Answer: Learning Inventor will be very little benefit to your resume if you want to do architectural drafting. You need to learn AutoCAD products and/or Revit. If you want to get hired, you will probably have to prove you have at least a decent working knowledge of the software already. This isn't a good time to look for this type of job. The architecture industry is a huge mess due to the drop in building construction in the current economy. Without any college degree in architecture, you won't go much farther than a draftsperson. That's not a bad thing - but you asked... If you can leave - depends a lot on the company.

Question: What kind of engineer gets to design using a CAD to build public buildings AND houses? I know civil engineers build public buildings but could they also build houses? if not what kind of engineer do I want to be? and do most engineers use CAD's?

Answer: You want to be a structural or civil engineer... But if you're into the design process, maybe you should consider a career in architecture. And yes, most of engineers use CAD and same with architects. But then again, it depends on where you get to work - theres a range of software out there and different offices use different software... Some dont even use software - they manually draft - but that's extremely rare nowadays.

Question: How to get a CAD model generated from a physical object? What is the device called that 'scans' a physical object to generate a CAD model of it.

Answer: A 3d Scanner or 3D Digitizer

Question: Can auto cad 2009 support auto cad 2004 files and convert files back to a 2004 file? I want to use auto cad 2004 at home and be able to take my work to school in which the computer has 2004 auto cad.

Answer: Yes. Theoretically, you can take any older version to 2009 and open it there. Just make sure that you only go from old to new, and not visa versa. If you take drawings you made in 2009 to your school computer and try to open them in 2004, it won't work. To save a 2009 file to 2004 format, just go to save as. Under the drawing name, there is an option in which you can select different versions and formats. Usually its either .dwg, .dwt, and .dxf for years 2007, 2004 and 2000. You'll probably want to stick with the .dwg format, but with year 2004.

Question: What kind of physically active job can I apply my CAD knowledege to? I have a degree in architectural design, I can draft by hand and with CAD.

Answer: I used to work for a company and we delt with a designer that used cad to design and layout parking lots. He worked for a paving company. he was able to use cad to determine the most number of spots he could get in the space we had. he had to be outside to help the surveyors how he wanted it laid out... that gets you out of the office sometimes.

Question: How much is the start pay for a Drafter on Cad? How much do you get paid for a Cad drafter?

Answer: please give some more details.. because the rates vary depending on the location and your previous work experience. in most cases though, the starting salary for a CAD draftsman is slightly above the basic salary. for instance, if the basic salary in the philippines is 8,000 pesos, that of the CAD draftsman would fall averagely under 12,000 pesos; you do the math...still, previous experience/trainings acquired affect this.

Question: How can I download a version of Civil Engineering CAD for free? Im studying Civil Eng in college. I downloaded a version of Civil Engineering from Autodesk but it doesnt seem to be working and I contacted them and they told me to download this thing and then from that I had to download another thing...But anyways to cut the story short I never downloaded any of the stuff and my CAD still isnt working and I have work due monday that I need done on CAD. Help!

Answer: hello you search for engineering forums...then download from engineer answers .good luck

Question: How do I go about finding out how much to charge for freelance CAD work? A friend of mine has asked me to do some CAD work for her business. It's simple work, but time consuming. My profession is drafting, however, I work for a large company. I have no idea what to tell her as a 'freelance' quote. Where do I begin?

Answer: What do you regard as a fair cost for your time? Then tell her how many hours you expect it to take and the total cost. You could quote her a total cost and then guarantee you won't charge any more.

Question: What part of CAD is considered to be advanced? I have an interest in Auto CAD and found the program to be easy in two D mode since my first semester at college and I was wondering what cad software or cad program is considered to be advanced/ high level/ challenging? A list would be very beneficial thanks.

Answer: I use Solidworks, which I think is fantastic, very user friendly, but people love to talk sh*t about it because it's the leading software in the 3D drafting market, I used ProEngineer for almost a year at a place I worked, and they loved to talk sh*t about SolidWorks, but seeing as I had been using SolidWorks for about 4 years, I thought ProEngineer was terrible, you gotta click like 5 or 6 icons to do something that, in SolidWorks you could do with one click.

Question: What specs should a computer have for running 3D CAD software? I have been experiencing a lot of fatal errors in the auto cad program and want to upgrade my computer to more ram faster processor and better video card. I have several different quotes on several different machines. I want to get a PC power full enough but don't want to spend way too much by going overboard on the specs.

Answer: This depends on lots of things - the amount of data you're working with within auto cad, what other programs you're running at the same time, what operating system you're using (Vista is more resource intensive than XP for example). If you're running Vista, working with large amounts of data, and perhaps running other programs at the same time, then I'd look at something like: A dual-core or quad-core processor of 2.4 GHz or over, 4GB RAM, A graphics card with at least 256MB memory.

Question: Can you use a stick welder instead of a wire feed welder to revive Ni-cad batteries? I seen a video on reviving a Ni-cad battery using a wire feed welder, I have a stick welder. Can that be used instead? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENmAJ2GOAMY

Answer: I viewed the video and it looks interesting. I'm going to try it. Wire feed welders are always DC or direct current and this may be a critical factor for this to work. Don't know. Check your stick welder to see if its DC. Some are but most are AC.

Question: What notebook do you use for CAD, specifically Solidworks ? I'm trying to find a decent and reliable, yet affordable notebook that can be used for CAD (specifically) Solidworks. If you're doing CAD, what is your notebook and how do you like it? And does it really need 3.0 GHz processor? Thank you for your help.

Answer: something such as an Panosonic Toughbook this has the serial ports ect and is a fully rugged laptop. they are hard to get hold of so i would suggest eBay. you could also try ITronics

Question: What is the best CAD to alternate AutoCAD? I am looking for an alternative CAD program to AutoCAD.I need a low cost,but I should use the function of API such as VBA and ARX. Andbody have some suggestions?

Answer: I know the IntelliCAD software are at a low cost. They promote them as an alternative to AutoCAD. You may check their members for their product. As far as I know, GStarICAD can meet your requirement about second development interface such as VBA and ARX. However, you can have a check at their website.

Question: What does CAD mean in terms of Housing Plans? I am looking to purchase housing plans to build a single family house. I see two catergories: CAD Reproducible Master CAD is considerably more but I have no clue what this is, some plans offer it and others don't and why it cost more? Can you help?

Answer: Computer Aided Design. The difference is in whether you will want to customize the stock plans using a computer. If you buy the Reproducible Master, you can get bids from suppliers and contractors based on these plans, they are also the plans used by the contractors to build the home. In my area 7 sets of prints are commonly required. 2 submitted for permit, 1 for homeowner, 1 for framing contractor, 1 for plumber, 1 for heating guy and 1 for foundation contractor. If you plan on making many changes you can load the CAD drawings into an engineered drawing program and make changes...... I've never used CAD for building or quoting a house but have drawn plans using CAD then used the prints from those drawings for bidding..

Question: What software's are the best way to render 3D CAD files? I am using CATIA v5, and I can export files to a variety of CAD standard files, iges, stp, wrl, and step. I want to be able to render these files in a high end rendering software. I was thinking of using 3D Max and using VRay but It has a steep learning curver to use it. Has anyone got any recommendations?

Answer: Hi, If you want to produce realistic images quickly from your models, you should take a look at Hypershot from Bunkspeed http://www.bunkspeed.com/index.html Reletavly speaking, It's a cheap package and they also offer a free trial. Also there are good online tutorials to get you up to speed quickly.