Getting Familiar with CAD Software

<p>A few engineering internships that interest Lake Jr. expressly noted that familiarity with AutoCad or Solidworks was a desired qualification.</p>

<p>Lake Jr. will not be able to enroll in any courses involving CAD until next year. I offered to purchase the student version of either AutoCad or Solidworks to play around with, but I wonder if that's really worthwhile, as the 1-year student license will expire before he can take a CAD class at school. I understand that the engineering school provides access to CAD software only if one is actually taking CAD classes (makes sense), so if you need to practice on your own, that's it...you are indeed on your own.</p>

<p>My question; in Lake Jr.'s situation, is it practical to avoid the expense of AutoCAD or Solidworks for now and instead experiment with a program such as TurboCAD 2D/3D, which doesn't have a restricted license in terms of time of use? The TurboCAD option would only be a short-term experiment to get some familiarity with CAD in time for a summer 2014 internship/Co-op.</p>

<p>Normally, even though they do not let you license it before the class, the school has computer labs with the modeling software on it. My school lets all engineers have Solidworks, but they also have computer labs just in case your computer crashes. Solidworks was really easy to learn btw, it has a really good set of step by step tutorials.</p>

<p>Check to see if his school provides the software whether it be through open access or a computer lab. </p>

<p>My university allows use of all of their software for free, no matter your major or course selection.</p>

<p>Actually, AutoCAD has a free student version that is licensed for 3 years. [Autodesk</a> Education Community - Free Software for Students](<a href=“http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=14185424]Autodesk”>http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=14185424) The caveat is that it watermarks all printouts/plots/PDFs so you can’t use it for commercial work. But that should not be an issue for Jr if he just needs to learn the ropes.</p>

<p>The paid student edition you were probably looking at instead is for students who want to remove the watermarking. That has a “perpetual” license, but is also not supposed to be used for commercial work.</p>

<p>You can get the program for free off some reputable torrents. I am currently using the program for free and have had no problems.</p>

<p>^Not really the most ethical option. Certainly not one a parent would suggest to their child.</p>

<p>“Reputable torrent” = oxymoron?</p>

<p>Cue on the Adobe licensing practices for students in 5…4…3…2…1…</p>

<p>Unethical? sure. So is preying on the pockets of prospective engineers and college students already up to their necks in debt. At least I am not the fool for paying $4000+ for a program that expires in a year. So yes, I sleep better at night knowing that. For this guy’s purposes there is nothing that justifies forking out that much $$$ for a “possible internship” or major that he may not end up pursuing.</p>

<p>I’m not a fan of AutoCAD, believe me. We upgraded from AutoCAD to Revit a few years ago. It wasn’t cheap. Then we realized that any work we did for clients with Revit would be done on THEIR computers (since they keep the model on their server) and we didn’t need it in our office. So we asked if we could downgrade to Revit and pay for AutoCAD only. We were told, “Yes, if you pay the downgrade fee…” which was thousands of dollars!</p>

<p>BUT I also know that AutoCAD is very aggressive about finding cheats, so beware. And plus, it IS illegal and unethical. It’s a great way to start your engineering career, by cheating. Don’t they teach ethics in college?</p>

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<p>Absolutely an ABET requirement.</p>

<p>Also, as has been mentioned in this thread…the student edition is FREE. Stealing is stealing. When I was in the Navy if we had a thief, in addition to their punishment, they were made to wear a sign that read " I AM A THIEF" at all times for 30 days straight on the ship. People don’t like working with someone who feels that just because something costs too much that validates them just taking it.</p>

<p>Then get the student edition or register at a local Community college where he can use it for free on their computers.</p>

<p>You can easily download the student version on their website for Autocad products. It’s just like the real thing, except it watermarks all the printed drawings as “for educational purposes only” or something. Just takes forever to download and install. Great to work with.</p>

<p>Clearly, the free student edition is the way to go. And I suspect that Chucktown and Niquii77 are right about unfettered access to CAD at the university’s computer labs (why do we parents have to repeatedly remind our teenage college students about investigating the college’s resources? LOL).</p>

<p>Thanks to all for your input.</p>