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As far as I've seen, AC3D isn't a CAD package - there aren't any dimensioning tools in it to my knowledge. If you know differently, then by all means correct me, but if it doesn't do dimensioning I'd highly recommend NOT purchasing it for CAD work. It will be too frustrating. (I played with it a long time ago.) FreeCAD is a better alternative, but it isn't as user friendly as Alibre CAD, or the other options mentioned.
If you are into AC3D, Blender is another option you may be interested in. For many items it is far easier to use than AC3D, and far more powerful.
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I agree.
AC3D is a cheap intro to CAD. Blender is a curious app which I have used. Rendering etc.
I use Rhino3D when I am serious. But not cheap.
There is CAD and there is rendering (ray tracing, etc.)
not always congruent.
night all.
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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jmaida wrote: AC3D is a cheap intro to CAD.
No. It is a cheap intro to creating objects in 3D. (Blender is cheaper, at 'free'.) CAD (Computer Aided Design) is something else, and dimensioning is a central part of that 'something else.' With a proper CAD drawing (not a file, but a 2d drawing printed on paper), you can hand it to a machinist and they can make the part from scratch because it has all the dimensions and tolerances needed to make that part. AC3D is incapable of making such a drawing without tons of work to fake the dimensions. You won't be able to have those 'fake' dimensions update when the part is stretched because they will be pure objects (lines, rectangles, elipses, and even text objects probably...) made to look like real dimensions, but having no connection to the part's real attributes. Any competent CAD package, including QCAD, will have real dimensions that can be updated with the part. AC3D most definitely does not. It would be a grave disservice to point a newbie at real CAD drawing to AC3D because it is a waste of their money, for what they want to learn. FreeCAD would be better, because it introduces them to the concepts of real CAD, and it is free. But there are better options available.
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I said it was a cheap intro not the only intro. Yes, Blender is also a cheap intro. QCAD is too.
Your lecture on CAD tool capabilities is note-worthy for CP audience. For me, been there, done that.
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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jmaida wrote: For me, been there, done that.
OP is doing 2D design. The only real point in doing 2D design is to get dimensions down on a scaled drawing in order to hand it to someone for production. You can't 3D print from a 2D drawing. AC3D might be usable for 3D printing, but it is not usable for 2D dimensioned drawings. So obviously, you haven't done that if you don't know the difference in those capabilities. As I've said elsewhere (too often - I should just shut up) AC3D is not the tool they need, even for beginning to learn the CAD they are trying to do. If it was just 3D printing - maybe. But if they are focused on 2D prints, that is not their goal.
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Agree. Have done that.
I used one of first 3D printers available at the time. 2015?
Yikes, what a mess.
The software was to control the order of things, but users could easily break it.
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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"Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or workstations) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design"
Yes, there is more to it than that. Inivis calls it a "3D design software program". So it is an intro to CAD.
Done.
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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From someone who has done CAD in the manner specified by the OP, Invisis AC3D is definitely NOT an introduction to that type of CAD, and will just piss the OP off when they find out what real CAD is. They will know that they wasted their money. They would be far better off to play with FreeCAD for free than to spend $90 on AC3D.
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Understood. Respect that.
Done CAD of all flavors for 40+ years.
Just my opinion.
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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but only 2/3 the fun. 
Good Luck
Definition of a burocrate; Delegate, Take Credit, shift blame.
PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - Release Version 1.3.1 JaxCoder.com
Latest Article: EventAggregator
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Try learning Solidworks! I’ve been using it for the last 15 years and still find new ways of doing things! Mind you, its user interface leaves a lot to be desired - no consistency across functions! It’s as if it was designed by disparate teams all with their own idea on how to implement the functionality
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I've spent years with TurboCAD and have a pretty good handle on it.
Plus I have the Platinum version, which ain't cheap. (without subscription, which I am against)
Definition of a burocrate; Delegate, Take Credit, shift blame.
PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - Release Version 1.3.1 JaxCoder.com
Latest Article: EventAggregator
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Like everything else these days, YouTube videos.
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very few on this topic
diligent hands rule....
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this info is great!
diligent hands rule....
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Simple. Practice. Practice. Practice. You will find yourself in Carnegie Hall.
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Not in today's market. I know a trumpet player who had to quit the biz and become a security guard to put bread on the table.
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Did he/she master the trumpet? Sounds like she/he had gigs. Classical? Jazz?
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He mastered it in college, did cruise ships, then Vegas. Huge downsizing in business because bean counters took over, etc...
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diligent hands rule....
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The quickest way to learn anything is to go all in. Doesn't matter if it's software or a new language. Devote all your time to it and 10,000 hours later you might know a thing or two.
Jeremy Falcon
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When I'm learning a new "thing" nothing else exists until I nail it -I think I may be a tad autistic
In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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pkfox wrote: I think I may be a tad autistic
Maybe... but people always want to label something that's not the norm... even though the norm will always produce mediocre results by it's very nature. I do the same. Methinks you're just focused.
Jeremy Falcon
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I have a small project to do and do not have enough time
diligent hands rule....
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