TheSwamp
CAD Forums => CAD General => Topic started by: Rustabout on December 27, 2019, 02:05:12 AM
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Musts:
-Has to have a command line;
-Has to use AutoLISP and preferably, Visual LISP extensions;
-Must produce stable .DWG files;
-And obviously, should be much cheaper than AutoCAD.
Preferences:
-Can make dynamic blocks (with parameters, actions, attributes, etc...) that have equal functionality to AutoCAD's blocks. Or is able to achieve the same
usefulness we get from dynamic blocks through some other means.
-3D is included for a reasonably cheap price.
I think most of the more prominent products now include dynamic blocks (some where lacking before). Curious to hear some thoughts from people experienced in using the other CAD's out there.
Cheers!
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If you need an add-on you may want to look at https://cadavenue.com/mech-q.htm
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BricsCAD
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BTW I think Dynamic Block creations is still prohibited under a patent held by Autodesk.
Bricscad can edit the blocks: https://help.bricsys.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006470354-Dynamic-Blocks
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I think BricsCAD v20 includes support for parametric blocks, not dynamic though.
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Thanks for the replies!
I recall BricsCAD being the best alternative. What deterred me from their offering is the price increase. Additionally, as we've seen, these companies aren't always shy about changing licensing rules on us. A "perpetual license" isn't as attractive as it used to be (unless a bunch of people organize a class action and are successful hehe).
AutoCAD opened the door for competition. But either nobody stepped up. Or they increased their price a bit too much.
It's definitely hard to live without dynamic blocks once you get used to them. I also wonder if the programs will be a bit "crashy" when importing AutoCAD dynamic blocks.
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Parametric Blocks are another form of a dynamic block.https://blog.bricsys.com/dynamic-blocks-vs-2d-parametric-blocks/
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I feel like "Dynamic" Is defining "Actions" combined with "Parameters", while "Parametric" is more the constraint parameters.
In AutoCAD, I find that constraints and constraint parameters are less stable than using the actions, especially during block creation. I use actions whenever I can get away with em. And they are quicker and easier. I can, however, make almost any block with either actions or constraints exclusively (some exceptions of course). I only recently learned that actions could be "scaled"; previously I had to use constrain parameters if I wanted something to "stretch" by a factor. I can create dynamic blocks much faster using the actions too, along with being more stable. Is it worth paying extra $100's of dollars for each year? Probably not, especially since BricsCAD says you can import blocks made in AutoCAD into BricsCAD. One could utilize the monthly subscription and just spend one month per year making/editing blocks. Then back to BricsCAD.
Learnt a ton... but only so much time in a day. I'm still scared to commit to something 100%. If I do maybe I ought to post my review/experience.
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BricsCAD is by far the best AutoCAD alternative hands down.
While the price has increased over the last few years it's still way cheaper than AutoCAD and has much more native .DWG capabilities and is a lot faster and more stable.
For example, the Platinum version of BricsCAD incorporates (more or less) the AutoCAD verticals such as Revit and Inventor but also includes Sheetmetal, Civil and BIM, the BIG difference is that these features are all native .DWG.....think about that for a moment ;)
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switch to BricsCAD+1
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switch to BricsCAD+2
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switch to BricsCAD+3
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BricsCAD is by far the best AutoCAD alternative hands down.
While the price has increased over the last few years it's still way cheaper than AutoCAD and has much more native .DWG capabilities and is a lot faster and more stable.
For example, the Platinum version of BricsCAD incorporates (more or less) the AutoCAD verticals such as Revit and Inventor but also includes Sheetmetal, Civil and BIM, the BIG difference is that these features are all native .DWG.....think about that for a moment ;)
Point for clarity: Revit and Inventor are not AutoCAD verticals. They are not built on the AutoCAD platform, they are completely separate code bases, and separate from each other as well.
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Draftsight doesnt do 3d, but dors offer good "round trip" functionality.
BricsCAD is very similar to AutoCAD. The biggest advantage it has is that its cheaper and its substantionally faster at 3D modeling.
Other options include LibreCAD, NanoCAD and TurboCAD.
https://pctechtest.com/best-2d-cad-drafting-software
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I've been using CadMate since 2019 and really like it. It has the look , feel, and responsiveness of Autocad 2008, with the newer functions and without the bloated feel of newer versions of Autocad. GstarCad is the same thing. You can get a permanent license for around $600
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Who is CadMate? Are they intellicad or ODA?
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I'm seeing lots of evidence of guerilla marketing here. Also what would either be misinformation or outdated information. For example: DraftSight DOES have 3D capabilities (if you buy the right version but that should go without saying). FWIW here's what I tried:
The ones I've tested extensively:
GstarCAD
BricsCAD
One's I've used just a bit:
ProgeCAD
CorelCAD
ZWCAD
NanoCAD (practically a different category).
The next one I want to try is Draftsight. They seem to have the least amount of BS mixed into their marketing.
Out of the stuff I've tried extensively, GstarCAD was the best overall. I had random issues with it. They seem to have fiddled with the AutoLISP API as well last time around. They also have some BS going on with their VS Code plugin: It's the only one I couldn't get to work, appears to be piggy-backing off AutoCAD/AutoDesk's, and they decided to waste my time instead of addressing the issue; other than that it was pretty good actually! I'll mention that the latest version felt bloated. Previous versions used to load super fast.
ZWCAD was good but just seemed a little expensive. It was missing some of the features I needed. It also had annoying but non-deal-breaking bugs. I had them written down but nobody ever cares.
BricsCAD: Well... since some of the helpful people here like this program I will hold back (I've also posted about this before anyways). If it worked as well as advertised I would have been able to start my side business two years earlier than I did. I would caution those who recommend the program to think about the consequences of using something that doesn't work like it's supposed to. And for those who believe in the company, maybe you should organize and make an effort to turn things around.
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Didn’t see CadMate listed on ODA or the Intellicad’s site. CadMate has GStar’s navecube… maybe it’s OEM