Hopefully someone on this group may know?

I'm looking at getting an older version of Turbocad off Ebay to play
with.

Would anyone know the difference between Turbocad "designer" and
turbocad "deluxe"?

I believe the deluxe will let you view your parts in 3D and designer
won't -- but need to confirm that.

I'm sure it probably has some other features as well?

THANKS

get the "professional" version - I just upgraded to V16, mechanical - that
has cool features, but of course it's more pricey than the older versions -
I sold my V14, the version I upgraded, to a co-worker.

what you may want to do is look on ebay and look on the turbocadd web site
and see what combination of older version plus upgrade gets you the best
price - the "deluxe" version is basically the entry level version - and I
believe that "designer" is really focused on simple architectural models,
though I didn't use that version - their web site is very good, and I've
found their customer service and sales folks quite helpful, even with
questions like this.

"mkr5000" wrote in message
...
Hopefully someone on this group may know?

I'm looking at getting an older version of Turbocad off Ebay to play
with.

Would anyone know the difference between Turbocad "designer" and
turbocad "deluxe"?

I believe the deluxe will let you view your parts in 3D and designer
won't -- but need to confirm that.

I'm sure it probably has some other features as well?

THANKS

mkr5000 wrote:
Hopefully someone on this group may know?

I'm looking at getting an older version of Turbocad off Ebay to play
with.

Would anyone know the difference between Turbocad "designer" and
turbocad "deluxe"?

I believe the deluxe will let you view your parts in 3D and designer
won't -- but need to confirm that.

I'm sure it probably has some other features as well?

THANKS
I echo Bill's advice - forget the DeLuxe and Designer versions and go
for the Professional version.
If you can't afford V16 Pro, then look for a V11 Pro - its just about
the most stable version of all. The updates to take it to V11.2 are free
from the IMSI website. V16 may have some more bells and whistles, but
V11 is extremely capable.
One of the best parts about TCAD is the support available from the forums.

--
Regards, Gary Wooding
(To reply by email, change gug to goog in my address)

Ok -- will keep an eye out for V11 pro -- but let me explain what I'm
after.

(1) First of all, I don't use cad every day and I need something as
user friendly as possible.

(2) My parts are VERY simple drawings of small aluminum parts and all
I need to do is ba able to export to DXF for the fabrication shop and
have the part (hopefully in 3D with those dimensions listed as well).
I generally just do simple bends, round holes etc.

Now -- I LOVE the software from emachineshop.com and the only other
one I like (and I've tried them all) is one called A9CAD.

Very basic stuff but just what I'm after. When you start these
programs, everything is very familiar even when you haven't used it in
a year.

Unfortunately, emachineshop will only interface with their service
which is extremely pricey and A9CAD doesn't give me a 3D view.

So, with all that in mind, what do you think?

Should I still go with pro?

I was looking at the Turbocad deluxe 14 because it's only 25 bucks --
you think it's worth a try?

There is a real market out there for a program that is easy, cheap and
has a focus on creating CNC parts.

All the architectural and other stuff I'll never use.

mkr5000 wrote:

Hopefully someone on this group may know?

I'm looking at getting an older version of Turbocad off Ebay to play
with.

Would anyone know the difference between Turbocad "designer" and
turbocad "deluxe"?

I believe the deluxe will let you view your parts in 3D and designer
won't -- but need to confirm that.

I'm sure it probably has some other features as well?


THANKS

You really ought to look at Alibre. You can try it for 30 days free.

http://www.alibre.com/


Wes

I also vote for "pro" or nothing from Turbocad. You SAY you only need
simple software, but here you are, the drawing is 90% done and you need
to add a little xxx.. It doesn't exist in the version you bought, so
now what? --Almost there, but no cigar!
I hate to tell you how old MY Turbocad is, but it's so old that
updates to newer versions aren't available at upgrade prices anymore.
I used to update every other rev, but got out of the habit. They would
run "specials" to get you to go to the latest. I could stand for $100
or so a pop, but now I'd have to pay $1000 or more to get the latest.
The reason I tell you this is that, unless you know you are going to
die off pretty soon, you DON'T know how long you will be using CAD, so
I'd buy as new as I could afford, to reduce later upgrade costs.

Maybe some of the other posters care to comment on this, but I never
felt that Turbocad was all that "intuitive".
The idea that "if you've seen one you've seen 'em all" was lost on me.

Pete Stanaitis
---------------

mkr5000 wrote:
Hopefully someone on this group may know?

I'm looking at getting an older version of Turbocad off Ebay to play
with.

Would anyone know the difference between Turbocad "designer" and
turbocad "deluxe"?

I believe the deluxe will let you view your parts in 3D and designer
won't -- but need to confirm that.

I'm sure it probably has some other features as well?

THANKS

I will second the idea that turbocadd is not intuitive, but it seems to work
well.

and you ought to be able to get a good upgrade price by buying something
newer off ebay and then upgrading that - it worked for me -=


"spaco" wrote in message
.. .
I also vote for "pro" or nothing from Turbocad. You SAY you only need
simple software, but here you are, the drawing is 90% done and you need to
add a little xxx.. It doesn't exist in the version you bought, so now
what? --Almost there, but no cigar!
I hate to tell you how old MY Turbocad is, but it's so old that updates
to newer versions aren't available at upgrade prices anymore. I used to
update every other rev, but got out of the habit. They would run
"specials" to get you to go to the latest. I could stand for $100 or so a
pop, but now I'd have to pay $1000 or more to get the latest.
The reason I tell you this is that, unless you know you are going to die
off pretty soon, you DON'T know how long you will be using CAD, so I'd buy
as new as I could afford, to reduce later upgrade costs.

Maybe some of the other posters care to comment on this, but I never felt
that Turbocad was all that "intuitive".
The idea that "if you've seen one you've seen 'em all" was lost on me.

Pete Stanaitis
---------------

mkr5000 wrote:
Hopefully someone on this group may know?

I'm looking at getting an older version of Turbocad off Ebay to play
with.

Would anyone know the difference between Turbocad "designer" and
turbocad "deluxe"?

I believe the deluxe will let you view your parts in 3D and designer
won't -- but need to confirm that.

I'm sure it probably has some other features as well?

THANKS

spaco wrote:

I also vote for "pro" or nothing from Turbocad. You SAY you only need
simple software, but here you are, the drawing is 90% done and you need
to add a little xxx.. It doesn't exist in the version you bought, so
now what? --Almost there, but no cigar!
I hate to tell you how old MY Turbocad is, but it's so old that
updates to newer versions aren't available at upgrade prices anymore.
I used to update every other rev, but got out of the habit. They would
run "specials" to get you to go to the latest. I could stand for $100
or so a pop, but now I'd have to pay $1000 or more to get the latest.
The reason I tell you this is that, unless you know you are going to
die off pretty soon, you DON'T know how long you will be using CAD, so
I'd buy as new as I could afford, to reduce later upgrade costs.

Maybe some of the other posters care to comment on this, but I never
felt that Turbocad was all that "intuitive".
The idea that "if you've seen one you've seen 'em all" was lost on me.

Pete Stanaitis
---------------

mkr5000 wrote:
Hopefully someone on this group may know?

I'm looking at getting an older version of Turbocad off Ebay to play
with.

Would anyone know the difference between Turbocad "designer" and
turbocad "deluxe"?

I believe the deluxe will let you view your parts in 3D and designer
won't -- but need to confirm that.

I'm sure it probably has some other features as well?

THANKS

My last Turbocad upgrade was rather diagonal, going from V9 Pro to V15
Deluxe. Reviewing what I actually use it for, mostly 2.5D stuff for CNC
plasma / engraving, it seemed I really didn't need pro, and if need be I
could use my V9.

Even used pro is out of my budget -- so is Alibre.

21.95 for turbocad deluxe 14 and I bet it's more than I want -- I'm
getting it.

Like I say, the day someone writes software like emachineshop.com for
doing CNC parts, they will have filled a void.

You guys should try the emachine download and you'll know what I'm
talking about.

It's a pretty small file and it's free.

Thanks for the suggestions.

"spaco" wrote in message
.. .
I also vote for "pro" or nothing from Turbocad. You SAY you only need
simple software, but here you are, the drawing is 90% done and you need to
add a little xxx.. It doesn't exist in the version you bought, so now
what? --Almost there, but no cigar!
I hate to tell you how old MY Turbocad is, but it's so old that updates
to newer versions aren't available at upgrade prices anymore. I used to
update every other rev, but got out of the habit. They would run
"specials" to get you to go to the latest. I could stand for $100 or so a
pop, but now I'd have to pay $1000 or more to get the latest.
The reason I tell you this is that, unless you know you are going to die
off pretty soon, you DON'T know how long you will be using CAD, so I'd buy
as new as I could afford, to reduce later upgrade costs.

Maybe some of the other posters care to comment on this, but I never felt
that Turbocad was all that "intuitive".
The idea that "if you've seen one you've seen 'em all" was lost on me.

Pete Stanaitis
---------------

I've been disapointed with TurboCad deluxe, not easy to use at all. It's
one of those things that relies on regular use to get slick at. I bought
the paper manual for ease and it really exposes how much is "professional
version only". Having said that it does work for the parts I've drawn and
more useful than pencil and paper, so it wins, but only just.

On Oct 17, 6:18*am, mkr5000 wrote:

Would anyone know the difference between Turbocad "designer" and
turbocad "deluxe"?

Have you looked at progeCAD 2008 Smart! (http://www.progesoft.com/en/
smart-2008) ?

It's free, although they do solicit donations to Doctors Without
Borders for Darfur, "a western Sudan region in Africa, that endures a
humanitarian crisis without precedents. All of the users that want to
help us can make a donation."

People who have used it say it's so close to AutoCad the skills are
totally transferable, and the file formats are identical. Not my skill
set but I've had personal recommendations. You can download it, try it
and keep it all for free - not a pig in a poke.

ISTM these days you are better off putting your time into marketable
skills (and if you want to pay money it's tax deductible).