I am going to post this thread to give an overview of design software available to the construction trades for usage in your business. I am going to keep it contained to CAD type software that will be basically for designing homes and more. I'm not going to bother with kitchen design or deck design, etc. and I'm not going to list them all because I'd be here forever. There's too many of them.
I'm going to start with my favorite program because it contains just about everything under the sun and for $900, you just can't beat it. Add VRay to it and you can draw blueprints and have photo realistic renderings
Rhino 3d - Just download it. You won't be disappointed. They give you a full working trial for 25 saves.
Autodesk This company IMO is just king. they're like Microsoft... consuming everything out there. If you don't believe me, just look at the products they have to offer
Autodesk products
The products that are mainly used for design:
AutoCAD - The king of Kings. Pro's call it Vanilla CAD
AutoCAD LT - AutoCAD's 2d baby brother
AutoCAD Architecture - AutoCAD's big brother. Free 30 day trial, but this is a massive program. Don't expect to learn too much in the 30 days.
Revit Architecture - This is my program, the new CAD...BIM. Free 30 day fully functional trial download
Impression - Just like SketchUp. I do not see a free download for this program. It's too bad they decided this.
Inventor - More for mechanical design, it's parametric
3ds MAX/Viz - The rendering part (make pretty pictures!)
Design Review and DWF writer - Free program, like PDF's. It's for collaboration with others, but may not be flexible for you and clients who don't have this software.
Autodesk is a well supported community. Most engineers use their software, so it's easy to collaborate.
SolidBuilder - Have not personally used it, but take a good look if you are a builder. This has some great software features for takeoffs, framing, etc. WallMaxx turned me onto this one.
Graphisoft ArchiCAD - My next favorite program. BIM like Revit. Well supported community. Parametric modeling which means if you move a window on your floor plan, it regenerates all your views in every elevation, every section, every floor plan....everywhere. BIM is the future! ArchiCAD has a free student version. I do not think it runs out, so this may be good enough for many of you to try. Nothing to lose!
Bentley Microstation and Bentley Architecture - Another BIM, second in the world behind Autodesk. Mainly European community. I do not see a free download for this product.
Chief Architect - I have never tried it, but I have heard really good things about this program. Check them out, maybe you'll like it. Free trial download.
TurboCAD - Another great 3d modeling program. I have tried this program out and it has excellent potential for the amount of money it costs compared to programs like AutoCAD. It is BIM also.
Vectorworks - I tried this long ago, can't recall how it worked.
Gehry Technologies A quiet company compared to the rest, but very nice program for design.
IntelliCAD - IntelliCAD is very, very similar to AutoCAD. They have many companies that have paid fees to use the core of their system and call it their own. ProgeCAD, AxCAD, CADian...this list goes forever. It's IntelliCAD. Cheap 3d CAD compared to AutoCAD, not as nice.
SketchUp - This is probably one of the most popular programs out there. is it great for design? Could be depending on how you use it and how well you use it. Has potential, but not a great CAD program. Visual is what sells clients. Show them the picture and they usually like that better than a bunch of lines and you saying "Imagine the swimming pool...." Low end SketchUp is free.
RapidSketch - RapidSketch was originally designed for Insurance Inspection, but now other professionals use the product in industries such as Real Estate Appraisal, Home Inspection, Pest Control, Mold remediation, Roofing, Flooring, etc. Price 05/11/2009 - $149.
Alibre - It's free. You get what you pay for...but it's free. How can you go wrong?
SoftPlan - I have to mention this program because I bought this after a long hard look. I didn't look hard enough. Not impressed at all. Awful, awful rendering. Quick floor plans and decent customer support, but just not good enough for me. Not to mention that they don't allow trial downloads. You have to ask for it to be sent to your address.
Catia - If you have somewhere in the vicinity of...oh about $50K, you may have enough money for this program. Eurospace, Automotive, Engineering....many think it is just the cat's meow.
Now for some fun stuff, but not really for blueprint making.
Rendering!
Blender - It's free and it's good! Just download it now and begin playing in your free time. Who knows? This is one of the best free programs ever. Open source like Linux, definitely not a junky free program, this one is good!
Maya - Another Autodesk acquisition. Awesome program.
Maxon Cinema 4d
Maxwell - Photorealism and easy to use. High marks in the industry. Stand alone or a plug in to many 3d modeling programs
All of these rendering programs below are
free!
Kerkythea - Probably the best free rendering program out there.
Indigo
Sunflow
Luxrender
Stair Design Software
Compass
FlightMaster
StairVision
Stairbiz
3d Spiral Stair
StairDesigner
Kitchen Design Software
2020 - The undeniable king of kitchen software
KCDW
Cabinet Vision - From the company of planit, very reputable.
CabinetSolutions
eCabinetSystems
Deck Programs
Deck Tools - $1900
Linear Mode
