hey guys. just wondering what programs some of you guys use for designing your cannons? and why you use that program?
I'm surprised no one has answered this one yet. I suppose the software used varies greatly, and depends upon what you are trying to do. I know some people here use expensive 3-D modelling software paird with CAM software to make parts on their CNC mills. If you are not doing CNC, then you have a lot more choices, as most any decent drawing program could be used. For example, most of my cannon work has been done in Microsoft Visio. Now, Visio is an absolutely crappy drawing program, but I got a copy of it years ago for $10 when a former employer went out of business so I used what I had. Now I'm learning to use TurboCAD for this. TurboCAD is an OK (but not great IMHO) CAD program that does 2D and 3D. The best thing about it for me is that it is relatively cheap (you can buy older versions on ebay for $49), it supports all the standard formats, and could be used with other software to do CNC in the future. Bad thing about it is that is is somewhat hard to learn. My advice is first figure out how much you are willing to spend. Then I suggest you try the free temporary downloads of some of the CAD packages out there (I know TurboCAD and many others offer this) and see which you like the best in your given price range. Good luck!
