Re: Opinions on Turbocad

Hi

> > I run my old Shoptask with Mach3 and gecko G203V controllers from a PC of course, but I use a OS X leopard for all my other work. I'm trying to find a CAD for Mac and was wondering what the opinions on Turbocad are, I'm a beginner and wonder also if I need the 3D version or the cheaper 2D.

Just noticed the magic word OSX :-))

While not cheap, I've been using VectorWorks (nee MiniCAD) for the last hundred years - just superb and gets even better by the year. I've tried ALL the CADs for Mac (including the new Rhino OSX beta - which is coming along nicely) and to be honest, none of them compare to VW (IMHO of course :-). However, you pays your money ...

If all you want is 2D, then anything that can output to DXF is all you need - even Adobe Illustrator ! Viacad and all the clonetypes thereof - cobalt/graphite/xenon/argon - (ashlar vellum originally I think) all work well - generally "line" based rather than "surface" based 'though.

I've been a fan of Highdesign for a while (www.ilexsoft.com) - nice interface, well designed - cheap at 110GBP (158USD).

As a footnote, I'm running (or was rather) Step-Four - DOS based CNC router, but have since converted it to use DeskCNC - really nice, and doesn't need the dreaded parallel port - works in XP etc. I laughingly emailed the programmer after I had shot myself in the foot during an install and asked when the Mac version was coming out - he said they were working on a Mac and a Linux version - watch this space !

BTW, you can buy my TurboCAD mac version cheap if you like :-))

Best regards

Neil