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Free AutoCAD Resources
Alternatives to AutoCAD, Models and Forums

Posted by Charlie Recksieck on 2024-05-09
We at Plannedscape have probably done about 50% of our business over the years on complex AutoCAD or related projects, with a particular emphasis in electrical design. We tend not to write a ton about that on the blog since it is such a narrow focus and of less interest to most readers. There are only 3000 electric utilities in the U.S. and only a segment of those would possibly use our services.

But we want to write a piece here this week about AutoCAD supplements or alternatives that are free (or near free). Yes, our electric utility clients and potential clients don't need freeware. But there are lot more of you readers out there who are people more casually interested in AutoCAD or similar design tools. As such, many people want to "kick the tires" on some possible solutions.


Why AutoCAD

For those of you unfamiliar with the CAD ("Computer Aided Design"), AutoCAD is widely used for creating 2D and 3D drawings in industries such as architecture, engineering, and manufacturing. It can draft floor plans, design mechanical components, and model structures - to physically model distances and appearances of real world equipment.

CAD allows users to visualize designs, detect errors, and ensure compliance with industry standards. Overall, AutoCAD serves as a tool for transforming conceptual ideas into practical designs.

Because it can (if executed well enough) depict and model objects accurately, AutoCAD has also been used as a film and television special effects or animation solution.

AutoCAD is the leading product in the CAD industry but actually is only 40% of the market, so it's important to not think of "CAD" always as "AutoCAD"; although Autodesk, the maker of AutoCAD, also develops and produces several of the other major CAD products such as Revit, Autocad Mechanical, Inventor, etc.


AutoCAD Pricing

AutoCAD’s pricing history has evolved over time. Originally introduced in 1982, AutoCAD was priced at around $1,000 per license. Over the years, Autodesk introduced various licensing models, including perpetual licenses, subscription-based models, and cloud-based options.

More recently over the last 15 years, there has been a shift towards subscription models in recent years with diversified pricing options, but as of this writing you can get an AutoCAD license for 1 year for $2000.

Additionally, Autodesk offers discounts for students and educators - and also negotiates discounts with businesses purchasing multiple licenses.

AutoCAD Alternatives - There are several companies offering CAD solutions for less, SolidWorks is a major one which is approximately the same price. We won't spend time in this article on paid competitors.


Free Tools

The main point of this article is to point out how many tools and resources out there, often totally for free, once you're designing in CAD.

Models and Design Libraries


Above is a particularly visual version of a 3D Autocad model. It's really comprised of both shapes but also a lot of data as attributes (e.g. Equipment Number, Pipe Diameter, Manufacturer, etc.). So, things are much more of info entities in a database than just a visual.

If you think about it for a second, these models get very complex very quickly. In certain industries, there are several repetitive models; lets say in architecture, models of a door are very commonplace. Granted, those are pretty easy models. But also picture something like a turbine, whose physical characteristics are complex.

That's what's so terrific about how many free models and design libraries there are out there. If I wanted to, I could download (or cheaply purchase) a good model of a turbine, then just modify the data attributes and physical properties as needed in my work and projects.

If you want to see some of these, a simple Google search will yield many. But here's a nice page of free 3D CAD models.

Viewers - If you're not a designer and want to view CAD designs in a free or cheaper app, you've got lots of options. Autodesk offers several viewers like TrueVIew or Autodesk Viewer.

Navisworks has free versions that are really robust viewers for 3D without the bloat and coast of AutoCAD.

Or once your designer has created a DWG, then they can always export PDF versions of their work which are easily opened by Adobe or in standard browsers.


Free Resources

Here's the other part that blows me away. There are thousands of users on message boards and websites that will help you. It amazes me that people will put in the time for free to help you do your professional work just because you ask for a tip. Personally, I would share a tip or two on a board but never do that much actual work for somebody for free, just because somebody can rate me or give me a thumbs up on a board.

But there are plenty of helpful folks out there. I even rely on them in the CAD programming world sometimes - which is a big help in product or API areas that are not well documented.

Autodesk themselves offers well-trafficked forums. But just search "Autocad help XXX" for any particular issue you want to explore. I can almost guarantee that somebody out there wants to show off how smart they are by helping you for free. It's nuts, but take advantage of it.


Try a Free Product?

If you really want to kick the tires as a first timer and see how you like it, you can get trial versions from Autodesk. Also, AutoCAD LT is lightweight and very, very affordable as a student license.

Or if you want to explore whole other free CAD alternatives take a look at FreeCAD, LibreCAD or Blender (the last of which is more for animation).


The Takeaway

Listen, I'm a developer. So my position is always going to be that people should pay to use software. Additionally, there are times where developing freeware makes sense for companies to introduce their projects, be part of strategic partnerships or have a multi-tiered product (a limited free version where the full version is available for a price).

But it truly is amazing what you can get out there and how professional of a user environment you can put together for little or no money. That's just not vis-à-vis AutoCAD or CAD design, but in just about every technology these days.