Introduction

About DesignCAD

DesignCAD 2D and DesignCAD 3D Max are comprehensive computer-aided design packages that incorporate a full range of 2D and 3D drawing functions.

You can use DesignCAD to create drawings for any assignment, from simple to complex, and the finished drawing can be printed using any printer or plotter that the current versions of Windows support.

DesignCAD can be customized to fit your particular application. You can create your own Custom Toolbox and even write your own DesignCAD commands using BasicCAD,with its numerous high-end features, DesignCAD compares favorably with CAD systems costing thousands of dollars. Unlike other high-end systems though, DesignCAD is easy to learn and use. With a little practice,virtually anyone can make detailed drawings of professional quality using DesignCAD.

When you are ready to move beyond 2D Mode, DesignCAD 3D Max is a true three-dimensional CAD system. You can use it to construct realistic 3D models of your projects. You can show them in wireframe view, with hidden lines removed, or with full-color shading--from any viewing angle. You can also create animation files which step the viewer around your drawing in smooth increments. For example, you could start with an aerial view of a house, descend to ground level, and then walk all around it. You can even assign material properties to your creations, placing a brass doorknob on an oak door, or creating a lavatory of rose marble with chrome fittings.

DesignCAD can load drawings from almost any earlier version of DesignCAD, and can save to versions as far back as DesignCAD 97. You may also interchange drawings between DesignCAD 2D and DesignCAD 3D Max.

You can take a cross-section of a complex beam which you may have created in DesignCAD 2D, load the cross-section into DesignCAD 3D MAX and extrude it into a beam. Then you can save the extruded beam as a DesignCAD 3D MAX drawing, even with hidden lines removed! If you want to go a step further, you can extrude your floor plan into an elevation, add a roof, and save a perspective view back into DesignCAD 2D format.

DesignCAD imports and exports drawings in DWG, DXF, STL, OBJ, SketchUp, PDF, and HPGLformats, and also reads and writes Windows Metafiles. DesignCAD can also export WPG, RIB, SketchUp and WRL formats. Other imported formats include HPGL and XYZ. DesignCAD can pass drawing information to and from the Clipboard and export OLE 2.0 objects to applications that support them.