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Jack-of-all-trade CAD does 2D, 3D, and more

By Armstrong, Paul
Publication: Machine Design
Date: Thursday, February 22 2001

DesignCAD 3000 Pro provides everything you need for 2D and 3D mechanical CAD, architectural planning, schematics, and industrial design. Windows menus, toolbars, and commands makes it easy to learn and use while shortcut keys can make quick work of drawing and editing. And users can modify all menus

and keyboard shortcuts. Although standard toolbars cannot be changed, users can define their own to replace the standard ones. A few important operations deserve mention.

Managing drawings, for example, is made easy. Drawings with multiple components or parts can be split into different user-named layers, then selected and manipulated by a variety of commands. Making layers invisible keeps the work area uncluttered.

Another feature defines selected 2D and 3D objects as a group or solid. As single entities, they are easier to copy, move, and scale. Files can be opened and saved in a number of different formats such as DWG, DXF, and IGES.

Drawing in 2D is straightforward. It's easy to trim lines, find intersections and tangents, place parts, and create reference points. Drawing entities can be edited for properties such as line type, color, and width. A variety of selectable properties makes dimensioning a snap, and users can define the precision of a drawing. Several hundred predrawn symbols are included to speed 2D work.

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