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CAD software for designing buildings


StuartM
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Can anyone recommend a software package that can be used to design buildings similar to Scalescenes.
Preferably one that isn't going to take the next 12months to learn how to use, or that requires a loan to purchase.

Layers would also be a definite advantage 

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If you are just going to print onto paper/card for your structures rather than say 3d print then you may be better off with a drawing package which will allow you to place textures on your walls, perhaps something like affinity designer, alternatively there are many free CAD packages available to download, I'd suggest seeing what tutorials are available on youtube before deciding on a particular package, I'm afraid beyond that I won't be much help, my own software cost an arm, a leg and a kidney to purchase, on the other hand it will do anything I ask of it within reason 

 

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Thanks for the advice,
I've made some reasonable attempts with windows paint believe it or not, but the inability to be able to create layers is the deciding factor in wanting something just a little bit more.
I really like Scale scenes and I've downloaded over a dozen brick papers and buildings etc, but I want to be able to design walls and windows that have arches, sills and coping bricks that aren't stuck on.

I will take your advice and search youtube for some inspiration

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I would look at a vector package that can handle raster images, you use the vector bit to draw the outlines then infill with raster images like brick patterns this will let you do nice smooth curves if you want them 

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May I  suggest sketchup. There is a free cloud based version, but I use the still-available free 2017 Make version because I run it on a standalone PC. 

 

Here is a quick 'speedbuild' of a church, its good for an overall idea of what you can do but don't try  understanding each step he does,  check it out and see if its what you were thinking of. Shows how to add and resize materials and so on - you can click through it and skip bits and still  get the gist. 

 

It creates a 3D model but the walls etc can be viewed individually  and rescaled to the correct size for printing off. 

 

It has layers.  There are many tutorials on youtube that cover the basics.

 

 

 

 

Edited by monkeysarefun
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Thanks for all the responses so far.
I've used ms paint and have created some decent bricksheets, however the trouble comes when you want to do arches or create layers, ie: one layer of brickwork and another layer of windows.
I've also used Sketchup to design blue prints for a house that were passed by the local planning authority, but sketch-up is notoriously glitchy and at the time would not save the drawing to scale.

 

I feel that if I could just create some components like window arches and sills and brick capping stones, then it would just be a simple case of drawing an outline of said building onto a bricksheet and then dropping the 'components' in place where required.

Perhaps I'm just being lazy or thick, but most cad packages seem to be about as intuitive to use as setting the clock on a car radio and I'm buggered if I'm going to pay for something that might not do what I want it to or will take six months to learn.

 

It would just be nice to be able to make buildings that didn't look like every other building on just about every other model layout or have horribly cut out arches with their white edges and raised profiles when stuck onto a building or bricksheet.

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Way back when System 6 was the Operating System on my first Apple Macintosh computer (the Mac LC - for "low cost", also known as "the pizza box Mac"!) I bought both MacPaint and MacDraw Pro as well as the software for which I purchased the Mac to run (which was actually, at the time, almost as expensive as the computer itself!) As System 6 was upgraded to System 7, then 8 and finally System 9 (or "Classic" as it became known with the release of OS X), MacDraw Pro morphed into Claris Draw and was, for me, the perfect balance between ease of use and technical capability. It was only a 2D drawing programme, but with accurate drawing tools, infinite layers, libraries of objects (including your own customisable libraries), ability to import textures etc it enabled me to draw up buildings etc with ease, and I have yet to find another program with an arc tool as easy to use! 

 

Sadly, with OS X came Apple's decision to drop the Claris software division. Claris Draw was incorporated - in a less featured version - into ClarisWorks, which also had ClarisPaint (an updated version of the original MacPaint), a word processor and a simple database. However, Claris had Filemaker Pro as its main focus as the "big daddy" of database programs for the Mac, and quickly dropped ClarisWorks.

 

I have had a quick look at Inkscape as mentioned earlier - it looks very capable but will take some learning. I, too, would like to use it to produce building drawings (plans, elevations etc) rather than 3D renders, and being able to replicate objects easily once drawn would be an advantage over hand drawing everything. Should you discover something more intuitive, please share on your thread here! (Of course, me being a Mac user makes my choices somewhat different to Windows users!)

 

Steve S

 

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Hi Stuart, I have used Adobe Software for all my professional computer design work, over the years, and it has come in handy for creating my own kits. The layers work perfectly for intricate details - the newsstand in my CakeBox model of Waverley Station being an example.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_2019_09/B2661AA1-9BEB-4034-8D22-BB553492D474.jpeg.925edcf7f6f21a41955d7b5e53977a8a.jpeg


In my ‘Hornby Tinplate’ CakeBox, both Illustrator and Photoshop came in handy.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/144298-new-beginnings-in-0-gauge-Hornby-tinplate/&do=findComment&comment=3604977

 

If you have time to master some basics in both programmes, you will be able to produce some good results. A vector application, like Illustrator, would enable you to create curves for arches, window openings, etc. CorelDraw is another application similar to Illustrator. 

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, Marly51 said:

Hi Stuart, I have used Adobe Software for all my professional computer design work, over the years, and it has come in handy for creating my own kits. The layers work perfectly for intricate details - the newsstand in my CakeBox model of Waverley Station being an example.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_2019_09/B2661AA1-9BEB-4034-8D22-BB553492D474.jpeg.925edcf7f6f21a41955d7b5e53977a8a.jpeg 385.55 kB · 0 downloads


In my ‘Hornby Tinplate’ CakeBox, both Illustrator and Photoshop came in handy.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/144298-new-beginnings-in-0-gauge-Hornby-tinplate/&do=findComment&comment=3604977

 

If you have time to master some basics in both programmes, you will be able to produce some good results. A vector application, like Illustrator, would enable you to create curves for arches, window openings, etc. CorelDraw is another application similar to Illustrator. 

 

 

 

Although I fully concur re the Adobe software, and also use it regularly too, the OP suggests he might want something cheaper and less complex.  Like @Marly51 if it is within your budget I recommend it although there is a fair bit to learn.

 

Edited by john new
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On 11/02/2021 at 13:58, SteveyDee68 said:

Way back when System 6 was the Operating System on my first Apple Macintosh computer (the Mac LC - for "low cost", also known as "the pizza box Mac"!) I bought both MacPaint and MacDraw Pro as well as the software for which I purchased the Mac to run (which was actually, at the time, almost as expensive as the computer itself!) As System 6 was upgraded to System 7, then 8 and finally System 9 (or "Classic" as it became known with the release of OS X), MacDraw Pro morphed into Claris Draw and was, for me, the perfect balance between ease of use and technical capability. It was only a 2D drawing programme, but with accurate drawing tools, infinite layers, libraries of objects (including your own customisable libraries), ability to import textures etc it enabled me to draw up buildings etc with ease, and I have yet to find another program with an arc tool as easy to use! 

 

Sadly, with OS X came Apple's decision to drop the Claris software division. Claris Draw was incorporated - in a less featured version - into ClarisWorks, which also had ClarisPaint (an updated version of the original MacPaint), a word processor and a simple database. However, Claris had Filemaker Pro as its main focus as the "big daddy" of database programs for the Mac, and quickly dropped ClarisWorks.

 

I have had a quick look at Inkscape as mentioned earlier - it looks very capable but will take some learning. I, too, would like to use it to produce building drawings (plans, elevations etc) rather than 3D renders, and being able to replicate objects easily once drawn would be an advantage over hand drawing everything. Should you discover something more intuitive, please share on your thread here! (Of course, me being a Mac user makes my choices somewhat different to Windows users!)

 

Steve S

 

As a Mac user myself, I use Graphic for 2d work. https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/graphic/id404705039?mt=12 I find it intuitive and easy to use. It does what I need it to. There is an iPad version as well and I believe that you can swap between the 2 devices (not done it myself). 

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9 hours ago, StuartM said:

Thank you for all the suggestions
I've also been pointed in the direction of Photoshop and this very interesting and comprehensive description of not far off what I'm looking for.....

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=38690.0

 

Photoshop is very good, I use most of the Adobe suite regularly, the drawback is it is not vector. I recently drew up a wagon wrap around in 4mm so can recommend it, that drawing is for an old PECO Wonderfull Wagon, and will only ever be 4mm.

 

The fact it isn't vector will not matter if you are only ever going to work in one scale but it is not as flexible as Illustrator if you are likely to want to rescale your drawings in the future.  It can be done with Photoshop, but it isn't as easy. Illustrator also has trace which allows vectoring of bitmap (static) images.

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I use Coreldraw for everything. Designing the layout, drawing up buildings (a la Scalescenes), and other voluntary jobs such as production of a heritage railway magazine. It is flexible, Intuituve and highly capable. It costs, but it is well worth it. 

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On 10/02/2021 at 19:07, StuartM said:

Can anyone recommend a software package that can be used to design buildings similar to Scalescenes.
Preferably one that isn't going to take the next 12months to learn how to use, or that requires a loan to purchase.

Layers would also be a definite advantage 

 

SKETCHUP! 

 

It's easy to use, it is a software used mainly for architectural design. But when used right, you can create quite a lot of stuff. 

 

When last we got it, it was free, I'm not sure now. But I'm sure a free version is available to download somewhere. 

 

Once you get the basics of SketchUp, which takes a matter of hours/days. You can master the software within a week or two. 

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11 hours ago, MGR Hooper! said:

 

SKETCHUP! 

 

It's easy to use, it is a software used mainly for architectural design. But when used right, you can create quite a lot of stuff. 

 

When last we got it, it was free, I'm not sure now. But I'm sure a free version is available to download somewhere. 

 

Once you get the basics of SketchUp, which takes a matter of hours/days. You can master the software within a week or two. 

They have an online freebie version but it restricts you by not being able to use extensions  but the 2017 make version is free and still easy to find.

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I agree regarding Sketchup, and it's still possible to find the 2015/2016 downloads as well as 2017. They start off as a limited-time trial of the full version and time-expire to just drop you back to the basic free version. You can add extensions to it very easily. There are DXF and STL exporters that help getting your work out to a 3D-printer or to a laser-cutter or Craft-Robo, which is ideal for card models.

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I would also recommend SketchUp for this. The built-in textures aren't great, but there are a wide variety of them available online. I use sketchuptextureclub.com, just register (free) and you can download some excellent seamless textures.

 

Edit: I prefer SketchUp 2016, if you can find it. That was the last version before they started removing useful features from the free version. Though I must admit I've never tried the current online-only version.

 

Jonathan

Edited by jrb
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Just as a quick exercise, I've just drawn up this very basic shed/office:

 

Test.jpg.d5d524457a22e607e8260f1ea926c84e.jpg

 

A couple of caveats:

 

1. This was just done very quickly, in about 20 mins;

2. I haven't done this in a while, so half that time was spent trying to remember how to do certain things!

3. I'm at work, so have just used the basic textures included with SketchUp.

 

If I were to do this 'properly', I'd use better textures, and add a bit more detail. I'd do the door and window separately, so they were recessed, and have brickwork to fold back onto the reveals. But hopefully, it shows how easy it is to do this in SketchUp.

 

There's a PDF attached, in the (unlikely) event anyone wants to build one...

 

Jonathan

Test.pdf

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Jonathan,

Thanks for the suggestion and the example.

As I've previously mentioned I have used sketchup in the past but found it to be so glitchy and no matter what I did it would not keep the drawing to the same scale/
Perhaps things have changed?

Rgds,

Stuart

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10 hours ago, StuartM said:

Jonathan,

Thanks for the suggestion and the example.

As I've previously mentioned I have used sketchup in the past but found it to be so glitchy and no matter what I did it would not keep the drawing to the same scale/
Perhaps things have changed?

Rgds,

Stuart

 I use Sketchup (2017 Make) pretty much daily and rarely have any issues. The one quirk is that it doesn't like doing tiny radiuses so if you are drawing your design to model units (eg an 00 brick is 3mm long) and you try to do a small circle or arc it'll pop up a box that says arc is too small. An easy work around though is to set the drawings units to metres in preferences - you still enter dimensions the same(ie enter '3' for bricklength )  but you are thinking mm and Sketchup is thinking metres so you don't get the issue - at the end just rescale entire  model.

 

Other than that I think I've had about 6 bug splats and one crash - bug splats were when manipulating a huge 3D generated roof of corrugated iron and trying  to merge it with another, the  crash was when using some extension and I think I was misunderstanding how to use it.

 

It has some major benefits  - for instance want to put an array of 10 identical windows along a wall 20mm apart - draw window, copy once to 20mm from first then just type 10x and it'll create the rest. Or if you want them equidistant uit don't know how far apart they should be then  place first one, copy it to the position of the final one and enter 10/ and it'll create them equi-spaced between first and last.

 

Its inferencing is excellent too,  just one example - if you want a rectangle at one side of the drawing to end the same height as one at the other end, begin drawing  second rectangle then slide mouse to top of other rectangle  and the one you are drawing will draw to that height. 

 

I used to use Inkscape to create 2D files for laser cutting but started with Sketchup when I got a 3D printer and now use it for 2D too. The only thing I use Inkscape for now is to trace bitmaps then export that as .xdf for input into Sketchup.

 

I haven't had any issues with scaling problems, maybe you were using an earlier version..

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To overcome the issue with small radius curves I draw everything in 1:1 scale in SketchUp. Rolling stock, buildings, everything. The curves are then nice and smooth when scaled to production size, and can be reduced to a selection of scales. As an added bonus a 1:1 texture also reduces nicely to the scale required.

Edited by Mike Harvey
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13 hours ago, Mike Harvey said:

To overcome the issue with small radius curves I draw everything in 1:1 scale in SketchUp. Rolling stock, buildings, everything. The curves are then nice and smooth when scaled to production size, and can be reduced to a selection of scales. As an added bonus a 1:1 texture also reduces nicely to the scale required.


That's right. And the whole model goes together a lot better than trying to design it in a smaller scale.

 

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