Do I need AutoCAD?

[Perton]

I am running a low-cost CAD program. As my needs increase, would it be beneficial to have a full professional program such as AutoCAD?

[jamesrpm]

Without having a clue as to what you are doing on the CAD program. Yes get one and help keep some software designer working.

[glc]

AutoCAD is the standard industry application, like Photoshop is the graphics industry standard. You have to have the business volume to justify the price tag though.

[Demosthenes]

AutoDesk does some great work. Just about everything is covered. ArchT, MechDesk, and my favorite: Inventor. AutoDesk also has some great deals and special offers. I cannot think of the license I was under at one time, but it was not a big operation and we had 20 copies of AutoCAD, Mechanical Desktop, and ArchT, and a few Inventors (new at the time) for an absolutely fantastic price.

I can go on and on about AutoDesk. They pulled ahead a long time ago with their CAD software and, like Microsoft, they just spit out more products. I guess the best thing about AutoDesk is their software is just intuitive. It is not like 3dStudio Viz or Max which takes a while just for the basics, but anyone with decent experience can draft with AutoCAD. Give it a try, I believe they have short demo copies. Or, if you are smart, you would find a drafting convention or something akin and they usually raffle a copy off or sell them really cheap.

Respectfully,

Demosthenes