CAD Drawings

I travel, and rely on my laptop Toshiba Satelite series (Model Escapes me) quite a bit, I do not think they are as robust, but I have mine for 5 1/2 years, about 1 1/2 more that I expected, but it is getting tired, screen is going, I have 4 no 5 no 6 and now 7 vertical lines on it..

It has a crappy DVD/CD but I get over that with a memory stick.

I do have a desktop as my main computer I would to back, but about 1 1/2 ago bought a portable harddrive.

It does have a 17" screen, and wireless mouse, never liked the console mouse.

I have a Dell Inspiron laptop; I forget which model and don't have it with me at the moment. It's a 16:9 widescreen (one of the larger laptops), and it is at least as good as many other monitors I have used. The main disadvantage of small screens is that a whole drawing may display too small to read the text. But you can zoom in to wherever you want when doing details.

I also have a Dell Latitude D820 I use it all the time in the office and out in the field. In the office I have it hooked up to a docking station with a large 25" screen and run all my files off the mainframe in the office. When I need it for the field I down load it on to the laptop and away I go. That way I can view the drawing and make adjustments right there at my truck or the meeting trailer. As far as dust this Dell (which I've had for 4 years) has seen a lot. I work in Heavy Construction and Mining, where there is dust flying everwhere. After each trip I use a mini vac and clean it up with some electronic end-dust. The IT guy also gives it a tune-up once a year.

I have been doing CAD on my laptop for years. The mouse pad is totally useless for such work, however (at least for me). My old IBM Thinkpad had a neat little mouse button mixed in with the keys of the keyboard which was much easier to use. When I do CAD on the laptop, I use an external mouse.

If all you want to do is view CAD drawings on the laptop in the workshop, you may want to have a look at a program called eDrawings, which can display several different formats.

You will need to make sure your laptop has the capacity for whatever CAD program you are working with. If you are getting in to some of the more exotic 3D rendering stuff (SolidWorks, etc.), you may want to look for one with NVidia graphics (usually with an AMD processor)- the Intel integrated graphics chipset is a bit challenged when it comes to 3D animation (at least it is with the Linux CAD package I use for such work).

For simple stuff, there are some pretty nice light-weight CAD packages out there- one that I am very impressed with is DoubleCAD- and it comes in a free version.

Unless you are one of those that need a really super large monitor to impress your neighbors, there is no reason in the world why you can not do CAD on a laptop. Some of the netbooks may be a bit challenged, however- I haven't tried those yet...

I have my laptop Fujitsu Siemens model AMILO-Pro since 4 years, and loaded with my all heavy files and software including CAD drawings, which can be carried out and/or updated/modified through an air trip on my way abroad for a lecture or a presentation.

Newer laptops should have no problem handling the requirements of CAD programs. I use a monitor connected to the VGA port of my laptop to view drawings, movies, presentations, etc. This would be good for creating drawings but to keep the small size you would leave the monitor at home. On the laptop you could zoom in on portions of the drawing of interest if necessary. As far as that goes, a netbook with a VGA port would probably work. Very compact and portable as well as rather inexpensive compared to a full notebook. One might even say that they are disposable and this would probably be accurate considering the rapid evolution of electronic devices these days. As far as the human interface device goes, the laptop would have USB ports that would allow any number of different devices to be attached. I have a track ball that I still use on occasion as well as wireless, wired and mini mice. I, also, liked the Thinkpad track stick located in the keyboard but these are rare now. The netbook is also usually very good as far as the battery lasting much longer that those in laptops with bigger screens. With the netbook going into standby mode when the cover is closed, it is not out of the question for the battery to last all day and your drawings would be as portable as they would be if printed on paper. Regards, Keywalker

I have CAD on both desk top with a Large monitor which is great for generating the drawings. I also have the same CAD program on my laptop for use in the field and the shop. I use a CAD program called FastCad [FASTCAD.cm]. It runs on both XP & Vista. It is written in Assembly so it is both very fast and does not use much memory. Drawing files can be stored in a compressed form. Also has DFX converter if you need it. Another great feature (if you use a scroll Mouse) you can ZOOM in and out with the wheel. That's great on a smaller Laptop screen . I find Fast Cad to be a real nice CAD package. It even does 3D if you need it. I have used it for years.

PS I use the USB memory sticks as back ups and can easily carry the files from machine to machine if I make changes in the field.

Thanks all for the input. I will do the drawing development on the desktop and either burn a CD or use a memory stick for use in the shop. At present, I'm wasting a lot of paper when making changes as the work progresses. A laptop visual would be great in the shop. BTW, I use Autocad 2004.

Hi Ronseto,

Looks like we're thinking along the same path in regards to using one's laptop in the workshop.

I currently use a HP laptop with a 17-inch screen and running both IntelliCAD and DoubleCAD XT in the workshop. Basically, I need the details and dimensions off of the drawing to fabricate steel pieces for my built-up steel roof trusses that'll go in my up and coming 2-story toolshed. At first, dust was a problem, but after buying a custom dust cover for the laptop that problem has been minimized.

Good luck with your laptop in the workshop!!!!

At first, dust was a problem, but after buying a custom dust cover for the laptop that problem has been minimized.

Always had problems having a keyboard wearing a glove or membrane. It restricts function.

Yes I can, and I have several CAD programs on my laptop (ACER TravelMate 7720G, 17" WXGA+ LCD screen, 2 GB DDR2, 160 GB HDD). A printer and an external HDD is connected with my laptop. The CAD programs that I have on my laptop are: TurboCAD Professional, DesignCAD 2D/3D MAX, DoubleCAD XT, StabiCAD, WSCAD for Electrical Engineering and Automation, and also WordFast Pro (CAT Computer Assistant Translation) for translation work. If you have to draw or edit large drawings for example the sizes: A2, A1 and A0 drawingsheets, you have to zoom a lot. An other question is: Have your HDD of your laptop enough space? AutoCAD programs use a lot of space from your HDD.

I hope that I have given you enough information.

With kind regards,

Alvin

Technical Adviser / Translator

Ron,

Install cute pdf as a printer for free as a virtual printer.

Save it as a PDF and dump it to a "el-cheapo" memory stick.

Plug it into your laptop then view, zoom, pan and rotate your heart out.

Get cutepdf writer on filehippo.com for free.....

You can red line your drawing with free .PDF editing apps. too. While your there look around file hippo's main page for great free stuff. This site one of the best I've found!

You can easily run CAD software on a laptop provided you have adequate RAM of 2GB and above. Programmes like AutoCad could struggle without adequate ram. A wireless mouse is the most convenient. If only viewing drawings a CAD viewer ( like Autodesk Volo View Express - free) would be needed. Even screeshot jpegs of the drawings (at required resolution) stored in USB pen drives could be viewed. However lifting measurements off the scale drawings with a divider for fabrication/modelmaking would be easier with printouts. Regards.

I run CAD on two laptops and will probably never go back to a desktop (if I have my druthers). One machine is a Lenovo (IBM) Thinkpad and the other is a Dell Latitude D830. Get a large hard drive, as much RAM as you can afford, and a cordless mouse, and you will not regret it a bit! I think I have nearly $3000 into each of them (maybe less in the Dell, but it is an inferior machine). My last desktop was about $4800 including the monitor, so I don't feel bad about spending money to get the results I need. However, it illustrates that you don't have to spend an inordiate amount of money to do what you want, but you can't do it with a $500 special.

If money is that big of a problem, then you can do as recommended, and get a drawing view program that requires less overhead and runs on a $500 laptop. The only down side is you will spend more time (spelled d-o-l-l-a-r-s) in the transition step, which has to be done every time you take a new drawing out to the shop. I, personally, would justify (or not) the project on the dollars it will save you in paper, waiting for the plotter, and portability of your engineering process. Sometimes the juices flow better when you are in the shop staring at the piece you are working with...

My laptops have been in Dry Powder plants, cheese plants, wet atmospheres, and dry atmospheres. I have yet to have a problem. Do back-up often, however, since you could drop it, lose it, leave it behind, or have it stolen much more easily. If you treat it like your right arm, you don't have to worry too much, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Also, don't leave it in your car - ever - for more than a quick stop somewhere. The temperature shifts are far worse for it than any dust or dirt.