Cruiser wrote:Woohoo! now just to learn to use it, loaded it but just have made some line drawings.
As a CAD (indeed, TurboCAD) user, I'll throw in my suggestions:
1) It is important to understand that a CAD entity (a line, a circle, etc) is not a final product, like a line drawn on paper - there is often a good reason to draw something and then modify it - I often draw a line overlength and then correct its length afterwards. Equally you can draw construction lines that you might delete later. The difference between CAD and drawing on paper is rather like the difference between word processing and using a typewriter.
2) Learn to use the 'snap' functions of your program, instead of trying to move your mouse to 1/64 inch! You will want to use both a grid (to place the end of lines on a 1" grid, for example) and individual 'snap points' (for example to make a new line start exactly on one end of an existing line). In TurboCAD, if you hold down the 'shift' button while drawing, lines will go only vertically or horizontally. Also learn how to input dimensions when creating new entities - if you've drawn one side of a floor, you want the line for the other side of the floor to be exactly 48" (or whatever) away, not 47.637"!
3) Learn to use the parallel line function, rather than drawing each line individually. A large number of lines in a trailer are either vertical or horizontal and it's much easier to place them accurately if you create them as a new line parallel to an existing line.
4) Learn to zoom in and out while drawing (I now think a wheel mouse is essential for CAD!) so that you can position entities correctly - a pencil line on paper can never be in
exactly the right place, but a CAD line can be - if you learn to put lines in the right place to start with, you will find that many functions of a CAD program work better or more easily.
Just my twopennyworth!
PS: Most of Andrew's Designs in the Hall of Fame have a .dxf version that can be downloaded and viewed in your Turbo Cad program.
And if you contact Andrew (OK, that's me) I can email you actual TurboCAD v9 or v10 (tcw) files of any designs you might be interested in.
Andrew