[cad-linux] Re: CAD program for Linux needed

Actually we architects have a big problem, which makes our needs quite 
different than engineers: we still need to produce much 2d drawing. A worksite 
is basically many people looking at your project and argueing the whole day 
about how this or that should be done (and also how bad architect you are, what 
a bad detail is this, etc...). 2d designs is what those people use to build. We 
have absolutely no direct 3d-to-manufacturing process. So for us, a 3d program 
that has no 2d is almost completely useless for real production. Many 
architects including myself use 3d programs everyday, for conception, 
presentation and a lot of other things. But we cannot live without 2d. 
Engineers have a far different point of view, as for them doing 100% of their 
work in 3d is, if not already reality, a very possible near future. So, as 
open-source CAD programs are mostly made by engineers, they put the focus on 
3d, not 2d. I think that's why programs like AutoCAD, even with their many 
problems,
  stay in use, because they provide us a very solid 2d base, and the necessary 
links to 3d (basic modelling, import/export, etc...).
What we need to produce is good and beautiful 2d drawings, with finest line 
control, complex hatching, precise and customizable dimensioning, nice truetype 
fonts, etc... when we also have some intelligent behaviour, like automatic 
counting, measuring, etc... then we are happy. 
Unfortunately today our only reasonable solution is to be exploited by autocad, 
microstation, vectorworks and their friends.

Maybe freearchitecture.org is really a good place for us to try to take our 
destiny in our own hands... Are there architects working on open-source cad 
programs around? It would be interesting to know...

-- 
from Yorik van Havre, São Paulo, Brazil, +551194870628,
http://yorik.orgfree.com

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