Posts Tagged CAD drawing
vec2web missing text labels
Posted by james in Open Source Apps on March 31, 2009
vec2web is a dxf to png (and other format) convertor based on the QCAD libraries.
I downloaded and compiled it. However when I ran it the text dimensions were missing.
QCAD – Isometric Projections made easy
Posted by james in Open Source Apps on March 24, 2009
QCAD – Isometric Projections or “The coolest open source app in the universe”
I used to do Tech Drawing at school and to do an Isometric Projection required all sorts of construction lines just to render a circle.
Here is a sample of an isometric projection in QCAD. This is took about 5 minutes.
You draw your normal, front, top and side views and then select all the elements from one of the views (including dimensions if you want them to appear). For example the top view and then click Modify ==> Isometric Projection. From the isometric projection toolbar select the view you are working on (top). From there select a reference point on the view (an external corner) and once this is done you move to where you want to place the isometric projection and click. You repeat this process placing the subsequent views next to the first isometric view to form the box…
For less than 50$ AUD QCAD is value for money. As a comparison a license for AutoCAD LT is around 1000$ AUD (admittedly with far more features).
Converting DWG files to DXF for use in QCAD
Posted by james in Open Source Apps on March 24, 2009
The native file format in QCAD is DXF however many online resources provide downloads in DWG file format.
For example I was looking for roofing iron profiles and found some in DWG format
So how do you convert from DWG to DXF. I tried to download lx-viewer but it has dependencies on the opendwg.org’s files and then you need to compile and well who has the time.
However on going over to opendwg’s site I found they actually have a guestfiles area where there is a utility to do the job. It’s a windows utility but it seems to run on wine very well.
It’s called EveryDWG download it here. After unzipping I copied it to ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32. To run it use wine:
wine EveryDWG.exe
I chose to output in 2007 DWG ASCII format and QCAD opened the resulting file fine.
The Rear Deck Renovation – We have a plan
Posted by james in House, Renovations on December 22, 2007
When you start to think of what you want for a certain portion of the house. There is a period of time where ideas surface and command attention for while but ultimately don’t reach the final design. I suppose planning is important so you don’t just go for the first thing you think of.
I try to envisage how it’s going to work in real life, especially when you are trying to create a space that is useable. How many times have you been in a recreation area and to leave the table you have to squeeze people forward in their seats or do an impersonation of a contortionist to move around it? This problem sadly is usually a matter of money, you can’t always get the space you need, but hopefully in the end, the compromise that you strike is a happy one.
I think we are getting to the stage where we have something workable. I have drawn up a rough plan with my trusty QCAD program. Only time and the local council will tell whether it survives this original design phase. Here it is:
