On Apr 7, 6:09 pm, "Rick M"
wrote:


TurboCad Professional will allow you to design in 3D and then render in
hidden line, draft and quality rendering. You choose your materials, choose
the finish (ie reflectivity, % opacity), choose the light source(s), and so
on. TurboCad has gotten a bit more expensive over the years, but the
features make it worthwhile if you need to perform 2D and 3D operations.

Not sure, but I think you can get a 30-day trial of turbocad to try ...
you'll have to check the web site.

I was looking at TCPro some time ago. There are mac versions which I
will try.
Vectorworks and Strata are second nature to me as I have been with
those two companies since their beginning.
I tend to create models the same way as I build them RT which make
them a bit bulky.
My 5 piece door symbols, for instance, are parametric. As I stretch
them to a certain dimension, the rail and stile widths stay
constrained. I put a lot of time into the learning curve(s)
The rendering engine is simple. Slap on some paint, hang a couple of
bulbs and flip a switch....

Building models is very therapeutic for me. The hardware is becoming
affordable so that models can become more true to the real world. I am
working on a model of a Gibson Les Paul and I can finally entertain
the idea that I can create a helix for a wound string without breaking
the RAM bank at render time.

The CNC thing is still on the horizon as well. Right now I am dealing
with 2 86-year old parents and Angela is finishing up another batch of
credits towards her being able to hang her own shingle. All that will
come to a head in the next couple of years. Meanwhile, I am doing my
part to stay sane. *EG*

Life has become a lot easier now that I know that the answer is 42.

always good to hear from you

r