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By HKSLady
#12709
Hi Trimmers! I'm just getting started and wondering if anyone has recommendations for design software or an app that is useful? I feel like some kind of CAD software would be right, but so much seems to be geared to furniture not automotive. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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By John
#12744
I usually just use paper and pencils. But have also started getting in to using Sketch book pro. This is what a lot of professional designers use. Its a steep learning curve though.

Here is a video on how I do it on paper.
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By BigRig
#14246
@John, pencil and paper keeps the historical aspect of this trade alive.
By MalcolmM
#14250
For custom work, one offs, using cad is likely not worth the time unless you are running a cnc cutting machine. If you are producing identical products then cad is a huge benefit, but you have to amortize the expense and effort over a lot of units to make it pay. I'm looking at " CLO3D " it's a program for clothing, it's affordable and has a lot of functionality for products as well and can drape fabric unlike a regular cad program which is designed for buildings or machine parts. I still draft by hand and make my own patterns for the products I make, but am thinking about "upgrading" if I could justify the very steep learning curve. If I want to deal with a factory my patterns will have to be digitized, but that's not expensive. I have used cad for architecture years ago, but am still much faster with a pencil and drafting board to sketch out my designs. Since I don't use cnc cutting, the benefit is not there for me.
By Rug Dr.
#14251
John, I knew where you were going with the plexy and the light. When I was a kid I had a "toy" that did the same thing. It was fairly large and had a red plastic frame that you could sit on a table or floor, whatever it would sit on. The red frame had a white sheet of plastic attached, with a light under it. I think t was designed to teach how to draw, or something of that nature. I have used a window and tape to do the same thing.
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By John
#14272
Haha I had something similar as a kid as well! That's where I got the idea. :thumbsup:
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