QCAD - Lancashire & Yorkshire Locomotives

Thankful to be sat on a comfortable sofa with continued back pain, but I've managed to do some more work on the BTW.



Ian

 

Some detail work on the connecting rods, which are suitable for all the LYR 8 coupled locomotive classes.



Ian

 

A little update on the large boiler 0-8-0



Ian

 

As I've still not done any modelling because of my misbehaving disc between L4 and L5, I've carried out some more CAD work.

The Hughes large boiler 0-8-0 is now looking like this:




I have had a discussion with an advisor about the possibility of doing the firebox as a cast item.

Also, an update on the Hughes Compound 0-8-0





Ian

 

A little further on with the Baltic Tank frames



Ian

 

Can I ask how you rate QCAD?
I use Autocad professionally, but I would need something cheaper (or Free!) for personal use.
I thought I might bring my CAD skills to help out on my modelling,

Peter

 

Peter, I use Qcad for all my 2d work and I rate it very highly. I find it much simpler to use than AutoCad and I've yet to find something that I can't do in Qcad.

 

Peter,

As Phil has said, I really like QCAD, having never used any other CAD package. I found it intuitive, although admit there is a steep learning curve in respect of having to take material thickness into account for the final design.

Ian

 

Smokebox tubeplate for the Baltic Tank



Ian

 

Front buffer beam details. The plan is to have both front and rear buffer beams as part of the frames for strength in what is usually a weak area in a lot of kits. Plus it allows me to design in the strengthening plates behind the buffer bodies and between the frames.



Ian

 

Bogie frames.....



Ian

 

Hello Peter there are quite a few AutoCAD "lookalike" programmes based on the Intellicad Engine. If you are familiar with AutoCAD I would not go anywhere else as they all speak foreign-like over there! They are about one tenth to one twentieth of the price of AutoCad yet have very similar functionality in both 2 and 3 D. If you are an AutoCAD user, they feel very familiar - the interfaces are pretty well identical for the simple reason that they are designed to be! Also, AutoCAD files are used natively including reading Embedded Blocks and all the rest. The one thing which is missing is Parametrics but Parametrics is hardly AutoCad's strong point anyway.

The particular one I use is ProgeCad. - progeCAD Professional, the best Low Cost AutoCAD alternative. Professional quality for a fraction of the AutoCAD price. No annual fees It cost me alomost a couple of hundred quid though out of date free versions are available. It is not perfect but it is extremely good value. Alternatively, search for Intellicad and a number will pop up - including "free" versions with the usual limitations. If you are used to things like Blocks (which to me are essential for etch tools) you can't manage with enything that does not properly support them. Moreover, the dwg format is accepted directly by all of the etching companies.

Cheers,

 

Hi J_F_S
Thanks for the update and recommendation. I'll give progeCAD a look.
Following the advocates on WT for QCad I downloaded a free version and had a play.
I got to grips with it fairly easily with some simple straightforward tasks, helped by Adrian's Youtube tutorials.

Not sure how I would get on with anything more complex.
The free version of QCad seems to keep cutting out and then asking whether you would like to upgrade, which is annoying.
You really need more than a ten minute play around before you make a decision!

Regards

Peter

 

With reference to making things L&Y, browsing the L&Y section of the NRM photo library I found this wonderful shot from Horwich works. Somehow odd to think they rolled a full size loco box, much like a model.
Copyright image NRM.

Regards

Peter

 

Hi Peter, you need to get to your programs and then in Qcad find the plug ins folder. In there you need to delete the following files.
qcaddwg.dll
qcadpolygon.dll
qcadproj.dll
qcadproscripts.dll
qcadtriangualtion.dll
The free version then runs without the prompts and the time limits.

 

Is that ethical or am I missing something?

 

Being as QCad is free (assumption) and I'm assuming the trial is free also, then all you're doing is inhibiting the nag box, no different to using any third party spam blocker on your browser.

 

As I understand it, yes it is ethical. It's been this way for many years, and I believe at one time you could delete these folders on the home screen. Rather than go into the folders all you had to do was click on a cross next to them to delete them. I believe doing this reduces the functionality to some extent, fair enough if the rest of it is free. IIRC it originally started as an open software project so I think elements of it have to remain as freeware. I also believe the dwg. file type is proprietory and this could be why it's included in the paid for version but you have to delete it in the free version. I'd be very happy to be corrected if I've misunderstood anything.

Edit, have a look at Qcad in Wikipedia, it tells you more about the licensing and appears to confirm some of the above.

 

Yes, I got the instruction from QCAD when I first opened it. What's left is called the community edition.

 

After further recommendations here, I researched progeCAD.
Unfortunately it is a Windows only product, whereas QCAD is Mac and Windows.
I'm a Mac user, so I'll have to stick with QCAD for the time being....

Peter