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Which software for designing cabinet and CP layout?
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barvaz:
Hi all,

I am currently in the stage of gathering information and I want to start designing my cabinet and the control panel layout. Of course, I looked at all the examples I could put my hands on. These come in various formats and produced by various software tools (pdf, AutoCad, Visio, Word, Photoshop and the list goes on).

I found some nice plans that I like in AutoCad format (plus jpeg images) but I need to do some minor adjustment (add keyboard drawer) as well as convert all the measures to the metric system (and probably rearrange the layout of the sheet for cutting). I also probably need to redesign the control panel layout.

My question is what software everyone is using for this type of work. I am pretty sure that AutoCad is a good candidate but although I have access to it at work, I am really not up to learning this rather complicated tool. What tools are there that can be easily used for this task? Obviously, I will need also Photoshot for creating the art, but I feel comfortable with that.

Any suggestions and tips are welcome. Thanks.

- barvaz
Sylentwulf:
The best I've used, and what I ended up using, is Visio. You can, uhh, get it, from, umm, sources for free, and then you have the templates for the buttons, joysticks, and trackballs listed on this site.

After that, Visio had a very low learning curve it seemed, and ended up going together VERY nicely.
sjgrover:
IMSI TurboCad has a free learning edition (2D design only).  The learning curve isn't too steep and it's more than adequate for what I've needed to do.
depressd:
I use Sketchup. There are tons of video tutorials on there site to get you started.
AlanS17:
I'm an AutoCAD fan. That's where I did all my work... Seeing as how I won't have it available anymore, though, I'll probably resort to Visio for any more projects.
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