Furniture CAD programs?

Hey all. i´m a bit of a newbie and am wondering if there is a specific CAD program used for furniture. i´ve been using adobe illustrator and a bit of AutoCAD but i´m sure there´s got to be something better. thanks

Not really. Autocad is pretty widely used. I use Solidworks and export drawings in Autocad format to the factories.

Been designing furniture for 6 years and have been using Rhino just as long…

7 years here. rhino, 3d viz, and solidworks.

2 years in the industry for me. I know of no “standard” software package used.

I prefer Rhino, but also use AutoCAD, although I will tailor file formats to a manufacturer’s needs should they not use certain software (or computers at all).

AutoCAD is probably the lowest common denominator…

thanks for all the input

i´ve heard of rhino a bit before
who is the maker?
are crack versions available? (im a student…)

They have a reasonably priced student edition. Don’t steal.

thanks for the link (and the moral advice)

its significantly cheaper than i would have expected

it depends on how you design. but normally for more complex furniture ie. chairs or any type of seating you have to achieve some advanced form development skills - formula: material + technique + feel + idea = design.


on the contrary formula: trend + sketch + ergo + cad= furniture - isn’t enough!

i use solidworks for things like cabinets. i just designed some for my own use and installed it.

for other furniture i use catia. it can get better surfaces on aca.

Does anyone use Inventor?

well, industrial designer from colombia, working as a furniture design in a well known company and I’ve been using RHINO 3D and exporting drawings to illustrator and print them.

Theres some friends using solidworks but still autocad is the most used I think…

I think Rhino and solidworks are the best.

I’ve been using Pro-Engineer for all my furniture design, goes straight to the manufacturers and done!

Hi all,
I am new here :slight_smile:
Can somebody, please, recommend any literature about furniture design with Rhino? (I would love to know about workflow)
Also I wonder if simple stuff like kitchen sets, drawers, wardrobes, etc. (all boxy and flat panel furniture) are designed with Rhino too?
Thanks.

all the major furniture manufactuers use proe.

well, I would guess :slight_smile:
But I am talking about small scale production, custom made furniture. I don’t think Pro Engineer can beat Rhino’s price :stuck_out_tongue:

No they don’t.

+1

Any furniture company that goes out of their way to use Pro-E over something much more affortable which will do the exact same thing doesn’t deserve to be in business. That is simply a stupid decision by someone not competent enough to be in the position they are in.

Talk about superfluous R&D spending. Geez!