Free 3d SW for interior layout

[Polarity]

Having got side tracked into all sorts of fascinating products on the way(see this thread )-I have found the most astounding piece of 3d design software. It's architectural, but for a novice like me it is very intuitive. Developed from a mac product it is different to anything else I have come across, it's called Artifice and it's here

Also if (like me) you have done a 2d plan in Adobe or Paintshop or similar and can export a .dxf of the vectors (if not use another freebie Wintopo on a .bmp to generate a vector file) you can lift the flat plans up (extrude??) into 3d shapes - very easily. Check out the first couple of pages of the help file and load up the demo. Then - whilst walking through the 3d rendering - remind yourself this is a free product!

- Once more I feel a sore mouse finger coming on...

When I quit playing around with it and actually produce something useful ... I'll post it!

OK software testers what do you think ?

Paul

[John]

After a brief examination, the above mentioned software is quite interesting. A 3D drawing of a chine boat was imported using DXF format. This drawing was entirely ccmprised by polylines, no splines. Without any real comprehension of how to use the software, it is easy to see the software is quite powerful .... and it is free. One major limitation seems to be the lack of a "LISP" capability. Perhaps this is a mistaken impression and commentary from professioinals would be appreciated before a great deal of time is invested in learning this tool. John DeShazo

[Polarity]

Having worked with it some more it is a quick and easy way to generate a rendered interior - although as architectural s/w the options tend to include lots of different types of bricks and trees... not so useful on a yacht!

However, the warning is that on my Win ME machine it seems to be very unstable. Even using basic building blocks seems to cause it some problems. - having said that Win ME has always been a source of trouble for sw!

Good luck!

Paul

[Jeff]

Thanks for the links Paul!

Finally downloading WinTopo as I write this.

Another free program which might be interesting to try is Pro/Desktop, a free version from the folks who develop Pro/ENGINEER.

http://www.ptc.com/products/desktop/

[Polarity]

Forget my link - check the SW link that Jeff posted above. The registration process is a bit involved, but an incredible piece of software to be giving away.

It is a 36MB zipped installation file and needs a spare 100MB of disk space to run. - I have no idea why this is free, it does not seem to have a time limit or any restrictions on use that I have been able to find. Good tutorial too - it needs it as it is a very powerful product. I especially like the semi tranparent surfaces.

Get a copy before they change their mind!

Paul

PS a HUGE thanks to Jeff for the link!

[Gades]

Hey Jeff,
that software looks great!!!

Thanks a lot, I'm downloading it right now.

Hopefully I'll attach here some work after a couple of weeks (have to finish writing a program before).