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What was the first "CAD system" you used?

Just for "fun" (and a little "Oh yeah...? I've got one better then you!" one-upmanship), describe the first system that you used for "CAD" (note that the first computer that you used will be the topic of a similar future question in this forum). For me, it was:

Synercom Informap, an AM/FM/GIS/LIS system running on a PDP-11/70 using the operating system RSX-11M-Plus (anyone remember PIP?). Program customization was done using FORTRAN IV Plus. The workstations were the gigantic, twin-CRT, LSI monsters with 48"x36" digitizer tables. And the plotter was a Calcomp 960 (with a two-pen block).


Yeah, we've come a long way since then!

  • Computervision CADDS 1 with a whole 5MB drive the size of a washing machine.  Ran on a Data General 1200 (short for 1.2 Khz processing speed!) using CV's proprietary operating system and design software  Used two forms of input:  a combination plotter/digitizer with a joystick for moving it and "digitizing" printed circuit board designs from the drafting dept.  The second input device was a 10" Tektronix storage tube terminal with 12x12" digitizer tablet and pen.  The whole system cost a cool million $$$ including the Gerber photoplotter.  Programming language? How about assembly language... on an authentic teletype machine!  The S/N for the first machine ( we got a second one to do chip design on later) was #016.  Dang, I'm dating myself now!

     



  • Ooh, I'm feeling so young now ;-).

    I'm not exactly sure what came first, but I remember the first one I really worked on was surveying system named Eclipse from a UK vendor I don't remember (and doesnt exist anymore). Last build was from 1989, running on a 2 Monitor DOS Environment (one small 14" for text, and a large 21" for grafics). The hardware was still expensive, ~30.000 $ per seat.

    Beside this I saw an early verison of ACAD (9.x) with a DOS extender and ME10 on Unix at the university, where we should learn computer graphics (I cannot really say that I liked it this time)

     Michael



  • Version 5 MicroStation sitting in Dos. We had a few Unix machines, but the big push was to go all Intel machines. I started on a digitaiser and was on a mouse within a week. Had the rest of the office moved within the next week and have been an eternal fiddler from then. aaaahhh the memories :-)



  • The first CAD system I used back in 88 'was MiniCad 4 [now Vectorworks] on a brand new Apple SE/30 during 2nd year college...

    That same year I got into ACAD 10 on a brand new borrowed 486 PC...a few years after that I was saddled in a studio working in ACAD on an Apple Mac II in the early R12 dayz..

    I first cracked MicroStation in 1995 with MicroStation 95..

    ®

    CADMinistrator ®

  • The first cad program I used was EasyCAD on an HP 8087 laptop in 1986 as I recall. Ingr IGDS on the VAX for Kodak after that. In 1989 I purchaced MicroStation 3.0 and used a 386 with a math-coprocessor. DOS 3. something OS.

    The good old days! May they never return!

    Bill


    This is a test