The iPad is the perfect portable device for writing, simple photo- and video editing, web surfing, education and a lot of other things. In my case it has replaced the computer for some 90% or so, a figure that would increase if I had an AirPrint-printer, and more memory in my iPad. Recently it fills another "need" for me - technical drafting. Thanks to BiiCADo Touch Pro:
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| BiiCADo, showing magnifying window and snap point - iPad mini screenshot |
While it's no match against say AutoCad 3D, BiiCADo Touch Pro is still a very competent tool for creating technical drawings in 2D. It sports layers, colors, snap points, ISO-standard measurements, the usual tools like move, trim, radius, grid and much more. You can export DXF or PDF by mail or Dropbox. If you are used to working with programs like AutoCad 2D, Solid Edge 2D or Draftsite you will quickly pick up Biicado Touch. You really can make professional quality drawings with the help of this app.
I'm not going to attempt a tutorial here, but you can be sure this is a potent application that packs a lot for the price! The drawing and manipulating tools are real tools, not some halfway-there effort made to separate you from your cash. This is a real CAD app.
It took some time for me to find it as there are a lot of apps that claim to be "the best" in AppStore. Well, I'm not missing anything since I bought this one. A good stylus helps though, but that's more a thing with the tablet format than this app in particular. I use the iPad mini, and while it's lightweight and compact I think the larger iPads would be easier to draft with - bigger is better when it comes to screen size. But if you favour light and small the mini works well. And I don't even have the retina display!
A useful feature I'd like to mention that works very well is the way Biicado Touch handles drafting and selecting points. Instead of trying to hit the exact point where you, say, would like to start a line, you tap and hold the screen until a magnifying window appears (it appears quickly), then you slide to the point you want with the aid of the magnifier and crosshairs and then lift your finger to select it. Sounds confusing? It's not, just select your tool, tap and slide into position and release when you are there. It's a very clever and precise way, and if you two-finger move or pinch zoom while you are drafting, the current tool pauses, and you just tap-and-slide to resume right where you left off. That way you can draw a line right across a large drawing without zooming out, you can two-finger move several times while drafting the same line or using any other tool.
The magnifying window is actually rather necessary since your finger or stylus is blocking the view most of the time. Clever idea, nonetheless!
You also tap-and-slide to select a start point and then enter lengths, angles, radiuses (depends on what tool you are using) and so on using the input field at the bottom and the keyboard. Or even enter the start point coordinates and everything else without doing any tapping and sliding.
The snap function can be set to your liking or turned off completely if it interfers with your style of drafting. You can turn on or off snap for different points independently of each other. You can set grid snapping units as well, helpful if you want whole number coordinates for objects.
I had an issue with the "move" and "rename" functions not working, but after contacting BAST, the Germans, there was an update a week later that fixed it. Way to go, these are serious guys!
Those of you that know CAD will find Biicado Touch a great tool, but if you only want to make sketches or simple room plans this might not be for you. If you've never used CAD-programs before you might be put off by the learning curve. I find Biicado Touch to be the perfect companion to SketchUp for my needs. Having access to real CAD in a very portable and lightweight format is a winner for me!
UPDATE 13 september 2014:
I have found a few minor bugs and contacted BAST about them. Very fast response and nice guys to deal with. Thumbs up! Biicado will get even better by the next update!
