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Would you like to add information to this article? Interested in writing or submitting an article? Have a question about this article? CAD Programs for 3D Rendering 
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From contributor D: You may want to look into Solidworks 2005. I use it almost exclusively for all sorts of modeling and rendering. You can render any JPG image onto any surface. From contributor W: My feeling is you can never show the customer too much. Inventor is my choice - it is a bit expensive but has great potential for design and marketing. I worked with Ashlar Vellum, Mechanical Desktop and now Inventor. All have the pluses and minuses. Good luck  Click here for full size image From contributor R: I'm a Graphite and Solidworks user. I personally don't waste time with wood grain as it too often looks distracting. To me, moving from Graphite (I was an extensive Ashlar Vellum user) to SW was pretty comfortable, as I've always used Vellum's parametrics. From contributor M: You can download a trial version of either TurboCad Pro or Design from their website. I would recommend checking out recent issue of Fine WW, which reviewed three 3D applications. I'm ok with AutoCAD, but it has a lot of engineering oriented features which are of questionable value to the average woodworking business. The review prompted me to download Design to see if I can get to finished renderings of acceptable quality any faster. From contributor G: I would suggest looking at SolidWorks. I have been using it professionally since 2001 and I am still enamored with it. It’s about the best value in its class. It’s not cheap, but worth every penny. I have found that the support is good and there a lot of user groups available.  Click here for full size image From contributor G: Here is a second example. You can see that this software is in another league and is worth the extra money.  Click here for full size image From contributor C: To the original questioner: I'm in the same boat - I've been using Visio for 2d and want to model at 3D. I've been trying the same 3 programs you have for a while a week. I like the Graphite tool better than TurboCAD, however it is too expensive for me at this point. The TurboCAD Pro has some nice features that the Deluxe does not. The other nice thing about TurboCAD is that there is a very large user community, with lots of help, add-in tools, and etc. If I were doing this professionally, I would no doubt go with a better tool but at this point I'll probably start with TC Dlx. From contributor T: I have been using Fastcad for 14 years now and I second Jim's recommendations. Try the free trial version first. The full version Fcad V7 is $700. Fcad converts back and forth from dwg & dxf. From contributor F: I design and make every kind of kitchen and furniture in my shop. I too recommend SolidWorks, which I bought a few years ago and use it to do parametric design of absolutely everything from scratch. Almost never two projects are alike, but can use drawers, cabinets, doors etc. over again. Rendering with PhotoWorks really sells the products to the customers, and from the Bill of Materials I import via Excel to CutListPlus (nice Sheet Layout program) which I bring directly to my saw machine. I can't work without it anymore. It took some time to learn, but it pays off with the right customers.
From contributor J: To the original questioner: Yes, Turbo Card V 10 will do just that. You do need a heavy-duty computer and video card to maximize the software potential.
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