is 3d studio cad? (sry if in wrong place..best place i could think of)

[capetorial]

it says autodesk 3ds max and autodesk makes alotta CAD so is this CAD?  if it is, i can actually get inclass cred. for doin 3ds stuff in my architecture (ya..) class.  i dont know what CAD stands for but he lets you use it in his class for w/e reason

[Karyuu]

Autocad and Max are different applications, aimed to fulfill different needs. Autocad is a program for drafting and architecture, and primarily uses vector graphics - lines, circles, arcs, etc. 3D Studio Max, on the other hand, is a full-featured modeling application, most often used for polygonal modeling. ("We can make anything out of a box," my 3D instructor began.)

When it comes to getting class credit, there's no way for us to know. Ask your teachers :) But if you're using Autocad, you're not going to be able to do as much as 3DS Max can. Autocad isn't meant for much beyond architecture.

[LigH]

What does CAD mean? -- "Computer Aided Design".

So it depends on your definition of "design" if you can use the mentioned tool to aid you doing the design work.

In my opinion ... yes, 3D Studio is CAD. But the kind of design is slightly different. AutoCAD is focused on vertexes and lines; 3D Studio goes a step beyond in this specific direction and focuses on shapes, objects and textures. They look pretty, but on the other hand, 3D Studio lacks a bit of technical tools to calculate and measure.

[bilbous]

In my opinion the main difference between CAD and 3d modeling is that Cad is used to make blueprints which will be used to make real world objects while 3d modeling is used to make pretty pictures and virtual objects. To me the major difference is precision of measurement. 3d objects have nebulous dimensions while cad objects are inches and feet or metric equivalents.