Hi
>
> I am new to AutoCAD ..but I was wondering if in AutoCAD we can draw a sofa
> from scratch and build it all into 3D with fabric scanned on it and al the > works.
>
> I have a company that manufactures sofas but for now we build them all by
> hand and do the modifications once it is built. and install the fabric and
> then we see if it looks good or not ..if something is not right then we redo
> whatever needs to be done ..costs money and time.
>
> So with AutoCAD can this be done on the pc and once the product is to our
> liking we can then move on to build it for real.?
>
> and if anyone has any samples of chairs or sofas at work with AutoCAD can
> you please show me to give me an idea of the capabilities of this software.
>
> thanks in advance to all who give me their input
>
> Joe Way
>
>
As has already been stated, AutoCAD _will_ do it, but it's far from ideal. I'd suggest looking into a "nurbs" modeller (like Rhino). Nurb surfaces are easier to get realistic complex curves (such as "cushioned" furniture). As far as rendering a lot of programs _will_ do it, but depending upon the quality you want from your renderings some are better than others. 3DViz (for instance) can do photo realistic rendering and is very, very nice. However, generally the better the required rendering the stepper the software learning curve. Although, once you get a high quality "scene/lighting" setup it's pretty easy to just switch out the furniture and/or change fabrics. If you're only looking for good rendering and don't require "photo-realistic" than most modelling packages will have it built in.
There's a ton of sites with downloadable furniture models
HTH,
Michael (LS)