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AutoCad would be nice to have on Mac OS X.

I use Cobalt for 3D CAD on my Mac, and I really like it. I still need to run WinXP in a VM for circuit board CAD, though (I'm presently using Mentor PADS). Aside from the occasional embedded programming tool, PCB CAD is the only thing that forces me to keep WinXP around. I haven't found any professional-grade PCB design tools for the Mac platform, and the few Mac-based PCB tools I've found are way too primitive for my needs.

http://www.ashlar.com/
http://www.pixels3d.com/
These programs have stunningly intuitive user interfaces.

Autodesk drank too much Microsoft koolaid, last I used their CAD it was linked against MSHMTL (IE) and a host of other libs that had nothing to do with technical drawing. They should rename it "AutoBLOAT". When they add OpenGL to Qemu, you might consider running Windows in a VM for your CAD work. Or try cobalt which also runs under OSX and I'd take OSX over Windows any day of the week.

Well, I was going to start off this post the various other products that you could use instead of those product names. But I realized that I don't know enough about any of those products.

What might have been more Informative (moderators, note) is to do a little research and see what Macintosh products might replace these. As a person who, I assume, does industrial work, this might have been quite valuable.

You see, it's easy to throw out application titles and say, "See? You can't CAD on a Mac because there's no AutoCAD!" But what about VectorWorks, VersaCAD, or the products from Ashlar-Vellum? A trip to Apple's database gives me those three.

Of course, you have to look for them. I remember being told that Macs couldn't do accounting because there was no QuickBooks. There was plenty of other accounting software available for the Mac. But the only accounting software that this person knew was QuickBooks and if that didn't run a Mac, well, you couldn't do accounting.

Check out some of the Mac solutions. You might be surprised.

Also, don't forget Ashlar-Vellum's Cobalt... they designed SpaceShipOne using it.

There are also many other, smaller & more affordable Mac CAD programs out there (do a Google or Versiontracker search for a complete list).

CAD on the Mac depends a lot on what you are doing- for Architecture Vector Works is quite viable, for solid modeling it's very weak. I've been using Ashlar's Cobalt http://www.ashlar.com/ under OSX and Windows for about 18 months, and for what I do, tending towards industrial Design, Injection molded plastic parts, prototyping, etc. I like it much more than SolidWorks. You get both Windows and Mac versions for one price, and the license allows you to switch back and forth, which I do frequently as in order to export Parasolid files for SolidWorks users you have to be under Windows. It runs at least as well on the Mac- better really. They offer a 2 week fully functional trial- after using it for about two hours I was scrounging up the $4000 for the full package. I only open SolidWorks now when I absolutely need to check an exported file for someone. Pros: much better interface (Mac or Windows), more fun to use, better tools for creating complex organic shapes Cons: fewer tools for very complex assemblies, less than fully realized parametric tools, lack of many of the tie ins to specialized software like FEA, etc. The Rutan / Scaled Composites/ Spaceship one supposedly group used Cobalt for the airframe design, SolidWorks for the landing gear- not sure if this is entirely true, but it does summarize the relative strengths of the systems). There are persistent rumors of ProE coming over to the Mac platform- That would be a very good thing. RonR

Architosh has a forum thread on this very topic which you might find interesting. Start here.

Aside from that, will IMSI TurboCAD 3D or Ashlar-Vellum meet your needs?

How about Ashlar Vellum? Pretty serious 3d, solids, etc. CAD app. It's been mac-compatible for ever, and it's out for os x. Here's the Ashlar site