Does AutoCAD 2011 have any apps for sheet metal design? i.e. chutes tanks etc. If not what is the best software to due such things?
From user feedback, Inventor can be a little weak at sheet metal work. It also has a steep learning curve and cost for those coming from a strictly AutoCAD-based world. AutoCAD Mechanical may also be worth checking out, if only due to its inclusion in a number of the Suite packages.
I do also have Mechanical, I have not found any sheet metal functions there either.
If you want something *specifically* geared towards sheet metal work with all tools, part libraries, etc. then you will likely need to find a third-party plug-in or parts library for Mechanical and/or Inventor.
My students learn Inventor faster/easier than AutoCAD.
About $1300 + AutoCAD, should pay for itself in short time.
Post example of the types of designs you need to do.
Yup. Inventor, SolidWorks, and Creo have good packages. I'm partial to SolidWorks, however, if you need AutoCAD, I'd go with Inventor.
Back in the day, I did everything in 3D AutoCAD and sliced things up as needed. I hope never to have to do that again. Seems to me you would indeed pay for it after a couple jobs. Depending on your CAD aptitude, you will also need some training.
solid3dtech has a tool to unfold the sheet metal model in AutoCAD. So you can use AutoCAD to generate a sheet metal model, then use the tool from Solid3DTech to get 2D drawing. The tool requires the K-Factor.