Ask Slashdot: Best 3-D Design Software? 218
An anonymous reader writes "I'm just getting into playing around with various maker-related tools, and I've run into a bit of a roadblock. I have access to a 3-D printer, a CNC mill, and a bunch of other fun tools, but I'm not able to make my own designs to use on them. I'd like to learn some 3-D design, but there are a ton of different software options, and I'm not sure which is the best. I've been hesitant to jump right into one, because I don't know how well it'll suit my needs compared to the others, and many of the options have a pretty steep price tag. I also don't want to spend a bunch of time learning one only to find out it's not very good for actually making things. I've played around briefly with Solidworks, Alibre, and AutoCAD, and also some free options like Blender and Sketchup. But these are complicated piece of software, and knowing nothing, it's hard for me to evaluate the differences. Makers of Slashdot, what do you recommend? Also, if you know of good online resources for learning 3-D design in general, or on any of this software in particular, I'd love to see it."
Rhino (Score:5, Informative)
Rhino is an excellent surface modeler. People need to understand that a solid modeler is a different animal from a surface modeler. Solid modelers are usually parametric and are good for nested objects and assemblies. Surface modelers are good at smooth ergonomic designs. Many people use both to complete projects.
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Re:Rhino (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Rhino (Score:5, Funny)
ALL 3D design software is designed with the idea of having users pulling out one's hair and banging one's head against the wall. I think the software companies in this industry get together in some basement conference room (probably on the Oracle campus) and share tips.
Re:Rhino (Score:4, Funny)
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Nurbs are a lot less flexible than meshes. A simple subdivision modeler for beginners would probably be better such as Wings3d.
Subdivision surfaces are great for traditional polygonal modeling approach but lousy for printing parts. Trying to blend chamfers through SubDs is a huge PITA. Something like Rhino with procedural compound booleans + fillets make that kind of work far easier.
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I have access to a 3-D printer, a CNC mill, and a bunch of other fun tools, but I'm not able to make my own designs to use on them
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+1 vote for Rhino if you want to spend a little money. Solidworks and Autocad are definitely better for large mechanical designs but they cost significantly more. Rhino is a good middle ground between the engineering needs and the purely aesthetic focused products. I would shy away from 3ds Max and Maya. Both work (we just finished a 3D printed project in 3ds max) but they're both focused more on film and games than printing.
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Usually, a good college class is significantly more time efficient though. There is a trade-off; I can learn anything on my own, but I don't spurn training.
Try Wings3d (Score:4, Informative)
Sketchup, OpenSCAD (Score:5, Informative)
However, as a programmer, I find it much faster and more intuitive to use OpenSCAD. Instead of clicking on things and moving them around on the screen, you edit code that generates the objects. There are thousands of examples to get you started at thingiverse [thingiverse.com]. Here's one of mine [thingiverse.com].
At the other extreme, Google Sketchup is excellent for the "click and drag objects around" approach. Its UI is way more powerful than Wings3D, and it may even be an easier starting point for non-programmers.
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Then I can only suggest that you look again and this time take off those silly blinders :) Given the ability to 'push', 'pull' and a host of other actions, Sketchup leaves cad behind. I've used AutoCad since version 1.4 and Sketchup from the beginning and I think it accurate to say the the former is 2D while the latter is 3D. That said, OpenSCAD is a sweet piece of work and quite easy to use---IF you can handle the paradigm of code->drawing. You write code and then compile it to see your object. Very pow
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Another for Wings3D for a beginner. It's free, fast, easy to learn and use, but be warned it does have limitations. Most notably it cannot do boolean operations. like subtracting one shape from another. There are supposed to be mods that allow this, but I've never gotten them to work.
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I'm shocked and dismayed that nobody has mentioned Minecraft. With a 3D printer, you can print anything made in the game out. And anyone in this field who asks what the "best" of something is, is probably a n00b. Why are we suggesting state of the art tech that most people need several years' training in a technical school to use effectively when there's a perfectly good game you can download that'll do the same? :/
Any of the Major CAD Software (Score:2, Insightful)
As someone who has used AutoDesk Inventor, PTC Elements/Pro, and Solidworks in an engineering setting, they are all pretty much the same toolset but with the buttons rearranged. If you want to use CAD software, though, what really matters most is whether you can find a guide that is well-written on how to use CAD software for things. You may, in fact, want to take a course at the local community college. Whatever software they use, you can then buy and be at least moderately experienced with it.
My college u
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Mod parent up. I'm taking CNC machining and CAD/CAM classes at a local community college.
You'll need to import your files into CAM software to generate code to run your CNC machines. A class can be very useful.
Also, if you have buddies who are used to setting up the CNC milling and turning centers, see if you can get them to train you on the basics of setup, such as touching off tools, putting workpieces in the vise or chuck, and the common practice of machining special aluminum vise jaws for Kurt vises to
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OTOH, Blender and the like are more freeform design applications. I have not really worked on learning Blender, but what I have seen is good
What one uses depends on what one wants to do. If the point is to design parts that will fit together and function mechanically, then something like Inventor might be best. If the point is to design
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As someone who has used AutoDesk Inventor, PTC Elements/Pro, and Solidworks in an engineering setting, they are all pretty much the same toolset but with the buttons rearranged. If you want to use CAD software, though, what really matters most is whether you can find a guide that is well-written on how to use CAD software for things. You may, in fact, want to take a course at the local community college. Whatever software they use, you can then buy and be at least moderately experienced with it.
My college uses http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Solid-Modeling-Using-SolidWorks/dp/0073522694 [amazon.com] this book and it's pretty well-written, if you would rather avoid having to take a course. Solidworks is very capable of doing anything a hobbyist might want to and more.
Definitely mod up, he is right because it seems to me that ALL main stream 3D CAD software (solid edge, solid works, autodesk inventor, etc etc etc) are all basically the same, just the arrangement of the GUI is different. The nuts and bolts are the same.
Also, the commercial big name packages are a LOT easier to use than the freebies. It's like the difference between Adobe Premier and Vegas Video. One is intuitive, and the other is like trying to eat soup with a hammer. "You're gonna have a bad time"
Perhaps
Blender (Score:1)
A great way to get your feet wet for no cost. Start by making and manipulating mesh objects. Really, everything you learn in one program is somewhat transferrable to another, so the best way is to just dive in, watch some tutorials and fiddle. Then you can try out a bunch of different packages to see what suits your needs best.
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Not just for airplanes (Score:1)
Check out OpenVSP http://www.openvsp.org . Although airplane focused, you'd be surprised what you can quickly create. It has a number of ways of creating *.STL files ready for 3D printing.
If you don't want to dive right in, you can browse their community file exchange.... http://hangar.openvsp.org/
It is currently undergoing significant refactoring/rewriting. After that is completed, you can expect significantly greater capability including better support for non-airplane objects.
Guerrilla guide (Score:5, Interesting)
The Guerrilla guide to CNC machining, mold making, and resin casting [coredump.cx] is probably one of best resources you can find.
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However, it does push milling over 3D printing. For the author's application, making teeny tiny gears, he's right: milling machines are the right way to go. But 3D printing is awesome for making larger things, and it's a MUCH faster and simpler process than milling is. Not to mention cheaper. So bear that in mind as you read it.
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I'm not sure what machines you've used, but CNC machines are fast, simple, and stock is far cheaper by volume (especially for anything requiring decent tensile strength) than filament stock. Wood, acrylic, and billet aluminum are dirt cheap compared to the same volume of filament.
The only case in general where the above isn't true is when you want the option to make something that is not solid, which the guide notes.
When comparing machine costs, you also need to compare machine quality. Yeah, a MakerBot is
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Isn't the authors point really that subtractive milling is just as simple as additive printing? And that for most uses you're better off using either to make a mold rather than make your item directly, because of material limitations? All the mold-making and casting steps are the same whichever technology you happen to use.
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Another consideration when it comes to filament is that you don't need the total volume of the object to be filled in. All you need is a solid outside, and the inside of t
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Once you need the strength of metal or the properties of wood things like CNC are the tool for the job.
That's where you need to grab some books on patternmaking and casting since what is possible with the process contrains the design and a lot of metals al
Solidworks Solidworks Solidworks (Score:1)
Solidworks will change your life. Once you grasp the concept of parametric modelling, nothing else goes so quickly from concept to making chips.
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Solidworks will change your life.
Uh, right. So will overdosing on PCP.
With about the same effect.
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Sure it'll change your life. You'll go broke, that's why. Unless you've got serious money to burn, FreeCAD and Alibre are the only serious contenders.
Engineering vs. artsy software (Score:1)
You'll want 3D parametric, associative modeler. The parametric means the dimensions are parameterized. Associative means the geometry is referenced off other geometries (edges, faces, etc). Alibre is probably the cheapest. Solid Works the most popular.
Complex Choices (Score:2)
1. Who you work with & funds you can spend: vendors, suppliers to interchange files with might be most important, or the company you might work with later.
2. Simple vs complex 3D surfacing-solids needs. You want to learn simpler constructions that are extruded and rotated sections first. Jumping into complex 3D surfacing for "organic" shapes right off the bat can be confusing & frustrating.
3. Training: It takes time to get the subtleties, and that may take a couple days practice on each platf
OpenSCAD ? (Score:5, Informative)
If you come from a programming background, you might have a look at OpenSCAD (http://www.openscad.org/). It's a FOSS tool which allows you to do constructive solid geometry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_solid_geometry) through a programming language rather than a GUI (though you do have a GUI for visualization).
It's pretty cool as it allows you to create parametric objects : for example, there are libraries to generate gears by specifing parameters such as radius and number of teeth.
Quite a few projects of the reprap family are developped with this tool.
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Yes I've gone through a few different programs, and had almost settled on blender when I discovered openscad. The great thing about openscad is you can build upon things and include things more then once. It also doesn't have the problem of scale or holes in your model (a very big problem with blender).
It has ended up saving me a lot of work.
depends on the goal (Score:2)
ArchiCAD | Houdini (Score:2)
it depends a lot on what you need to do — you can model and design something in a specialized app like ArchiCAD in 2 days what would take you 2 weeks in a generalized programme like AutoCAD.
if you were doing 3D animation, and needed procedural behaviours, particles, and vast datasets — Houdini is the top of the bunch for 3D Rendering and Animation.
needs define software.
ArchiCAD (free trial, requires registration): http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/downloads/ [graphisoft.com]
Houdini (Apprentice Free Vers
The perfect choice (Score:1)
I'd recommend using your favourite text editor to write out .obj or .ply files. You can even change the font without affecting the final file.
Depends on what you want to make (Score:1)
Start small (Score:2)
Modo (Score:2)
AutoCAD and CATIA are great (Score:1)
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CATIA? Really?
Sure, it's nice if you need to use it in an industrialized setting, and have assemblies with thousands of components. But as for designing small objects for personal manufacture? All I can say about using CATIA for model creation is that it leaves me sorely wishing for SolidWorks (which is funny, since they're now owned by the same company).
What's your goal? (Score:1)
If you are planning on doing a lot of complex curved work, you might want to look at Rhino -- it's a highly capable surface modeler. I often describe it as "like autoCAD but inherently 3d and without the suck." The basics can be learned very quickly and you can do relatively sophisticated work with it shortly there after. It's actually kind of a pleasure to work with. Version 5 is just out and I haven't seen it, but I can't imagine it makes a huge dent in some of the UI and
I'd recommend Rhino (Score:1)
freecad (Score:1)
How about freecad http://free-cad.sourceforge.net/ ?
Alibre! (Score:5, Informative)
Alibre is worth learning if your serious about CAD/CAM. The personal version is only $99 and should do anything you want outside of NURBS. You absolutely don't want to use something like Blender for 2D/3D precision work.
Alibre tries to follow the Solidworks way of doing things, so if you learn Alibre then you can quickly migrate to something more high-end if you ever need too.
It has support for full parametric solids cad, so it isn't the old school Autocad stuff where you have to pretend you know what its going to look like from your 2D sketches.
When your ready to cut metal, or print plastic, Alibre can output a number of solid models (STL) formats, as well as DWG and DXF which are critical for using importing into a good CAM package (whole nother ask slashdot on choosing a good CAM).
Alibre has some pretty easy to follow tutorials to get you started.
I don't work for the company, just a VERY happy camper when I bit the bullet 2 years or so ago and got the $99 version. Used it to design a 3D printer down to every last nut/bolt.
Yes its a challenge, but like everything worth doing...
Last, but not least, get plugged into the forums at cnczone.com. They have categories for every type of machine from mills, lathes, to 3D printers; from every type of CAD package to every type of CAM. Its a great asset, and once your hooked you'll spend more time reading on cnczone than here on Slashdot (sacrilegious i know).
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I would agree with Alibre. I bought it years ago for some work a friend and I were working on. Like all 3D software, there is a heavy learning curve, and there is no free lunch here. Alibre came with around 6hrs of training videos, and of course, there is YouTube for lots of other questions that come up.
I think you'll find after reading all these posts that there is no easy way to do this, you sort of have to pick one and go with it. Alibre is very well supported, and has a pretty big following in the h
Just a quick response (Score:2)
Rhino + Grasshopper 3D (Score:2)
It's amazing.
The command-line in Rhino is robust (scriptable via Python) and Grasshopper allows node-based geometry workflows (like Max/MSP, Houdini, Quartz Composer, etc). It also allows you to create complex scripts and control their input in real time. Rhino is impressively accurate (algorithm-wise) for its price. I've seen this setup where my girlfriend studies architecture, but also at NYU's interactive telecommunications program (where I study) - two places that have quite different requirements (one
formZ (Score:2)
formZ deserves a mention.
AgentCubes (draw 2D, turn into 3D) (Score:2)
AgentCubes/Inflatable Icons allows you do create 3D shapes very quickly with no 3D modeling background. Paint images in 2D and turn into 3D. You indicated that you are struggling with 3D tools such as Blender and even Sketchup. I guess I don't know what kinds of shapes and what kind of quality of 3D shapes you have in mind. We have been exploring for some time why many people have problems using these kinds of tools. The short answer is that these tools are aimed at typically professional 3D designers or, m
3D part design is complex (Score:2, Informative)
I'm trying to understand what you are asking for, and I'll just take a wild guess and say that you are a complete beginner who really wants to use advanced tools to make some stuff, not just a saw+hammer+nails?
Consider what you are asking of your CNC/printer/etc. vs. what you want to create. If you want to make things that are composed of many things attached together for some function, then the idea of make something in 3D becomes a layer of more of complex considerations. If you want parts to fit and move
Processing (Score:2)
123D Design from Autodesk (Score:3)
123D Design [123dapp.com] from Autodesk is free and compatible with 3D printers.
Here's [xrobots.co.uk] a guy who used it to replace a critical piece of a mounting bracket for his TomTom GPS.
The video [youtube.com] gives you some insight into the workflow from design to 3D printing.
Maya, 3DSMax, or SolidWorks (Score:2)
For building abstract, conceptual 3D objects, I find Maya or 3DS Max are the best. The uniform interface style Autodesk provides is very easy to learn across programs, and they both seem to achieve the same end result in different ways. I use these mostly for creating models for video games or for CG animations, but I have saved the odd .OBJ and 3D printed it before.
For creating something you actually want to mass produce, or even I would suppose for the one-off 3D printed objects, SolidWorks can't be beat.
solids or surfaces? (Score:2)
I'm not sure what the requirements are for models to be 3D printed. I can imagine you need a solid model to make a print, but the software that comes with the printer can probably convert a surface model into a solid model. Most objects you'll print wont be very solid anyway, but rather thin-walled hollow objects.
I'm guessing a surface modeller like Rino, Blender or Wings3d are the best option, since these a cheaper than solid modelling software and more suitable for creative design.
Solid modellers like Sol
blender - Cross-platform, opensource (Score:2)
Blender.
When learning complex and powerful software look for two things: Cross-platform & Open-source.
Cross-platform code is usually much more stable, having a healthy abstraction layer from the os.
Open-source: It can never be taken away from you - say you learn autocad, and use 1 feature allot, then there is a new version of windows and it's not compatible with your autocad, so you get new autocad, but that feature isn't there anymore. if it were opensource you could maybe do something about it.
You pu
Solidworks (Score:5, Interesting)
Larger companies (Auto and Aerospace manufacturers) tend to use packages such as Catia, but that's way overkill (and way out of budget) for 3D printing and the like, it's more suited to massive assemblies with thousands or millions of components. Solidworks isn't without it's faults but I find the interface fairly intuitive once you learn the basics and it's perfect for small-scale stuff. I've used it many times to design small components and assemblies for car and computer projects among other things. Most professional software solid-modeling packages can export to whatever format you'll need for your 3D printer, CNC software, or whatever it is that your manufacturer requires.
You want a solid-modeler like Solidworks/Pro-E/Catia/etc because they're all designed with dimensional accuracy in mind. Surface modelers are generally used for 3D graphics production and have a higher concentration on making things look good than being dimensionally accurate. It's like the difference between MS Word and Adobe Photoshop... if you want to write a book, Word is probably the better software, but if you're designing a poster, Photoshop is probably the better choice... both create "documents" but they have very different uses... similarly if you need a 3D design software for manufacturing or real world production you want Solidworks, but if you wanted to make a 3D move or game Maya would be a better choice.
ViaCAD 2d/3d (Score:2)
Uhhhh, has it been asked? (Score:2)
You might not want to pay for a full version for hobby use, but if you have to make last-minute adjustments on your files before cutting/printing then you would still want to know how to use what's already there.
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I've been trying to work up a list for use w/ a Shapeoko here:
http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Advanced_Software [shapeoko.com]
Still haven't found a suitable package (for my needs) --- all-too many of them can't do real curves / arcs and fake them w/ polylines --- so I've been hand-coding G-code.
I'd be glad of additional apps/packages or information.
IronCad (Score:2)
When I had to chose a 3d Cad Program for myself I chose IronCad mostly on price but after using it for two years I genuinely feel that It is the fastest to model and easiest to use (but coming from Pro/E offers at times hair pulling levels of frustration mostly due to differences in methodolo
SolidWorks (Score:3)
I'm not a complete CAD junkie or anything, but I've used ProE, SolidWorks, and even CATIA. If I wanted to just design something for fun, I'd probably reach for SolidWorks first. It's really powerful, but also really intuitive and easy to use (at least the more recent versions).
I've heard a lot of good things about Rhino, too (and many others have called it out here), but I haven't used it personally, so I can't compare it to the others above.
Vectorworks (Score:2)
I have used Vectorworks before, and although it is not as popular as other CAD packages out there, I have found it much easier to use and just as capable.
I use openscad (Score:2)
Solid Edge? (Score:2)
Best, Best for money, or easiest? (Score:2)
The industry STANDARD is Solidworks, with SOME form of CAM, but it is expensive, and the CAM side of the house can get crazy, depending on what features you want/need to support. High speed machining? 3+ axis profiling? etc. The HUGE advantage, if you are a student, you can get it CHEAP, and even better, if your school picks it up/you have access to their validation server it can be free. Going into the pro world, this is the one they will probably expect you to know
Best for money/easiest? I went Alibre
Stick to basics (Score:2)
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Draftsight is ARES Commander with the 3D stuff stripped out. The only function remaining is extrude, but all the important boolean stuff is gone, as are the 3D editing commands. From that perspective, it's not suitable at all, since the OP wants to create 3D products.
Draftsight is a great 2D application, but isn't suited for 3D at all, though it does let others view, export and print 3D objects, especially if you create them on Ares Commander or CorelCAD. It also works with Autocad files.
GrpA
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Some ideas. (Score:2)
I am in roughly the same situation, having bought a sub-$1000 3D printer just before Christmas. I then had to learn CAD and found there were few solutions in my price range. In the end, price drove my selection almost exclusively.
The cheapest I found was Cubify Invent, which is for the Cube 3D printer. It was very cheap, and probably the easiest to use, but it's very limited. Good enough to create basic stuff though.
The next up was CorelCAD - you can get this cheap on Amazon, especially older versions ( tho
Get student versions of analysis software packages (Score:2)
If you know coding and do not mind wrangling with the a language like scheme (a derivative of lisp (which is actually an acronym (lots of irritating silly parenthesi
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LOL. Ansys is, user-interface-wise, stuck in an awkward prehistoric backwater that it created for itself. We're talking of a system that has FORTRAN READ command line syntax, for crying out loud. At least until 3 years ago or so didn't have any sort of undo in its user interface. I see absolutely no reason to use ANSYS as a modeler of any sort, except if you want to run FEA on your ad-hoc model. Your productivity will be worse than entering openscad or povray source - in notepad. I have used Ansys for a bun
You need to learn to design first (Score:2)
Since this is /. I'll start with a programming analogy. Imagine someone saying: "Hey, I got one of those rasberry pi computers and a bunch of stepper motors and I want to build a robot." Sure you could do it but you would need to be ready to put in some time and a lot of hard work.
CAD design is a field, just like programming. You need to learn some basics of design (drafting in the days of old) first. This doesn't mean that you need a degree but it does mean that you should be a bit organized in how you app
"Best"? (Score:2)
Slashdot, what is the best gaming system, OS, food, and political philosophy?
You are looking for a toolset, not a single app (Score:2)
There are a bunch of trade offs when producing a 3d printable model:
- artistic versus engineering versus programmable ui
- how much resolution is in the final print
- how many vertexes/etc do you want for complex objects
- how important exact dimensions/etc are for you
- how much time do you have to create the design
In general:
- If you must be able to let anyone without experience quickly produce a design, tinkercad is by far the best software to use. It's also good for quick modifications to designs made in o
Options for every need: (Score:3)
I do 3D printing and talk a lot to the designers of the big printers. As mentioned above, you definitely don't want Blender, or any of those other surface modelling apps. They WILL work, but tend to suck for dimensional accuracy, and you can create weird crap that cant actually exist.
I think if money is no object, Solidworks is by far the easiest and most powerful thing you can jump into, with tons of resources on the net. If you can afford the price tag or are going to pirate it anyways, Solidworks is great.
The mendelmax series of printers is designed by maxbots. He personally uses Alibre. He says it does a lot of what solidworks does, and with some caveats, thinks that for the 99$ it is a great tool and all you'll ever need for basic 3D modelling. Depending on your patent stance, 3D systems owns a shit ton of patents on 3d printing in general and they don't hesitate to use them to close down infringing competitors. This may sour you.
If you want a fairly nice option that is getting nicer every day, FreeCAD is obviously free, open source, and is a fairly nice tool. Obviously no Solidworks, but the price is right!
And the last but certainly not least is OpenSCAD. You write your 3D models like programs, and it will render them. This allows some very cool time saving things, but it is obviously a bit less visual, so it depends on how you think, design, etc, and what your background is. Many of the things you will make in OpenSCAD will end up being parametric as well, making resizing and changing things somewhat easier. That being said any of the above tools can create parametric designs.
Anyways good luck, I love 3d printing, and would love to get a mill some day! Or maybe just start casting my prints using the lost PLA method: http://3dtopo.com/lostPLA/ [3dtopo.com]
Have fun!
Start with Sketchup and work your way up (Score:3)
As another poster said, most CAD packages have a terrible UI. Be prepared to spend lots of time.
SketchUp is a pleasant exception, but that's because it has relatively few features. Nevertheless, it's a good starting point. Use it until you run into its limitations, and use the knowledge you've gained to make an informed decision about your next step.
I've recently started using PTC Creo Elements (formerly Pro-Engineer, I believe). It couples a very complicated UI with useless documentation.
I've also used Inivis AC3D. After running into SketchUp's limitations, I tried a number of CAD packages, and this what I ended up with. I wanted an application where I could use at least some of my Adobe Illustrator experience, so I downloaded a couple of programs and tried drawing a simple curved shape (a rocket engine nozzle) in it. AC3D was the only one where I managed to do this within an hour or so.
Its drawback is that it doesn't do parametric (Bezier) curves.
Depends what you want to do (Score:2)
Each of the tools you mentioned has a scope of applications in mind, some very specific and specialized.
If you really mention Autocad and Blender or sketchup in one sentence, then think first about
-what you want to create (technical CAD database for drawings/CAE/CAM, nice graphics, prototypically designed enclosures for things)
-in which process step you are (manufaturing/different design phases)
-in which business you are working (and to whom you have to send your files)
-how much money you want to invest (no
3D mouse (Score:2)
3D navigation with a mouse is a PITA, so do yourself a favor and find a CAD program that is compatible with a 3D controller (the 3DConnexion controllers, for instance). This made my life a bit easier, at least.
Inventor (Score:2)
CAELinux (Score:2)
I've used CAELinux for quite a bit, but focused on Finite Element Modeling using Salome->Code_Aster. There are several packages on the disk and easy to burn the LiveDVD, insert it into your computer, reboot, use the software, reboot back to your base system.
http://www.caelinux.com/CMS/ [caelinux.com]
.
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Subdivs, while lacking the precision, do not have the same topological constraints.
I am puzzled by the "lack of precision" assertion. I use Blender for artwork, and occasionally for architectural models. It can be easily set up for meshes with sub millimeter accuracy within a 10 kilometer cubic universe. Its 3D cursor system allows precise placement of a vertex or object anywhere within that space, or precise location of an existing vertex, or extremely accurate placement of a new vertex or object at a point interpolated between the location of two or more existing vertices. Though for so
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Placement of individual vertices isn't really the issue. The issue is control of curvature between the vertices.
For example... in Blender, try to make a cube with a cylindrical hole in it. The four square faces of the cube are no problem; they can be specified exactly with polygons. The cylindrical hole, OTOH, is more of a problem. You will end up with an approximation to the cylindrical hole, but not an exact cylinder. You will also have to get your approximation at the right level of detail on the fi
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Okay, I think I now understand this better. In simplistic terms, polygon modeling is to NURBs as raster image work is to vector graphics.
It seems the problem is that today's machine software only understands NURBs and does not (yet) understand polygon modeling. I can see how this would arise from the differences in the historical development of shop tools and rendering tools. Bezier worked in an automotive manufacturing setting, while Catmull works in an animation studio; everything from the manipulation
Polygons (Score:2)
a 3D printer *could* understand polygons, but the produced output will still lack details.
(I've been doing it actually: outputing brain scans into STL format to be used for producing cheap models of brain for teaching anatomy).
To get back to your metaphor:
- feeding polygons to a 3D printer would be very close to feed a low rez PNG or JPEG to a laser printer.
The image is going to look pixelated.
Or, at best, the printer could do some form of interpolation, but the result will still be blurry.
In terms of polyg
Re: (Score:2)
I tried to learn Blender a couple of times. My major gripe was not its interface, but rather that it's difficult to find written tutorials. All of them seem to be videos.
Re:Blender is good (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
every computer has to, at some point, convert curves into poly lines. its the nature of the binary number system and the mechanical universe we inhabit. g-code takes floating point input, correct? the stepper motor has a certain resolution. essentially, it is a 3d-grid of pixels just as a 2d screen is made of pixels. in essence, we are back to the old philosophy questions - is there a perfect circle in nature, or is everything a grid that approximates a circle?
Re: (Score:2)
The G-code interpreter will convert G-code arcs/curves into polylines, so it's being faked at some layer. Remember, in the end you must discretize the curve somewhere. Whether it's done before generation of G-code, or during interpretation of G-code doesn't matter for the output -- as long as the pre-generated polylines match the resolution of the machine.
Re: (Score:2)
Better yet, if you have a Mac you can download Autodesk Inventor Fusion from the App Store for free, and it doesn't expire. Inventor Fusion is quite limited compared to the normal version of Inventor, but it's certainly powerful enough to create interesting/useful objects and export them to STL format for 3D printing. Trimble Sketchup is useful for starting to learn 3D modeling, however it isn't a solid modeler and as such isn't well-suited to 3D printing without using something like CADspan to convert th