New to 3d

[Spiff2022]

Ok I don't see the correct area in the forum so I'll ask here. Never done any 3d modeling or printing before but I'm diving in head first, downloaded blender and pre ordered a peachy. Anyway, my problem is that blender seems pretty high speed (read: complicated as crap). Anything else I should try to work my way into it without being overwhelmed?

[Aztecphoenix]

try SketchUp, real easy to learn, lots of online tutorials, the only problem you might face is finding the right collection of software to export your designs to blender (you only need to convert the file to the right format, I use meshlab and netfab)

[NoctumSolis]

I second the above. I tried for ages to get my head around blender, to no avail. But once I'd got the basics in SketchUp I found that I could more easily navigate Blender's documentation and learn how to use it properly. SketchUp gives you a nice introduction to the vocabulary so that you can figure out what you need in Blender.

[Spiff2022]

Awesome, thanks!
when I get my printer, do I have to print everything from blender? I had heard that peachy is supposed to use a modified blender.

[Feign]

The Peachy was originally intended to use a Blender plugin to do its own slicing and g-code translation into the Peachy signal. Now however it simply uses G-Code from any source and translates that to the Peachy signal. Almost any modeler will technically work, but the things to keep in mind:

Any thing you want to print needs to be a solid object in the software with no intersecting or mating faces, (this is IMO just good 3D modeling practice in general, but those kinds of errors cause the slicing/printing to fail.)
You need to be able to export it as a .stl file after getting the object solid, there are slicers that can use other file formats, but .stl is universal.
You need a slicing program. Opinions differ on just which one is best at any given time, and sometimes these things break with new updates, so I recommend learning multiple slicers just in case.
Once the model has been run through the slicer, you get g-code. This can get run through the Peachy software for printing.

Take note: SketchUp is not optimized for solid modeling, Blender is not optimized for mechanical modeling, Meshmixer is not optimized for very complex functions, and Open SCAD is not optimized for use unless you can think in code. There are people who will swear up and down that these programs are each perfectly valid choices for these functions, and it's possible to use pretty much any modeling program for any model... It's also possible to use a claw hammer to cut paper, but we don't. Learn multiple software packages, and use each one for what it does best.

[Spiff2022]

The Peachy was originally intended to use a Blender plugin to do its own slicing and g-code translation into the Peachy signal. Now however it simply uses G-Code from any source and translates that to the Peachy signal. Almost any modeler will technically work, but the things to keep in mind:

Any thing you want to print needs to be a solid object in the software with no intersecting or mating faces, (this is IMO just good 3D modeling practice in general, but those kinds of errors cause the slicing/printing to fail.)
You need to be able to export it as a .stl file after getting the object solid, there are slicers that can use other file formats, but .stl is universal.
You need a slicing program. Opinions differ on just which one is best at any given time, and sometimes these things break with new updates, so I recommend learning multiple slicers just in case.
Once the model has been run through the slicer, you get g-code. This can get run through the Peachy software for printing.

Take note: SketchUp is not optimized for solid modeling, Blender is not optimized for mechanical modeling, Meshmixer is not optimized for very complex functions, and Open SCAD is not optimized for use unless you can think in code. There are people who will swear up and down that these programs are each perfectly valid choices for these functions, and it's possible to use pretty much any modeling program for any model... It's also possible to use a claw hammer to cut paper, but we don't. Learn multiple software packages, and use each one for what it does best.

wow, i have so much to learn, good thing i have almost a year before they start shipping

[jstrack2]

I agree with what has been said. Find a real good tutorial. Also what worked for me is just trying to make simple things and then slowly getting more complex. Like anything practice helps.

[Spiff2022]

I played with blender for a while and watched a pretty good tutorial that broke it down Barney style, and I managed to change the box into a wall, then copy pasta and made a 3 sided structure, but then I look at the people drawing characters and mechanical designs and I'm like no way! How did you draw that circle!?!

[Feign]

I played with blender for a while and watched a pretty good tutorial that broke it down Barney style, and I managed to change the box into a wall, then copy pasta and made a 3 sided structure, but then I look at the people drawing characters and mechanical designs and I'm like no way! How did you draw that circle!?!

Well, there is a circle command (can't remember it off the top of my head.) Really though the main thing Blender does really well is rendering, and that's effectively useless for printing. I just don't understand people who use Blender for mechanical modeling. Some say it's like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly, but I say it's like using a sledgehammer to solve math.

For starting out, my personal recommendations are Autodesk 123D Design (for mechanical projects) and Meshmixer for sculpting simple stuff. Meshmixer isn't very powerful, but it's light, meaning it will run fairly fast even on a modest computer, and the tools it does have are fairly easy to learn. It's kind of like... If they were 2D art programs, Meshmixer would be Paint and Blender would be GIMP.

But then, for all I know, you might like Open SCAD better, it's all opinion really.

[NoctumSolis]

...Really though the main thing Blender does really well is rendering, and that's effectively useless for printing. I just don't understand people who use Blender for mechanical modeling. Some say it's like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly, but I say it's like using a sledgehammer to solve math....

Can't really argue with that. But I'd add that Blender tries really hard to be a Jack of All Trades. The other major string to its bow has to be game design; both creating assets and authoring games that run in the Blender engine. Again, that's useless for 3D printing. Same goes for the fluid dynamics and various other physics simulation capabilities (with varying degrees of sophistication). The bright side of Blender's broad goals is that there's actually some effort to support 3D printing explicitly. There are a few community-written add-ons, at least one decent book on Blender for 3D Printing, and some core features that can be very useful (although nothing uncommon, I'm talking about detecting non-manifold edges etc. This stuff isn't unique to Blender.)

Of course, being a jack of all trades traditionally carries of caveat of being master of none. Whatever you want to do with Blender - not least 3D printing - you will hear about other software that does that specific thing much better. But I like Blender, because I want to do a variety of things with 3D modelling and I like the feeling of portability that I get from using Blender for most of them. It really is a personal choice, so figure out what makes you happiest.

btw, I used to use BRL-CAD. That was more like a nuclear warhead than a sledgehammer.