Newbie here, just wanted to know for working with 3D printers what software should i learn, like solid works ?
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Newbie here, just wanted to know for working with 3D printers what software should i learn, like solid works ?
I would personaly recommend Solidworks,
But you also have sketchup and other free programs,
I would recommend to learn it as you wont be to able to make your own objects otherwise.
I'm a Blender fan, it's free and very powerful and there's countless youtube tutorials for it.
Sketchup all the way, until you want to do more advanced things. I mostly use trackpads so i can't use blender much without a mouse
Ok, i was looking at Solid and Rhino and Blender but it looks like solid is very commercial for making parts and others are animation related... ?Quote:
Originally Posted by DrLuigi
Animation is a superset of 3D modeling. Blender does both. To do just 3D modeling with it, ignore the animation features.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tesla
solidworks is very mechanical engineering based. for making parts and working assemblies. it is not very good with complex surfaces or ornate objects and it totally not for making organic forms, characters or sculpting like blender is. rhino is what i use. its kind of a middle ground. it is very precise like solidworks but its also great for complex and curvy, ornate surfaces as well. it however is not parametric so in models with multiple working parts it does not know how each part relates to one another. so basically if you design a engine or transmission for example you cannot test it or make it operate like you can in solidworks. i find rhino to be fantastic for designing models for 3d printing. its professional and powerful software. there are many cad programs out there which are designed for different things. the software you choose depends on the type of modeling you are doing. rhino, solidworks and blender are all great but they each do things the other doesnt do.
We use Alibre, but I hear good things about FreeCAD.
So Blender it is! thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by jimc
If you want to be able to make some things relatively quickly, prior to gaining expertise in an advanced modeler like Blender, you could try something like Eureka. I use it when I want to make basic household items, because it's very fast and easy, and because you can't make unprintable objects with it. I only use a more advanced modeler if I want to make more advanced objects.
http://eurekatec.com/home.html
hmmm never heard of eureka. i just checked it out and looks perfect to teach my 10 year old with. i had him try tinkercad. i hate it and so does he. maybe ill try it out to see if its good for him. i was going to teach him rhino because i know it well but i think at 10 its just slightly over his head. at 12-13 he could prob handle it. thanks for the link mike!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike
Nice! thanks for the link
I like Modo, but I can use Blender.
If You can get an access to Solidworks i would very much recommend it (it's expensive, though). The possibilities are immense and although the learning curve may prove a bit steep for a complete 3D novice, it pays off later on. I don't know what do you plan to do in 3D printing, but in the future Your needs may extend further form laying plastic layers and then You need CAD drawings. That's especially true when you do some models of boats, planes or automobiles.
Both Blender and Modo can do all of that with much less training than Solidworks for a fraction do the cost. That's why I don't list 3dMax or Maya, because they cost much more than the combination of both 3d printers I have on order. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by HummaKavula
There is also Wings, but I don't know that personally.
There is also FreeCAD, which does some things very well.
I strongly suggest not investing much until you know that you're going to stick with 3d work. Now, if you have access to Solidworks through work or school, you might want to try it out. One thing I've found over the years is that taste in 3d applications is a very personal thing.
I've used FreeCAD. Buggy as hell. There's a reason for software being in 0.13 release. However i'm not some fanatical salesman of Solidworks. I wouldn't use it on my own if I had to buy it for my own money. At least not for 3D printing modeling. And I fully agree with your last suggestion.
Strongly recommend Solidworks, it's the industry standard for product design.
Edit: It's also called a parametric program allowing you to edit any features you have made.
I design stuff, but my knowledge of CAD is very limited. You can use programs like FreeCAD and just experiment with it. There isn't too much you need to know in order to make a cool 3D design.
I've just come across a free CAD program called 123D Design. It seems to have all the attributes of a good CAD program.
www.123dapp.com/design
Old Man Emu
ome, if your already using rhino then you will be taking about 100 steps backward going to 123d design.
That would put me back to the neo-natal unit because I can barely crawl with Rhino now. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by jimc
OME
Haha, well those free or beginner type cad packages i find are harder because they just lack the tools so everytime you want to do something more than make a box your screwed or have to get creative with it to make it work. With rhino you have every tool imaginable. Sent you a pm
I Love Wings3d. I find the interface so intuitive that it does not get in the way of a creative process.
If you're just using it for 3D printing, take a look at Cubify Design (was Alibre). It has a lot of the same features as Solidworks, like parametric solids modeling with a history tree and output as 2D drawings, but it costs a lot less. The only 3D format that the $199 version exports is STL, but that's all you need for 3D printing.
Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com
If you want to design technical stuff and are ok with programming then OpenSCAD is a good choice.
http://www.openscad.org/
There is also implicitcad but it lacks a good quick preview yet.
http://www.implicitcad.org/
I've written a minimal language for the sage CAS system: miniSageCAD
It's quite slow but can generate cool stuff:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:40210
If you want to avoid 3d modelling entirely then maybe check out 123D catch, just to reproduce found objects. http://www.123dapp.com/catch