3d printing software

I am extremely new to the world of 3D printing (I don't even have a printer yet). I've been looking into some of the software programs for making 3D files just to see if I can do it and I'm having some troubles. I have 0 CAD experience so even the basic programs are a little hard for me to use. Is there any programs that are super simple for a beginner? I just want to make a simple C-link. Are there any places to have someone else make the file for you?
I've been playing with the autodesk 123D, but am having difficulties making my link. Any help/tips for a noob?

CAD is relatively straight forward once you get past the initial learning curve but getting there can be tough if you have no background in it. I have tons of experience in solidworks and pro-e (effectively the same thing) but nothing in 123D so I can't really help with specific tips. Best bet would be to look up some basic tutorials and start with those. It's boring as hell to model stuff that you don't care about while you learn but learning by doing in CAD is very effective at least until you have the fundamentals down.

There are places you can go to have digital files made for you. Here would be one of them for instance. Depending on the complexity of what you're trying to design, your ability to provide specifics on the design (hand sketches, etc.), and the person you're dealing with, your costs to have someone else draw it for you will vary widely. As a for instance, something simple like your link you could probably find someone to do it for free, especially if you're able to provide a basic sketch with some dimensions. Something more complicated like a 3d printer on the other hand, could cost you thousands to have professionally engineered. If I think of the time I have put into my printer design so far and calculate what that time cost me based on my salary I've probably "spent" 1-1.5k on mine so far and I'm still a long way from done. That's not meant to scare you off, just to give you an idea of cost spread and the skill set behind proficient use of CAD software.

If you have the desire to do it I would say go the tutorial route and learn to do it yourself. Not only will you have gained a useful and potentially valuable skill in the process but you'll have the ability to design more complex stuff later once you do get your printer and start coming up with more ideas.

Sketchup is free and very easy to use. I use it for all of my modeling work so far. There are plenty of tutorials on Sketchup online. Being a very intuitive GUI, there is not a lot of learning curve to it.

I'm also slowly learning OpenSCAD, which is an instruction based cad program, you tell it how to do it, and it does it. OME is doing a tutorial thread somewhere around here on OpenSCAD. It's very simple if you have any coding experience, but even if you don't, it's a very logical program.

I would look into Sculptris. It's a free 3D sculpting program. It's really easy to get started and it's pretty easy to make some cool stuff. It starts you off with a sphere and you can form it like clay.

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Originally Posted by soofle616

As a for instance, something simple like your link you could probably find someone to do it for free, especially if you're able to provide a basic sketch with some dimensions.

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i physically have the link that I want to make, so if anyone would be willing to make it I wouldn't object lol. I am going to see if maybe I can find a CAD class online or something.
I am going to look into the other suggested programs as well.

Imho, the big learning curve for me is to find where is the feature from one cad to another. Sometime they hide in those tabs or workbench where they should not be.

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Originally Posted by sue121507

i physically have the link that I want to make, so if anyone would be willing to make it I wouldn't object lol. I am going to see if maybe I can find a CAD class online or something.
I am going to look into the other suggested programs as well.

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Is it a C hook, or an oval carabiner (C hook with a gate that makes an oval)? If it's just a C hook, then that would be an excellent beginners project. Especially in Sketchup, just draw the shape of the hook with a single line, then use the follow me tool to make the 3d body. If the contours are a little more complicated than that, you might want to look into finding somebody local who can 3d scan it and, voila, 3d object.

If it's an actual carabiner, then that's a totally different game. Using a 3d printer to replicate those types of moving parts is not always the best solution. Usually different methods of attaching and actuating the gate are required. Look on Thingiverse for examples of how 3d printed carabiners tend to work.

Attachment 3918

This is the link that I want to make.

That doesn't look like a difficult part to make. There are numerous free CAD programs that should work. If you want to stay in the Autodesk family, you might try TinkerCAD. You can also try some demos of programs that cost money to buy, but offer free trials. Rhino3D, for instance, offers a demo good for a number of saves, so you can work through the tutorials without having it time out on you. In Rhino, you'd construct the C-shaped curve, then use the Pipe command to make your link. Other programs you might look at are Sculpt and Design, which have free demos on the Cubify site.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

That's not hard at all It'd be only a few minutes of work in Sketchup.

If you have a good ruler or a set of calipers, measure these four Dimensions:
A: Length of Spine
B: Width of Link (Diameter of the end circles)
C: Length of half Spine
D: Thickness of Link (Diameter of the material itself).

Attachment 3923

In Sketchup you'd just create a Guide line "A" long. Then make a circle on each end, radius "B/2". Connect a tangent on each side of the two circles (you now have an oval). Using guides, you can then trim one tangent to length "C" on each end. Select and delete everything but the C shape. You will now have a C shape in a very thin line. In the vertical Axis, draw a circle of radius "D/2" on the tip of the line. Use the FollowMe tool to pull that circle along the line (Under the view menu, turn off guides, then select the Entire C shaped line using Shift-Click, then click FollowMe, then click the face of the circle, Boom).

Attachment 3926

Attachment 3924

Attachment 3925

That literally took me less than 5 minutes (using dimensions I made up), and I'm not a very skilled modeler.

I would recommend going and downloading Sketchup (Its totally free!) and trying that your self. Read the tutorials, and try to learn the steps. I found the Sketchup for Dummies book to be a huge asset, but the online tutorials are just as good.

If you're still having issues, I'd be happy to help out.

(Honestly, typing out this response and trying to get the photos to work took more time and effort than the model did! lol)

I also say Sketchup. Unless this clip will be the only part. In that case, just go to MakeXYZ.com and find someone local who can make and print it and bring it to you to show you what you can do to improve it.

Note about Sketchup: One bug is the "tiny dimension" bug. To work around it, multiply all dimensions by 100 before starting, then when done, shrink it 100 times and export it (but don't save the shrinked version).

If your serious about getting into 2D/3D design but are on a budget, I'd look at ViaCad 9. That's what I settled on and I'm very pleased with it. Feature rich and relatively easy to use. Much better than Sketchup IMHO.

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Originally Posted by 3DPBuser

Note about Sketchup: One bug is the "tiny dimension" bug. To work around it, multiply all dimensions by 100 before starting, then when done, shrink it 100 times and export it (but don't save the shrinked version).

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I honestly have never encountered this. BUt that would explain why some models I've imported are insanely huge.....

that would be even easier in openscad.

It's a personal thing but I just don't get on with mouse based gui cad packages.
Openscad is free, simple and can do things you'd struggle to do with conventional cad. AND it only produces solid models, ready to print with no further processing required.

I've been playing with sketchup a lot, it's definitely the easiest one, for me anyways.

check out infiniteskills.com. there are many video classes covering alot of different cad software. the only thing to note about sketchup is its not a solid modeler. its a surface modeler making it not great for 3d printing. if your learning cad with it and getting used to working in a 3d environment then thats what is important at this point. i tried 123d, sketchup, tinkercad and a few others when i started. i found that the more easy and simple these were supposed to be the harder they actually were for me because they just lack the tools for me to make what i wanted to make. i ended up learning rhino. it is a powerful and professional piece of software with no real limitations. there are tons of video courses on it as well because its so popular. infinite skills, lynda and many other websites are loaded with courses for it of all skill levels. i started with a 14hr beginner course and i was able to dive right into it.

i have been using MOI 3 (moment of inspiration) it is fairly inexpensive, is feature rich, and for me was very easy to learn. personally i tried a number of programs and have settled on this and another one that is free called design spark. a lot of people talk about how easy sketchup is but i just could not get the hang of it even after watching videos, btw there are a ton of videos on both moi and design spark on youtube.