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02-03-2016, 08:54 PM #1
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Posts
- 5
Some good sense at last... and a great cloud app recommendation too... onshape looks excellent! As I keep reiterating software/apps are personal and whatever/whenever it works for you is fine... silly negative comments aren't... what really matters is the research you personally do to find the software that suits you and your style/type of work... A professional designer friend of mine started off using Turbocad which he bought on ebay for £10 and he still uses it now 10 years later for certain elements of his work. Sketchup is as good a place to start as any other freeware... stl export can be problematic but Netfabb (free) can usually repair most issues. It's not that great for smaller parts either but as I said 'horses for courses'.
Solidworks is an entire suite of tools for professional use and clearly why it is one of the best out there... and the most expensive... but that doesn't mean you can't find freeware alternatives and gain experience until you are ready to make the massive leap to selling your designs professionally... all/any 3D/CAD type software/app experience is invaluable anyway.
"Tongue in cheek = not to be taken seriously"???... and Sigmund Freud said there's no such thing as a joke...Last edited by Artiz; 02-03-2016 at 09:37 PM.
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02-03-2016, 11:39 PM #2
I meant it tongue in cheek as the OP has experience with Solidworks and other pro level CAD packages, so Sketchup would NOT be what they are looking for.
But is Sketchup is very good for 3d print modelling, but it's approach to how to create the model's differs from the more traditional CADs out there. It's more push/pull than shape creation. Once you get a single shape laid down, it's very easy to mold that into a complex design. But I've noticed experienced CAD'ers have problems grasping the level of inituitiveness that SU brings, they are used to a certain way of designing stuff, and SU doesn't work like that.
Plop a 6 year old down in front of a copy of SU, show them some basic techniques, and by the end of the day they will probably have a printable Horse, truck, car, train, or house. It may not be nicely printable as they don't have an understanding of the nuances of 3d printing, .and it would probably be of similar detail to a crayon drawing, but it would print.
Give that same 6 year old a copy of solidworks and a week later they'll still be trying to figure out how to make a cube.
I use SU and a Davinci printer with the default slicing package (three of the most reviled tools in the 3D printing community) to make a variety of products for sale. I've learned to work around the nuances of both to create very good prints. One of my products is a bespoke modular assembly for a model racing yacht, the Soling 1m. It cuts the build time of the boat from about 50 hours down to about 20-25, and has a 5-10% weight reduction above the keel, meaning the boats go faster.
As my parts are bespoke, in particularly the servo sled, I'm looking to learn OpenSCAD to just plug the dimensions of the servos in, and it will create the sled on demand. As it has some fairly complex geometry, this is not a first project to learn on. Like any Design packages, it will have a learning curve.
It is worth the OP, and any designer IMO, to take a look at sketchup, and appreciate it for it what it can do quickly and powerfully. As it's a architectural design package, it does have some flaws for 3d printing. But with the right plugins, namely the Fredo6 collection, SolidInspector, and CadCAM, SU becomes a powerful 3d Printing design tool. I can export and import STL's at will. But would I make it a recommendation for the OP initially? No, as it will against what they are familiar with.
Perhaps my response was a little flippant for those that did not understand that, but the response in return was completely unprofessional and uncalled for, and has henceforth labelled you as a Troll.
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02-05-2016, 12:04 AM #3
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02-03-2016, 11:45 PM #4
In fact, when I get a chance, I'll see if my hypothesis is correct. I'll take my girlfriend's almost 6 year old and we'll see what she can do with as little input from me as possible. If possible, I'll print it and post the results.
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02-03-2016, 11:57 PM #5
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02-04-2016, 10:46 PM #6
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02-05-2016, 02:28 AM #7
- Join Date
- Jun 2014
- Location
- Burnley, UK
- Posts
- 1,662
Has he gone?
Party.
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02-05-2016, 04:40 AM #8
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02-05-2016, 03:26 AM #9
We would consider ourselves to be Geeks, nerds if you will, but I can't ever imagine any one of use being sooooo ultra nerdy as to have an argument over an issue the like of "what is the best CAD software" or is freeware better than proprietary software.
But, it was wonderfully amusing so thank you to all participants, especially @Artiz ( loved the last post, the picture was a nice touch ).
But it's Friday, you should all kiss and make up now.
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02-02-2016, 03:15 AM #10
I haven't found any soft remotely close to CATIA.
It is just so crazily overpriced and good at what it does, it stands apart. ;-)
Honestly, though, if Nissan, Dassault, Boieng and Airbus agree to pay for developments of that, ... must be some good in it.
Please explain to me how to...
Yesterday, 12:15 PM in 3D Printer Parts, Filament & Materials