Results 11 to 20 of 27
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07-07-2015, 07:37 AM #11
But that goes for most software as export modules need to be licensed. And while it can only save as native and export stl it import step, iges and sat (and solidworks files, if I'm not mistaken).
Plus it is fully parametric... for $50. That alone puts it heads and shoulders above the 'free brigade'.
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07-07-2015, 07:39 AM #12
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07-07-2015, 07:51 AM #13
Yes, we were not convinced it would be worth are while investing time in learning it we are just aware that it exists and is free. But you never know, our experience of freeware is that sometimes you can find some real gems if you are prepared to get past, what usually appears to be, a poor interface.
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07-07-2015, 08:00 AM #14
Absolutely. Unfortunately not in this case though. Firstly there is no UI, everything had to be typed in by hand. and the more complex your part got the longer each command got. For jollies I tried to design a little kids' rake for the beach. Took three days; with todays software this shouldn't take more than an hour. I also couldn't save to stp or iges (also done through a command line style editor.) No... not worth it.
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07-07-2015, 11:28 AM #15Firstly there is no UI, everything had to be typed in by hand. and the more complex your part got the longer each command got.
And I tried sketchup - absolutely bloody useless. None of the tutorials I followed worked. Couldn't even find the centre of a cube to push in to make a box. It just wouldn't do it. At which point, after a few hours I gave up, tried openscad and had made abox inside a minute.
Horrible software. And not exactly 3d print friendly.
brl cad is weird. Currently looking at tinkercad.
Ah - web app.
lol what i actually want is someone to fix openscad so it uses multile cpu cores and doesn't have a facet limit. lol
Haven't found anything I can't make with it yet - the scripts for the pinboards and golfball style glandes work great, till openscad dies on me.
OH well.
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07-07-2015, 11:43 AM #16
Seriously, give the free ones I mentioned in my first post a look. They are the closest you'll get to professional CAD without paying.
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07-07-2015, 02:00 PM #17
I only want stl files :-)
DesignSpark PCB is a free-of-charge schematic capture and PCB layout tool for electronics design automation (EDA), for use by professional electronics design engineers, hobbyists, educators and students.[
creo elements:Download this free 3D CAD software and create assemblies with up to 60 unique parts.
Might be useful for other things though - I'll look at it :-)
the autodesk stuff is all online and facebook linked. That just makes me shudder.
I know, I know, I'm a fussy bastard.
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07-07-2015, 02:05 PM #18
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07-07-2015, 11:06 PM #19
See here:
DesignSpark Mechanical. This is a free MCAD package, exactly what you want.
Autodesk 123D. This version is downloadable, not online. And is very popular.
Creo Elements. I use Creo Parametric 2.0 at work along with Catia and Geomagic Design. While Elements is quite different from its big brother I can assure you that PTC make very powerful software.
All of the above save in native format and export stl's too, again exactly what you want.
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07-08-2015, 05:56 AM #20
cheers mate - hadn't seen the standalone 123d before :-)
The designspark is $800 - lol no chance. I grumbled enough when I bought simplify3d.
The creo thing just doesn't do enough parts.
I'll sit down at the weekend and have a solid look through the ones I've now got.
Thanks guys :-)
Printer will print perfect...
06-14-2024, 10:44 AM in Tips, Tricks and Tech Help