Grateful for Shapeways

[DKS]

I tried earnestly to learn CAD but failed miserably. Tried a couple of 3D programs, but they were too CAD-like, so that was a fail for me also. When I tried SketchUp, it was as if a lightbulb came on. They take a very different approach to 3D. Have a look at a few of their tutorials, then give it a spin. It's all free, anyway. I know a lot of hardcore CAD people look down at SketchUp like it's made for kids, but there's serious work being done with it. And you can port a SketchUp file right into Shapeways for some FUD fun.

[Scottl]

+1  I invested an hour in the Sketchup videos and was making complex models.  I am sure there is much more to learn, but I see this as a soft route into 3D modelling.

[Chris333]

I think a class is needed for me... I had some Rhino 3D program and somewhere I have MasterCAM. Haven't been able to draw a thing with em'.

I also had Corel and Adobe and couldn't figure out how to draw with them...

[GaryHinshaw]

Chris, if you can draw a box-cab in 2D CAD, and if you have even a rudimentary ability to think in 3D - which you must to design a 3D model from 2D etchings, then you can master this.

Planet Money had an interesting piece on 3D printing in general, and Shapeways in particular.

[wcfn100]

How long does it take an idiot to learn 3D?  My autoCAD has 3D, but I can't even draw a straight line with it. 

To effectively work in 3D, you need to think in 3D.  Much of what you'll draw will start as a flat sketch and will be extruded (like playdough) into a 3D object.  From there you add the features you need to the objects surface.  Rivets are just extrude circles for example.  The more planning you can do ahead of time, the better your model will be. 

One plus to modern modeling packages is that things like chamfers and fillets are built in functions and don't need to factored into your sketches.

Like anything else, it just takes practice and asking questions.

I was going to make some flat car stake pockets for RPing.  I can take some screen shots along the way. 


Jason

[mmyers05]

Love to know if anyone out there uses the free version's models for Shapeways...

Right here (*raises hand*).

The aforementioned NKP Caboose was modeled entirely using the free version of Sketchup.

The conversion to .stl is also actually fairly straightforward using one of the many available free plugins (I've found three or four now).

[DKS]

Much of what you'll draw will start as a flat sketch and will be extruded (like playdough) into a 3D object.

That is precisely the way SketchUp works. You draw a flat primitive (circle, square, etc.). Then you click and drag its surface up (or down or left or right) to extrude it into a 3D shape. It's incredibly intuitive. Well, it is for me, at least. The SketchUp interface was a breakthrough; I would not have successfully gotten into 3D rendering otherwise.

[Chris333]

lol just downloaded Sketchup8 opened it and it says choose template. I don't even know what that is, see what I mean.


I took 2 years of drafting. They had a CAD computer, but the teacher didn't even know how to use it. There was someone in the class who's Dad happened to win the lottery so he had CAD at home. So it was some other kid in class who showed me how to use CAD. I would guess someone who knew CAD would laugh if they saw me draw something with it. Until the first time I sent something out to etch I didn't even know what a "layer" was so I bought AutoCAD for Dummies to figure it out.

I'll try and play with Sketchup later.

[Hyperion]

lol just downloaded Sketchup8 opened it and it says choose template. I don't even know what that is, see what I mean

Not much.  And you can change it whenever you want.

It changes some general appearance (colors, look of lines, etc), the default unit of measure, etc.  It's just a template that sets some options for you based on whatever it is that you may be drawing.  But it won't really impact what you're doing, outside of the biggest thing being the default unit of measure.

This isn't SketchUp support, but maybe someone here has had this issue before -- if I'm building something in "real" 1:1 measurements, and want to get it to Shapeways, I need to reduce it by 160.  But the "scale" function doesn't go that low (and I can't type in a scale you want, have to simply drag the mouse).  So I then scale it a second time to get it down low enough -- but SketchUp then always crashes on me.  I imagine it's a result of some floating point error from reducing some fractional-inch line in my drawing down to 160th of that size.

So has anyone found a super easy to to simply scale things down to 1:160.  Or do you simply draw things in the scale measurement to begin with (as I normally do, but didn't do for my shop building that I was just, out of curiousity, seeing if I could Shapeways it)

[DKS]

Or do you simply draw things in the scale measurement to begin with (as I normally do, but didn't do for my shop building that I was just, out of curiousity, seeing if I could Shapeways it)

That's what I do.

[wcfn100]

The SketchUp interface was a breakthrough; I would not have successfully gotten into 3D rendering otherwise.

That might be, but you're basically building a house with nothing but hand tools.  The stuff you can do with a good parametric modeler over something like Sketchup is very significant.

I just downloaded Sketchup and it's like what I assume living before electricity was like.     I'll have to look through the help section and see what this can really do.

Jason

[DKS]

That might be, but you're basically building a house with nothing but hand tools.  The stuff you can do with a good parametric modeler over something like Sketchup is very significant.

I have no doubt of this! The point is the interface design is what can make or break an app for an individual. The methodology of use must fit the user's expectations in order for it to be successful, so if I must build my house with hand tools (which, to be honest, would be a joy), then so be it. Like many things, it's a stepping stone, and I'm sure at some point I'll "graduate" to something "real." Or not. If I can create things in SketchUp that meet my needs, then I've achieved a level of success I'd not expected prior to using it. Which was exactly zero.

[Scottl]

If this keeps up, we'll need a "Grateful for Sketchup" thread. 

[Lemosteam]

Solid models don't have 'material' inside either. 

Jason

Jason this statement is misleading- skin models are not the same as a solid.  The 3d solid software knows exactly how much material is inside the solid, otherwise it could not calculate the center of gravity or mass, which most 3D software tools can do.

The fud machine must assume that there are no interior contours, like a fluid path, in order to fill in the section inside the skin model.

Chris333, I would also draw it in scale size.  Many small features disappear in the tools mind and it cannot recalculate it so it crashes. Many features such as rivets must be enlarged to the rp machines capability anyway.

I don't look down on sketchup up at all, I think the interface is great.  If Catia interfaced like sketch up I'd love it.  The fact that Shapeways can handle non solids is cool.

My only issue with using rudementary shapes is that it is more difficult to make that shape complex.  Boolean solids make this much easier and complex filleting capabilities are crucial for me. 

I cannot use my work software for personal profit so I am looking for a CAD software too.  It's just disappointing knowing I can't use Catia for any projects I want to make.

Scott's, LOL!

[DKS]

The 3d solid software knows exactly how much material is inside the solid, otherwise it could not calculate the center of gravity or mass, which most 3D software tools can do.

Surely this is calculated based on the surface shape of the object? Therefore, the only real difference is that solid software has the added ability to deal with the properties of an object's material--whatever that may be; the drawing itself is still just a complex surface.

The fud machine must assume that there are no interior contours, like a fluid path, in order to fill in the section inside the skin model.

It doesn't need to assume anything, since the area is not being filled by a fluid, such as it might if injection-molded. FUD is built up layer by layer, so all it needs to know is the perimeter of any given 2D slice of a shape. (Well, that and a lot of other stuff like required support, but that's not pertinent.)