Anycubic Photon

[Chris333]

You have to make under $100,000 a year to get the hobbyists version. But their website is just an endless loop that keeps going back to the same page. The only free option is for a year. What happens after a year?

Printed items last night and tried to make a small change this morning and my software no longer works. Sounds exactly like what Fusion 360 will do a year from now.

[Chris333]

So just for fun I tried to download it and the site keeps giving me the runaround.

**I logged in**

Clicked "free trial"

selected non-commercial use

goes right back to the main page with "free trial"

Try the menu and select downloads... free product trials... select fusion 360

goes right back to the main page with "free trial"

[Chris333]

Somehow just removing the license from Sketchup got it to work again.

Still cannot find a direct download link at Fusion 360, no help button either.

[Chris333]

And now I can no longer import CAD files.

Wish someone made software that people actually wanted.

[bbussey]

I love SolidWorks. But I had the fortune to learn it at work years ago on the 2002 version, when it didn’t have so many bells and whistles. It’s much easier to adjust to the annual enhancements if you’re already familiar with the program.  Long time Inventor and Rhino users feel similarly.

I don’t use the panning feature, but it’s either holding the control key or alt key down while scrolling or using the arrow keys. You also may use the series of orientation buttons to change the view. I usually rely on just those because the three isometric view options coupled with the standard six viewpoints is enough to see a model.

[Stephane]

I recently installed fusion360.  I clicked on the free trial link, and downloaded the software.  There are no different versions of the software, just the one download.  The next steps are to simply sign up a new account, where I indicated that i am a hobbyist.  Next time i started the free trial, i signed in using the account info i registered with and done, everything works.

Hopefully this helps you?

[wcfn100]

While going to school and teaching 3D I used so many different software packages that I didn't bother to learn the navigation  shortcuts beyond what the mouse would do.  There's always a small panel to click on what you want.

FWIW, when you start Fusion360, it asks what your experience is with CAD software and you can select how the mouse buttons will work.



The only reason I tout Fusion is because it's a full modeling package which for me means booleans, sweeps, lofts and fillets.  It also does assemblies, which is awesome for reusing drawings in other projects.

I was skeptical about the licensing so I did the 30 day trial before I even said anything here.  The process to get the 1 year license was easy and and I haven't had a problem yet.  I am interested in what will happen at the end of the year, but I currently have no reason to be concerned.


Jason

[Chris333]

I found the Fusion 360 download yesterday (it wasn't the free trail button, it was pretty buried in their site and I only found it using Google)

Once it installed there was no screen like you showed. There was about 5 pop-ups at the top of the screen that I had to keep closing.

Besides all that I have no idea how to even draw a line. I imported a model and cannot select a surface and the model is full of triangles. Plus Fusions zoom is backwards as well. I did figure out how to reverse it on Solidworks though.

[Chris333]

How do I get rid of this screen:


And how do I turn this into something I can use?

[Chris333]

Edit: it was 360 that I was able to reverse the zoom. This is what I get in Solidworks:


Can't even figure out how to rotate the model and the zoom is backwards.

[wcfn100]

How do I get rid of this screen:

I don't remember that, but I think you need to let the program load and then click on your name in the upper right, select 'switch teams' and pick your name again.

One thing I left out about Fusion is that it's also a parametric modeler so you can go back and make changes to the drawing after the fact.

Jason

[bbussey]

Edit: it was 360 that I was able to reverse the zoom. This is what I get in Solidworks:
Can't even figure out how to rotate the model and the zoom is backwards.

Hold the Alt key down and use the arrows. I do everything instinctively now, I’ll check later on rotating with the mouse and advise.

I do all design on a laptop now and use the built-in touchpad rather than a mouse or trackball.

[Lemosteam]

Most CAD tools have the ability to import/export step files. Step files are nearly universally stable, solids. Many tools will have difficulty using .stl files because of the triangulation. Stl files are "light" files specifically used for printing (among others of course but .stl is the most widely used).

I would always recommend using step files between CAD tools.

[Chris333]

You know on top of all this I'm sitting here at work with a few extra minutes and Angry Birds won't open unless I update it...

I ended up getting Sketchup 2019 pro to work so I'm back in the game. Someone book mark this day and see if it happens again in 365.

[chessie system fan]

Price drop alert!  Now $300 with free shipping.

https://www.anycubic.com/products/anycubic-photon-3d-printer?variant=29072873947196