Does anyone make their own designs ?
What software did you use and how did you get into it ?
CAD Software for own designs ?
Moderator: CrazyIvan
Re: CAD Software for own designs ?
Thanks KenW. I have heard about a Fusion 360 as well. Hopefully it's easier to learn.
I'll look into FreeCAD.
I'll look into FreeCAD.
Re: CAD Software for own designs ?
I have no experience of Fusion 360, but I know it's only available free in a limited form and for a limited period. On the other hand, FreeCAD is, well, FREE!
There's nothing unusually difficult about FreeCAD, it's just that the process of creating a 3D digital representation of what you have in mind is intrinsically not easy unless you have that kind of mind set. Liken it to an artist: we all recognise a bird when we see one, only the gifted can draw one that looks lifelike. It doesn't matter what tools you have at your disposal, you need to understand how they can be used to take what is just an idea and turn it into a self-consistent 3D computer model.
For example, it is perfectly possible to define an object in digital form which would then be completely impossible to represent in actual 3D space.
To avoid that kind of thing, 3D CAD lets you build up a model using constructions which cannot be impossible. The typical FreeCAD workflow is to sketch a shape in 2D which you then extrude into the third dimension, then you might add further extrusions, or use other 2D sketches to subtract pockets and holes. Or you can take a primitive (such as a cube) and then merge it with another primitive (such as a cylinder) and build up a complex shape that way.
The art of FreeCAD is not so much knowing what you can do as understanding what not to do to avoid problems. For example: rounding the corners of an object (called filleting) can result in problems when fillets meet at a corner and they have nearly the same radius of curvature. The reason for this failure is not because the geometry is impossible, but because the precise calculations required to generate the resulting surface exceed the precision available in the spacial representation.
Another example is generating a helix just touching a cylinder (eg for a screw thread). It should be possible to define the inner edge of the helix as being the same radius as the cylinder, but doing so is fraught with danger because the calculation errors can make the helix touch in some places but not others, resulting in infinitesimal voids and a broken model. The solution (in this case) is to ensure the inner radius of the helix is a little less than the radius of the cylinder, so that the two overlap (merge together) and produce no voids. In general, the rule is to overlap and merge rather than abut.
Okay, so Fusion 360 is produced by Autodesk, and has a lot of development money behind it with customers who will complain if it doesn't work, but there will still be wrinkles even if they are different wrinkles. But even MS Word has wrinkles, and somebody proficient as a Word jockey will know what they are and what to avoid doing.
Another way to look at it is if you can build it in Minecraft (ie out of blocks), you can build it in FreeCAD – and there might even be a downloadable extension to do exactly that!
There is an alternative to CAD, and that is (eg) Blender. These are tools which play into the hands of artist rather than engineers, but I'm an engineer not an artist, so...
There's nothing unusually difficult about FreeCAD, it's just that the process of creating a 3D digital representation of what you have in mind is intrinsically not easy unless you have that kind of mind set. Liken it to an artist: we all recognise a bird when we see one, only the gifted can draw one that looks lifelike. It doesn't matter what tools you have at your disposal, you need to understand how they can be used to take what is just an idea and turn it into a self-consistent 3D computer model.
For example, it is perfectly possible to define an object in digital form which would then be completely impossible to represent in actual 3D space.
To avoid that kind of thing, 3D CAD lets you build up a model using constructions which cannot be impossible. The typical FreeCAD workflow is to sketch a shape in 2D which you then extrude into the third dimension, then you might add further extrusions, or use other 2D sketches to subtract pockets and holes. Or you can take a primitive (such as a cube) and then merge it with another primitive (such as a cylinder) and build up a complex shape that way.
The art of FreeCAD is not so much knowing what you can do as understanding what not to do to avoid problems. For example: rounding the corners of an object (called filleting) can result in problems when fillets meet at a corner and they have nearly the same radius of curvature. The reason for this failure is not because the geometry is impossible, but because the precise calculations required to generate the resulting surface exceed the precision available in the spacial representation.
Another example is generating a helix just touching a cylinder (eg for a screw thread). It should be possible to define the inner edge of the helix as being the same radius as the cylinder, but doing so is fraught with danger because the calculation errors can make the helix touch in some places but not others, resulting in infinitesimal voids and a broken model. The solution (in this case) is to ensure the inner radius of the helix is a little less than the radius of the cylinder, so that the two overlap (merge together) and produce no voids. In general, the rule is to overlap and merge rather than abut.
Okay, so Fusion 360 is produced by Autodesk, and has a lot of development money behind it with customers who will complain if it doesn't work, but there will still be wrinkles even if they are different wrinkles. But even MS Word has wrinkles, and somebody proficient as a Word jockey will know what they are and what to avoid doing.
Another way to look at it is if you can build it in Minecraft (ie out of blocks), you can build it in FreeCAD – and there might even be a downloadable extension to do exactly that!
There is an alternative to CAD, and that is (eg) Blender. These are tools which play into the hands of artist rather than engineers, but I'm an engineer not an artist, so...
Re: CAD Software for own designs ?
Thanks for the through explanation CrazyIvan I never was much of an artist either 
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Re: CAD Software for own designs ?
The only "difficulty" I have had with FreeCAD is it seems to require a 64 bit operating system. I could install it on my Windows 7 machine, but it wouldn't run properly, but I think this is a pseudo 64 bit machine with an Intel Core duo processor. Windows thinks it is 64 bit (which is why it installed FreeCAD) bit other things report it as 32 bit.
Re: CAD Software for own designs ?
From the FreeCAD downloads page:
I'm running it in Linux, but even so it still needs a 64-bit processor.
A possible alternative is tinkercad.com, which offers 3D design as a web app.
...so yes, it does require 64-bit.Notes for Windows users
The following Windows versions are supported: 64-bit 7/8/10/11. 32-bit Windows is not supported.
I'm running it in Linux, but even so it still needs a 64-bit processor.
A possible alternative is tinkercad.com, which offers 3D design as a web app.