Would you guys be willing to write your favorite 3d software? As of now I’m just using Tinkercad.com. its good but I’m wanting to upgrade to a more advanced one.
http://Tinkercad.com
You should try Onshape. It’s easy to learn and very powerful.
are you desiring to create technical models, that is, something with precise measurements and accurate prints or are you desiring to print something more organic, with curves and slopes and sculpted shapes?
This sort of questions gets bandied about frequently, it seems, but rarely does the requesting person provide much insight with respect to the goals.
I’m fond of OpenSCAD for the technical stuff, as it lends itself well to precise measurements, and as free software, the price is right.
Even though it’s technical, I also combine the OpenSCAD models with Blender and with Meshmixer, both free. Even though Blender could be considered to be very complex and perhaps difficult to use, the portion of the program used for 3d modeling for 3d printing is much simpler than the entire package.
Both Blender and Meshmixer can be used easily for generating organic models and the 'net is full of helpful videos and web sites. It’s easy to get confused when switching from one program to the other. A simple example: in one program, one uses the left mouse button to rotate the view of the model, while in another program that button in combination with the center button pans the model view. Luckily, it’s harmlessly easily confused.
Learning all of these means you will become more able to adjust and create models and be all the more powerful for the effort.
What will you be creating with your modeling software?
DesignSpark Mechanical is free, easy and powerful. And: it is standalone/offline.
Seconding OnShape. If you’re good with TinkerCAD, OnShape takes it a bit farther with Solidworks-like interface, and a quite powerful system.
Although beyond that, just good ol’ Solidworks. Pirate it and use it for learning, or get a school .edu address and purchase a 1-year license for something like $100.
Alright will do
@Fred_U Well I’m just starting to get into 3D design. But for the most part I will be doing curves more, my chemistry instructor recently got a printer and I’ve been giving him some small designs to print ( his printer has .4 resolution and I think a 4"6"5" withlengthheight) my current project is to print a bike ( in individual segments and then join the parts together via my soldering iron) I have the wheels finished (20 mm in diameter). I will look into the programs you and the other people have mentioned, it would be a mix of technical and organic.
lucas leon, would you also describe some of the work you expect to do as sculpting, as opposed to specifying? That is to say, you perhaps would specify a circle/torus to be 20 mm diameter with a 1 mm diameter secondary (tube/tire diameter) but you might not be able to do that with the bicycle seat so easily. A seat would be more easily generated as a specified pie slice, then sculpted to get the curves you desire. The frame tubing could be specified as cylinders, joined as desired.
Specifying as a general description means cad-type software, from OpenSCAD through the variety of programs up to Inventor and SolidWorks.
Sculpting as a general description means software of the Blender and Meshmixer (free), Zbrush and Rhino (paid) and others of that sort.
I’ve made a few technical models using OpenScad and then sculpted some organic curves into the STL file using Blender.
It’s great fun to be able to consolidate all the available resources into your project and get a result with which you are satisfied, and of course, that prints well!
okay, 40mm wheels, 2 mm tires! It would be more likely to print at the large size too, but those spokes are going to be killers.
Onshape… or autodesk Fusion (free for hobby but not stable application on my pc and permit cad cam cae)
I never came to terms with any CAD software so i continue to use Cinema 4D.
I use OpenSCAD or FreeCAD, depending on how variable or pretty i want the design to be. IMO it’s easier to make good looking stuff in FreeCAD, but it’s also less stable. Highly regular shapes i find easier in OpenSCAD. Here’s an example: https://github.com/anwe79/Pdrum
I have used several started with 123d, tried freecad and openscad,. wanted something more powerful but fairly easy to model in so tried Autodesk Fusion 360, great cad program has a lot of features i wont use, but has a feature others don’t which is historical editing. it keeps a history of every action you take, seems simple but very powerful. I have been modeling a complex mount for mounting a e3d Chimera to my printer and it has has tight tolerances, i have been able to go back in the history and make changes, like making the main plate 1mm thicker and when i did and went back to current it adjust every other change after that to match the new thickness, so screw holes i had made goes all the way thru still, supports i had made were adjusted down 1 mm to match the new plate thickness, etc. also great for making screw holes larger very simply just go back to right before you made the hole and make the cylinder diameter larger that you use to make the hole, then forward to current and the holes are in the right place just bigger.
It isn’t a free software but has a free 1 year renewable license for Makers/hobbyists and a free 3 year for students, plus a 30 day trial.
Sarry I free hand the 3D DRAWING. That put out chzranobyl.three mile island an other.