Hi All

I am looking for a 3D or CAD program that is relatively simple to use.
I’ve used 3D Max and obtain some good results, creating figures moving
camera positions etc.

However I want to design some simple machinery, a movable workbench
for example. To make wheels and put a simple spindle through a hole in
3D Max is a complicated process and I am a bit rusty using it.

So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?

Thanks

Chris

"Chris" wrote in message
...
Hi All

I am looking for a 3D or CAD program that is relatively simple to use.
I’ve used 3D Max and obtain some good results, creating figures moving
camera positions etc.

However I want to design some simple machinery, a movable workbench
for example. To make wheels and put a simple spindle through a hole in
3D Max is a complicated process and I am a bit rusty using it.

So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?

Thanks

Chris

==========================================

I'm a big fan of Rhino, which I've used for years. It's a NURBS-based 3D
modeler. It does have pretty accurate CAD capability, but if you're thinking
eventual CAD/CAM, there are better choices.

Rhino is not the easiest or cheapest, but it is a very powerful modeler.

--
Ed Huntress

On May 28, 4:07 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
"Chris" wrote in message

...
Hi All

I am looking for a 3D or CAD program that is relatively simple to use.
I’ve used 3D Max and obtain some good results, creating figures moving
camera positions etc.

However I want to design some simple machinery, a movable workbench
for example. To make wheels and put a simple spindle through a hole in
3D Max is a complicated process and I am a bit rusty using it.

So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?

Thanks

Chris

==========================================

I'm a big fan of Rhino, which I've used for years. It's a NURBS-based 3D
modeler. It does have pretty accurate CAD capability, but if you're thinking
eventual CAD/CAM, there are better choices.

Rhino is not the easiest or cheapest, but it is a very powerful modeler.

--
Ed Huntress

On Wed, 28 May 2008 07:43:08 -0700 (PDT), Chris
wrote:



So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?


Alibre, if you want a true parametric 3D modeler without spending the
money on Solidworks, Inventor, etc.

http://www.alibre.com/products/xpress/xpress_for_me.asp

--
Ned Simmons

On Wed, 28 May 2008 07:43:08 -0700 (PDT), Chris
wrote:

Hi All

I am looking for a 3D or CAD program that is relatively simple to use.
I’ve used 3D Max and obtain some good results, creating figures moving
camera positions etc.

However I want to design some simple machinery, a movable workbench
for example. To make wheels and put a simple spindle through a hole in
3D Max is a complicated process and I am a bit rusty using it.

So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?

Thanks

Chris
=============
older technology, cad only, but lots of add-ins and standard
[dxf/dwg] drawing formats. Can output pdf files with freeware
printer drivers such as "cute".

Has pretty good rendering capabalities with the P and PE versions

see
http://www.intellicadms.com/
for pricing
http://www.intellicadms.com/products...al-pricing.asp

Note that there are several flavors of IntelliCad, sold by other
companies such as
http://www.bricsys.com/en_INTL/
http://www.cadopia.com/
I have no experence with their versions, but these seem to be
well regarded.

FWIW -- Intelicad works with all the AutoCAD lisp and vba addins
I have tried.


Unka' George [George McDuffee]
-------------------------------------------
He that will not apply new remedies,
must expect new evils:
for Time is the greatest innovator: and
if Time, of course, alter things to the worse,
and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better,
what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman.
Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).

Ed Huntress wrote:

"Chris" wrote in message
...
Hi All

I am looking for a 3D or CAD program that is relatively simple to use.
I’ve used 3D Max and obtain some good results, creating figures moving
camera positions etc.

However I want to design some simple machinery, a movable workbench
for example. To make wheels and put a simple spindle through a hole in
3D Max is a complicated process and I am a bit rusty using it.

So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?

Thanks

Chris

==========================================

I'm a big fan of Rhino, which I've used for years. It's a NURBS-based 3D
modeler. It does have pretty accurate CAD capability, but if you're thinking
eventual CAD/CAM, there are better choices.

Rhino is not the easiest or cheapest, but it is a very powerful modeler.

--
Ed Huntress

I second Ed's vote for Rhino.
http://www.rhino3d.com/
It Just Works.

--Winston

Chris wrote:
Hi All

I am looking for a 3D or CAD program that is relatively simple to use.
I’ve used 3D Max and obtain some good results, creating figures moving
camera positions etc.

However I want to design some simple machinery, a movable workbench
for example. To make wheels and put a simple spindle through a hole in
3D Max is a complicated process and I am a bit rusty using it.

So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?

Thanks

Chris




I've used DesignCAD since the DOS days.

http://www.imsidesign.com/Products/D...FRUasgodlVouiw

It it probably the most useful and easiest to use with the right button
"gravity click" feature.

But lately I've been rendering scenes for animation and have about hit
the limits.

I've been looking at Rhino as a replacement.

http://www.rhino3d.com/

YMMV
Richard
--
(remove the X to email)

Now just why the HELL do I have to press 1 for English?
John Wayne

"Ed Huntress" wrote:

I'm a big fan of Rhino, which I've used for years. It's a NURBS-based 3D
modeler. It does have pretty accurate CAD capability, but if you're thinking
eventual CAD/CAM, there are better choices.

How does v3 compare to v4?

Wes

"Chris" wrote in message
...
Hi All

I am looking for a 3D or CAD program that is relatively simple to use.
I’ve used 3D Max and obtain some good results, creating figures moving
camera positions etc.

However I want to design some simple machinery, a movable workbench
for example. To make wheels and put a simple spindle through a hole in
3D Max is a complicated process and I am a bit rusty using it.

So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?

Thanks

Chris


currently I use an older version of Turbo CADD that I got off of ebay - met
my needs - I didn't want photorealistic rendering, just 3-D drafting. I
actually prefer Generic CADD but I thought I'd try something new - Generic
CADD has been off the market for a bit now




** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

"Wes" wrote in message
...
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

I'm a big fan of Rhino, which I've used for years. It's a NURBS-based 3D
modeler. It does have pretty accurate CAD capability, but if you're
thinking
eventual CAD/CAM, there are better choices.

How does v3 compare to v4?

Wes

I haven't even tried the new features in v4. Otherwise, it's basically the
same.

--
Ed Huntress

On 28 May, 21:30, cavelamb himself wrote:
Chris wrote:
Hi All

I am looking for a 3D or CAD program that is relatively simple to use.
I’ve used 3D Max and obtain some good results, creating figures moving
camera positions etc.

However I want to design some simple machinery, a movable workbench
for example. To make wheels and put a simple spindle through a hole in
3D Max is a complicated process and I am a bit rusty using it.

So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?

Thanks

Chris

I've used DesignCAD since the DOS days.

http://www.imsidesign.com/Products/D...gnCADv18/tabid...

It it probably the most useful and easiest to use with the right button
"gravity click" feature.

But lately I've been rendering scenes for animation and have about hit
the limits.

I've been looking at Rhino as a replacement.

http://www.rhino3d.com/

YMMV
Richard
--
(remove the X to email)

Now just why the HELL do I have to press 1 for English?
John Wayne

Hi

Thank you all for the Help, Rhino looks favorite.

Chris

On Thu, 29 May 2008 06:07:35 -0700 (PDT), Chris
wrote:


Thank you all for the Help, Rhino looks favorite.


You've received recommendations on a couple very different modelers.
Which is a better fit depends on what sort of things you design. A
first pass would be to look at the samples in Alibre's and Rhino's
galleries. You'll see that Alibre is focused on mechanical design
while Rhino excels at modelling parts with complex surfaces and
generating presentations.

I don't have a dog in this fight -- I use Inventor and and have only
heard generally positive reports on both Rhino and Alibre -- but want
you to understand that there are significant differences between the
two products beyond personal preferences.

--
Ned Simmons

Hi

Thank you all for the Help, Rhino looks favorite.

Chris

I think Rhino is probably best for "industrial design" or "artsy"
sorts of things, while a parametric modeller like Alibre, SoldWorks,
etc is best for designing mechanical things that must fit together and
work. One might use Rhino to design a sexy package with a few
reference points, mounting points or surfaces, Alibre to design the
mechanism or machine that goes inside.

I've not used Rhino. I do have Alibre and like it a lot. Alibre has
half-price sales now and then. The last one was in Dec 07, extended
to Jan 08. That's when I got my copy.

Plan to spend some time learning to use it, "thinking
paremetrically". It's worth the investment. I highly recommended the
set of tutorial CD's. Alibre comes with some "get started" tutorials
but the extra-cost CD tutorials are much better and more
comprehensive.

Higher buck programs (SolidWorks etc) have more features and probably
are more productive for expert frequent users, but Alibre claims
that it can do nearly anything that can be done in SolidWorks.

"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...


Hi

Thank you all for the Help, Rhino looks favorite.

Chris

I think Rhino is probably best for "industrial design" or "artsy"
sorts of things, while a parametric modeller like Alibre, SoldWorks,
etc is best for designing mechanical things that must fit together and
work. One might use Rhino to design a sexy package with a few
reference points, mounting points or surfaces, Alibre to design the
mechanism or machine that goes inside.

I don't know Alibre but I've used CADKey, AutoCAD, and several other
mechanically-oriented CAD programs. In general, people doing a lot of
mechanical design work, particularly of families of parts that can exploit
parametric features, will find Rhino slow -- although there are tons of
plug-ins for it, including several very slick parametric add-ons.

But I don't think you'll have any trouble getting things modeled in Rhino to
"fit together and work." It's quite accurate. This is not a facet modeler,
but one of the most advanced NURBS modelers on the market. It has very good
capabilities to project 3D curves onto a flat plane for sheet layout and so
on; they've built in a lot of advanced features since the early versions.

I think that Rhino's focus on advanced 3D curves and its popularity with
hobbyists (because the beta versions were free for several years) has led
some people to misjudge what it can do. I've had access to almost anything
I've wanted when I was a metalworking editor -- I had a $5,000 seat of
Vellum on my machine for years -- but I find Rhino to be the one program
that will do just about anything, especially if you need reliable modeling
of sweeps, meshes, and other 2D/3D curves, solids, and wireframe
capabilities all in the same package. Its import/export file handling is
impressive.

If everything you do is a onesie, and if you sometimes have need for really
advanced curve-handling, it's probably the most versatile program out there.
But I wouldn't use it if my job was to design families of machineable parts
all day long. You don't need all that curve/sweep/mesh capability for that,
and you'll feel the lack of manufacturing-oriented features in Rhino.

--
Ed Huntress

On Thu, 29 May 2008 12:28:58 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Don Foreman" wrote in message
.. .


Hi

Thank you all for the Help, Rhino looks favorite.

Chris

I think Rhino is probably best for "industrial design" or "artsy"
sorts of things, while a parametric modeller like Alibre, SoldWorks,
etc is best for designing mechanical things that must fit together and
work.


If everything you do is a onesie, and if you sometimes have need for really
advanced curve-handling, it's probably the most versatile program out there.
But I wouldn't use it if my job was to design families of machineable parts
all day long. You don't need all that curve/sweep/mesh capability for that,
and you'll feel the lack of manufacturing-oriented features in Rhino.

The big advantage of the parametric modelers for most of us is not the
ease of generating families of parts, though that's a great feature.
Rather, it's maintaining relationships between between numerous mating
parts. For example, if you change the location and size of a hole in a
component, the mating shaft updates to match the new diameter, its
location in the assembly changes so that it remains centered in the
hole, and the detail drawings of the parts update to reflect the
changes.

--
Ned Simmons

Ed Huntress wrote:
"Wes" wrote in message
...

"Ed Huntress" wrote:


I'm a big fan of Rhino, which I've used for years. It's a NURBS-based 3D
modeler. It does have pretty accurate CAD capability, but if you're
thinking
eventual CAD/CAM, there are better choices.

How does v3 compare to v4?

Wes


I haven't even tried the new features in v4. Otherwise, it's basically the
same.

--
Ed Huntress

Ed, I went straight from V2 to V4.
I noticed that in V4, you can edit the contents of text blocks.
Not so in V2. Could you do that in V3?
That is a Very Desirable Feature for me.

--Winston

"Winston" wrote in message
news:b1D%j.37502$3j.6976@trnddc05...
Ed Huntress wrote:
"Wes" wrote in message
...

"Ed Huntress" wrote:


I'm a big fan of Rhino, which I've used for years. It's a NURBS-based 3D
modeler. It does have pretty accurate CAD capability, but if you're
thinking
eventual CAD/CAM, there are better choices.

How does v3 compare to v4?

Wes


I haven't even tried the new features in v4. Otherwise, it's basically
the same.

--
Ed Huntress

Ed, I went straight from V2 to V4.
I noticed that in V4, you can edit the contents of text blocks.
Not so in V2. Could you do that in V3?
That is a Very Desirable Feature for me.

Aack! Winston, I don't think I've ever written a text block in Rhino. So I
don't know. I don't think it's listed in the current new-features list, so
maybe it was added in V.3.

Mostly I've used Rhino for two purposes: to draw things I want to build
(mostly furniture, like the corner computer table and shelves I'm working at
right now) and to create 3D images to go with my articles (I used it a lot
when I was editing at _Machine Shop Guide_ and _Machining_ magazines).

I've also done a lot of experimenting with creating shapes of cars and
airplanes and such. But I've never used it to produce a blueprint-type
document. I know that lots of people do.

I *have* enterred text for architectural drawings with it, but I don't
recall any problems with editing them. Maybe I got them right the first
time. I just don't remember. That was years ago.

--
Ed Huntress

Ed Huntress wrote:

(...Rhino3D text block editing...)

Maybe I got them right the first
time. I just don't remember. That was years ago.

OK, thanks!

I guess no two people use a tool exactly the same way.
I use Rhino very interactively, so I change the contents of text blocks very
often.

--Winston

"Ed Huntress" wrote:

I haven't even tried the new features in v4. Otherwise, it's basically the
same.

I have v3 demo on one box and v4 demo, I installed on a faster box. Hard to
figure out if v4 seems quicker. Gotta preserve my remainding saves

Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Ned Simmons wrote:

The big advantage of the parametric modelers for most of us is not the
ease of generating families of parts, though that's a great feature.
Rather, it's maintaining relationships between between numerous mating
parts. For example, if you change the location and size of a hole in a
component, the mating shaft updates to match the new diameter, its
location in the assembly changes so that it remains centered in the
hole, and the detail drawings of the parts update to reflect the
changes.

The last cad program I played with was Acad Mechanical Desktop 2.01,
parametrics would be very cool for manufacturing. IT accidently put
Solidworks on my laptop when I asked for the view app. Would be nice to
play with it but I couldn't afford a seat on my own. My brain is stuck in
AutoCad 2.6 mode.

Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Ned Simmons writes:

I don't have a dog in this fight -- I use Inventor and and have only
heard generally positive reports on both Rhino and Alibre ...

So you're recommending Inventor, or not?

On Thu, 29 May 2008 20:10:29 -0500, Richard J Kinch
wrote:

Ned Simmons writes:

I don't have a dog in this fight -- I use Inventor and and have only
heard generally positive reports on both Rhino and Alibre ...

So you're recommending Inventor, or not?

I wouldn't recommend it for hobby or casual use, at least not before
checking out the less expensive, and free, alternatives.

I'm happy with Inventor, though I may be dragged into switching to
Solidworks at some point. One longtime customer is threatening to
switch (for no particularly good reason, IMO), and another new
customer runs Solidworks. So far neither has given me an ultimatum,
but that time may come.

--
Ned Simmons

On Thu, 29 May 2008 18:24:43 -0400, Wes wrote:

Ned Simmons wrote:

The big advantage of the parametric modelers for most of us is not the
ease of generating families of parts, though that's a great feature.
Rather, it's maintaining relationships between between numerous mating
parts. For example, if you change the location and size of a hole in a
component, the mating shaft updates to match the new diameter, its
location in the assembly changes so that it remains centered in the
hole, and the detail drawings of the parts update to reflect the
changes.

The last cad program I played with was Acad Mechanical Desktop 2.01,
parametrics would be very cool for manufacturing. IT accidently put
Solidworks on my laptop when I asked for the view app. Would be nice to
play with it but I couldn't afford a seat on my own. My brain is stuck in
AutoCad 2.6 mode.

Did you get to play with Solidworks at all? I used Mechanical Desktop
for a couple years. It's usable, but a horrible kluge, and there's a
world of difference in ease of use between it and the more mainstream
packages. About the only thing I use straight acad for anymore is
control schematics.

--
Ned Simmons

Chris wrote:
Hi All

I am looking for a 3D or CAD program that is relatively simple to use.
I’ve used 3D Max and obtain some good results, creating figures moving
camera positions etc.

However I want to design some simple machinery, a movable workbench
for example. To make wheels and put a simple spindle through a hole in
3D Max is a complicated process and I am a bit rusty using it.

So can anyone recommend a 3D or CAD program to use?

Thanks

Chris


I'd take a look at Google Sketchup. I find it very handy for building
things and checking fit, figuring out how long a piece should be to go
with existing components, etc. It is both free and has some very good
tutorials.

This weekend I saw a presentation by a guy doing very similar stuff with
Blender. Blender seems to have more animation capability. Looked good,
but I haven't tried it.

Steve