/diy/ - Do It Yourself

I chopped and changed this reply a lot so please forgive any redundancies.

I went on to be a draughtsman after high school and then later an engineer. As a result, out of habit, I like to draw up everything I make before I make it.

Solidworks is the most widely used package in general engineering (in my experience) at the moment. AutoCAD started to fade out in about 2008 or so because Autodesk started to put most of their development effort into Inventor. But inventor was shit so people started to side with solidworks. Catia is used a lot in the auto industry as it's strength is in surface modelling and making pretty swoopy curvy designs.

In my own time, I tend to use whatever package my employer uses. For personal use, I think Solidworks is the most applicable. I don't need Catia's extra capability for surface modelling because I do aesthetic things like bodywork by hand. You only really need to properly model that kind of stuff if you're making tooling for it.

I Used AutoCAD since 1998 though mostly for 2d stuff. I don't like it at all. Since then, I've spent a couple of years each with Inventor, Solidworks, Unigraphics and Catia.

AutoCAD was pre-disposed to using a grid because everything you drew in it was non-parametric. The new approach is to draw the rough shape you want and then constrain it with dimensions. If you drew it accurately using a grid, that effort would be wasted. You could show a grid in Inventor, but I've never tried this with solidworks, UGS or catia.

>>624377

Because I jumped ship from Autocad with everyone else, I can't tell you much about recent versions but at the time I was using both, solidworks was much faster for things like:

-Updating changes to large assemblies
-Making multiple configurations of an assembly and generating drawings for both
-Making sheet metal parts, unwrapping them to a flat pattern using correct k-factor and bend allowance, etc
-making patterns for cutting fishmouthed tubes

AutoCAD was better for:
-Wiring diagrams (still use it for this)
-knocking out fast drawings of simple objects
-modifying profiles for laser cutting (.dxf is still industry standard for this)

>>624367
i am using autodesk inventor. its not faultproof but it allows me to have a very fast toolchain for 3d printing custom designs

Yup. Solidworks. Also have a FARO arm setup which I run in using Dezign works which makes shit fucking great.

1/1

>>624396
>>624396
2/2

Go CATIA or go home.

I'm using Alibre Design 12.1 because my workplace is too cheap when it comes to software. We're still not using a legitimate copy of Mastercam X either.

It's fairly intuitive (although the newer version isn't) and works fairly well for making multi-part assemblies provided the individual part file sizes don't go beyond 1.5mb.

I wouldn't personally recommend it to anyone, and if it wasn't an enormous headache (and great expense) to do so I would be transitioning to a different software package.

What do y'all think of Pro/E (Creo)? I'm studying mechanical engineering and it's what they're pushing on us.

>>624367
Google sketchup... lol no, I use solidworks

>>624377
>The new approach is to draw the rough shape you want and then constrain it with dimensions.
Thats what i dont like about solidworks

i'd rather just be able to put in values. thats what i actually like about autoCAD.

mind you im still new to both but from what i've played around with, I like the interface to autoCAD much much more.

and the grid is more of a reference/eyeball if anything, you can see what orientation/scale of the pane is, etc etc.

>>624377
>Solidworks is the most widely used package in general engineering
ah that does not bode well for me haha.

ugh, I'll keep on trying to learn solidworks.

>>624430

I use Creo 2. I like it but it has its foibles. I basically had to start from scratch with Creo; I was taught AutoCAD at university which was worthless for the industry I am in (motorsport) - as someone mentioned earlier, AutoCAD has fallen out of favour these days.

There are plenty of other options - Solidworks is the most popular in general engineering, Catia in automotive eng, and Siemens NX is growing in popularity. If I had the time I'd love to learn to use all three of the above too.

I like Creo now that I understand how it works (I still have those smash-your-head-off-the-keyboard moments but they are becoming less common) and it's integration for CAD/CAM is brilliant. It's a very powerful program with a logical workflow when you get into it. However it isn't as widely used, so depending on your pov it makes you more or less employable - less companies want it, but contract CAD designers who can work in Pro/E are never out of work...

>>624739
So everyone does have those headdesk moments. It seems to be a common theme when you ask anyone about using Creo.

I'll probably familiarize myself with Solidworks this summer, then. I've heard the transition from Creo to it isn't nearly as bad as the other way around.

>>624725

Register at Rutracker and get the Solidprofessor courses. That should help you with the learning.

I use Autocad at work and Solidworks and Siemens NX for hobby. Started in SW but am migrating drawings and learning NX.

Anyone remember that thread where some guy had no finger, and some /diy/ guy modeled them a finger that they could produce that fit him perfectly? That was a good thread

For 3D modelling is there anything that lets you model a pile of gears and then automate how they would work together? thinking about clockwork

>>624856
Creo 2 can do that. It's a bit of a pain to work with though.

>>624856
Any parametric 3D modeler worth it's salt can do that. Even in Solidworks you can mate a system like that pretty easily.

>>624858
and the rest! I work with engines...

>>624725
>Sketch numeric input.

>>624856
well if you wanted to automatically design a gearbox, generally you need to use AI.

>>624396
So what exactly do you use it for?

Parametric modelers are fairly similar in their basic workflow. Learned autocad in university, never used it since. but i also did a course in pro/engineer, which covered just the basics. With the basic workflow knowledge ot was very easy to teach myself solidworks (now my main software, level probably expert) and inventor. Have worked woth catia very briefly, havent gotten to try the sweet surface modeling functions though.

Basically, the way these programs work is largely the same, all you need to figure out afterwards is where to find and how to configure specific functions.

And yeah, nobody uses autocad in mechanical engineering. At least no contemporary company here in germany.

Autodesk inventor is free for students btw, just a quick tip.

Mechanical engineering student here. My uni taught us Autocad 2D first, then moved onto 3D modelling in Autocad, as obviously it would be a logical step up and we already had a bit of experience in Autocad by that stage. Once we we had a bit of 3D modelling under our belt, they moved onto Solidworks, as realistically that is what you're likely to use in industry. The move from Autocad to Solidworks was a bit grating at first, but with practice it becomes second nature. Definitely prefer Solidworks for 3D modelling now.

I use Inventor/ACAD at work. AutoCAD is great for general assembly work for large stuff (plan/sections of factories) and Inventor for each item in the factory. Otherwise we would have given ACAD up ages ago. I had a play with the latest Solidworks recently (hadnt used it since i was studying) and inventor has overtaken it IMO, although that could be familiarity. Inventor does allow you to input dims as you sketch, but its significantly faster to do it afterwards.

Question to mechanical engineers here: when you say AutoCAD, do you mean Autodesk Inventor? Last time I checked AutoCAD was for civil engineers and completely useless for parts and mechanical applications. Inventor is pretty sweet, but never used solidworks so can't compare.

>>624725
>i'd rather just be able to put in values

I'm pretty sure you can do that in Solidworks too, brahili

>>625229
There's a lot of different versions of Autocad geared for different industries. On the computers at my uni we have Autocad Civil, Mechanical and Electrical. The different versions aren't all that different from one another, anyway. Just things like standard parts libraries and shit being totally different.

A lot of the time at uni when I was doing 3D modelling assignments I was just using Autocad Civil 3D and changing the units to mm. It really doesn't matter.

>>624405
CATIA is a turd sandwich where everyone has to take a bite.

SolidWorks is your only option for mechanical engineering anon. It is used by just about every engineering group I have run into. It will serve you well.

>>624739
I heard from people that use it that PTC's CAM package is garbage. Prepare To Crash.

If you are going CAM the number one by seats is Mastercam. You will not get big money programming jobs for Mastercam on average.

Siemens NX is my benchmark, my choice. It does the largest number of things "ok" and is number two in CAM by seats.

CATIA is third in CAM. There are lots of contract programming jobs for CATIA but the software is really a pain. They need like, what, 12 software disks just to install it? They have menu options tucked away in the most asinine places. Prepare to spend days looking for simple shit. CATIA is the poster-child of CAD/CAM bloatware.

There are tons of other CAM systems out there but they are little used by seats. If you learn them then the chances that your knowledge is transferrable to the next shop is very unlikely, other than basic CAD/CAM skills.

>>624367

I use autodesk inventor if I need to model something. Don't know if it's used in industry but its the one that appealed most to me and I found the easiest to use once you learn its quirks.

Any pointers on how to draw a gear (rack and pinion specifically) on Catia/Solidworks?

>>625378
Involute gear tooth profile? Pressure angle? It gets super-complicated in a hurry. Pitch diameter, number of teeth? Prepare to spend way longer doing research that you ever wanted. Good stuff though.

>>625552
Oh, and here is a link:

http://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&ei=4ppMU5TgGIiysQSawoC4Ag&q=drawing+gears+in+solidworks&oq=drawing+gears+&gs_l=mobile-gws-hp.1.0.0l5.3251.7401.0.9294.15.15.0.6.6.0.415.4272.2-8j6j1.15.0....0...1c.1.41.mobile-gws-hp..3.12.1945.0.WIEgylQXNhY

Op you should look at FreeCad:

http://www.freecadweb.org/

Does the job for me and my machineshop!

>>625555
>that long ass link for a google search

I have to use Inventor because everyone else in my project uses it. So for previewing purposes I make an assembly and realize that I can only Free Rotate shit.
But now I don't know how to rotate shit based on a pivot point. Essentially I need to move the axis of rotation.

>>625552
Yeah I know the reqs for a gear, I just don't know how to start it on this software package (currently stuck with CATIA) to make the rack.

It's just some stuff I gotta present due next week to my teacher for a project we're doing for this class (a Peel replica, of sorts) and I need those for the 3D assembly model of the car in question.

I already figured out how to do the gears using laws and stuff, I'm having trouble with the rack part.

Thanks anyways! I'll try my best now.

Autocad is more widely used for Architecture. Only time I've used it for engineering was for editing laser cutter files (.ais do not translate well). Basically I use Rhino/Grasshopper and Autocad for any architectual work and Solidworks for mechanisms. You can't beat the mating system, even if Solidworks is fucking counter intuitive with many basic modelling procedures (you'll learn this if you move over).

>mfw using AutoCAD after Solidworks

>>625620
>mfw using Solidworks after Autocad

>>625621
Did your face get blown off by a mine or something? I can't find it.

>>625631
yeah it's in orbit

>>625637
If you lose your face using the Orbit tool, you should press F to make it fill the viewport in Solidworks

>>625248
>I'm pretty sure you can do that in Solidworks too
from what i saw, you have to draw a rectangle then anchor it at some point, then click the dimension tool and dimension the other two sides.
it just seems like dumb double-touching shit.

autoCAD is basically a shiny shell ontop of keyboard commands, so whenever you're doing something you can pretty much take hand off mouse and just type whatever you're doing. with a rectangle you just put x,y,w,h and you'll be done.


I dunno, to me it just seems faster / nicer. I come from using vim (programming) so this is reminding me of home. haha.

I don't get solidworks, I still havent been able to figure it out. what makes it faster/nicer? why do you *personally* prefer it more ( this is to the other anons too)
All i've seen of it has been awkward and weird but thats probably just due to coming fresh out of learning autoCAD. I havent touched it in a few days because i've had shit on.

I havent looked at inventor but i wanted to. not sure if its even worth it now because "muh industry".

sorry to not reply sooner, I was banned for a few days

>>626299

Yeah, for what it sounds like what you're doing, AutoCAD will be much faster. Parametric modellers like Solidworks are initially slower but you make this time back (and then some) after you learn to take advantage of them.

For example, If you're only just starting up, to make a fabrication based on RHS, you'll have to drawn the concentric rectangles, radius the 4 corners, then dimension the radius, the width and height of the rectangles and the thickness. Then extrude it to the correct length.

But if you're set up, you'll have made a template of the part I just described. The part has an inbuilt table of the dimensions so you can just insert the RHS and select whichever size you want. You can go onto your supplier's website and download a list of their preferred stock sizes and modify your table to suit it. This ensures that your engineers only use stock sizes that are available. Solidworks already has this kind of thing built in, though its usefulness may vary compared to doing it yourself.

Another advantage is in changing things. Say you make a chain tensioner which consists of a plate with 4 slots, a central hole for a shaft and a PCD of bolt holes around the central hole for a flange mount pillow block. If you want to increase the amount of adjustment (and you built the model right), you can simply increase the dimension for the length of one of the slots. All the slots update (because you constrained them to all be the same) and the length of the plate increases because you constrained its length based on the length of the slots. You can change the bearing mount holes by changing the dimension for the PCD quite easily. You can go a step further and control the tensioner with a design table so that you can just change the shaft diameter and the mount holes update automatically (for example, a flange mount pillow block from SKF for a 65mm shaft will have a 152mm PCD).

Of course, if you only intend to ever make one tensioner...

dumping 1/5

2/5

3/5
i need my mouse scroll zoom to be like autocad: scrolling up zooms in, down zooms out

4/5
personally i love the autodesk suite because i'm a student so everything's free
also, thingiverse. this stuff is fun

5/5

>>627791
Everything is free if you know the right places.

>2014
>Not using Metric.

Muh catapult gearbox a la autodesk inventor

SolidWorks because you can funky stuff like this.

>>627812
i add a "do".

derp.

>>627812
solidwerx is more expensive than the pope's dick. especially if you want comprehensive FEA/BEM capabilities :[

>>627814
Are also dyslexic?

I this sort of thing all the tiem, sometimes embarrassing.

>>627792
Jesus, why would anyone even dimension a drawling like that?

Who would try to reconstruct that from a drawing when you could just send the CAD over?

>>627824
All software is free when you have a torrent client.

Hell, I easily have more than 100,000$ in pirated software on my computer if you add everything up.

>>627832
ya not sposta do that though :C

especially if you're a professional running a business with the stuff

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/29/4284186/greenheart-games-game-dev-tycoon-anti-piracy-measure

>>627832
Seconded here.

Currently running Siemens NX. I tried Solidworks Premium with Solidcam, Mastercam. Hell I even took a little sniff at Catia.

But I like the integration and capabilites of Siemens NX. I might go for working for a company that uses it legit. But for my hobbies and projects I want it all for nothing.

>>624396
that looks amazing! how did you make those cuts?

>>624430
If you know Creo then you can pick up Solidworks pretty easy. My last internship was mostly designing simple things like part racks or carts and Creo worked fine.

I have tried all major 3D programs, and my list is like this:

5. AutoCAD: Only good for 2D, 3D part sucks. This program is obsolete in 5 years since architects etc. is going to use BIM.
4. Creo 2, This is shit. But it has nice integration with WindChill. Too bad that also sucks.
3. Inventor. This is ok.
2. Solidworks. This is ok, and the easiest to learn imo.
1. NX. The best one, and the one I use these days. No flaws found yet. Great integration with TeamCenter.

>>627892
PS: I have also tried FreeCAD.
This is a nice tool, but the viewing bit (rotation) is not similar to the other programs I think. Which is the main reason why I don't use it for private work.
And they are slow on releases. At least for windows users?

>>627893
PPS: They really need to sort out those fucking menus.
It is utter illogical the way it is in version 0.13 at least.
When they fix the menus (copy the layout from NX, solidworks or something) and fixed the 3D rotation. Then I will start using it.

>>627830
It's from the SkillsUSA Nationals competition last year. Ten hours to make a full assembly, complete with GDT and custom title blocks. Most kids used Inventor for all that.

What's the best program to use for both 3D modeling, and working drawings? I'm always using Inventor, because that's the only thing I'm familiar with.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to dig deeper into this stuff? I've done a bunch of competitions, a soon-to-be sheet metal drafting internship, textbooks, etc.

>Are there any recommended tutorial series?

>Any fun projects? (Gumball dispensing mechanism, clock mechanism, etc)

>>627953

Anything you want as long as you make it from your drawings. Nothing makes you a better draughtsman than redimensioning a drawing with a pen and calculator while standing in front of the lathe.

>>624367
>pic

Nostalgia bomb. Late 1990s, high school, AutoCAD version 11.

>>627790
scroll wheel direction is in the options...

Anyone here use inventor sheet metal? What's your preferred sheet metal program?

Oh hey, we're back.

So, my Uni is making us use IronCAD for god only knows what reason.

Is anyone here familiar with it? What's the general consensus on it?
I learned on CATIA / Inventor, and this just seems really clunky and awkward to use by comparison.

Hi guys.

I just started playing around with sketch up as I want to get into designing luxury bathrooms. I'm pretty sure that there are better alternatives out there but have no idea what would be best, any suggestions?
I found out today that sketch up seems good as some bathroom furniture makers have ready made shower tray, basins and bath models ready for download for your designs is this standard for most design programmes?
total noob and seriously not trolling

>>628315
I've done a lot of sheet metal in solidworks.
There was a shop that literally just asked for the solidworks files on a usb key and gave the the finished parts.

I was genuinely impressed.

>>628917

>>628919
And finished: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFmH0T-1jSk

I used to do all my projects entirely myself, but over time I've found that the grunt work becomes less and less exciting. Cutting and bending all this crap by hand would have been near impossible.

As far as hobbies go, the additional cost of paying a shop to do work (compared to buying material and tools) really isn't that bad, at least for some kinds of work.

>>625658
Or just doubletap the mousewheel if you're not a pleb and are using autocad.

>>628920
This is cool, what do you need the kiln for?

>>628920
Does solidworks have good pattern sheet metal? For example, if you had a simple cutout that was then folded into a box or something, inventor sheet metal can have both the pattern to be cut and the final result together in the same file. Does solidworks let you do that?

>>628939
"Flatten" is just a feature that you can turn on and off.

>>628955
>>628920
That's fucking epic, would you mind sharing the design on one of those design sharing websites or something?

>>625565
>not BRL-CAD
>not OpenSCAD
If you're gonna go open source, you might as choose the best.

>>624367
You don't have enough skill to say acad is better than solidworks.

Industry is oriented basically on catia and acad. acad is not bad, but it just doesn't cut it for 3d stuff

I use Inventor, and it's awesome for me

>>629135
>Industry is oriented basically on catia and acad.
Maybe some industry somewhere.

>>629173
That chart is from a hobbyist CAM site...

>>624367
Why don't you like Solidworks? I've used Inventor for a little bit, Autocad for only a few minutes, SolidEdge for a job, and I currently use Solidworks and I don't really remember much about Inventor or Autocad but I remember switching to Solidworks and it made a lot of things quicker.

>>629211
Lol, indeed. I thought I got it from Ars, but it was actually from their forums.
However, my attempt to find convincing market share info failed. If you have any numbers, it would be interesting to see them.

Pic somewhat related.

Solid Edge, SolidWorks, 3ds MAX design, AutoCad...done them all. In reverse order. You will pry Solid Edge ST6 out of my cold dead hands...

Autocad was just horrible, even back then. Had to compile technical drawings for crews, absolute nightmare.
3ds MAX design: a little bit better to design large assemblies, but was painfully slow and only vertex-based.
SolidWorks was my first proper 3D CAD program. Fondeled with NX for 5 minutes as a comparison, but fell for SW.
What was the kicker towards SE was a better and cleaner interface with more "tooling-oriented" commands. Gave me a big boost in production times.
Basically, SE is NX (a main rival to aCAD) with a modernized interface. More commands are optimised for linear flow rather than step-by-step assembly.
And I especially love the the new synchronous. SW 2011 and on is "synchronous" only while SE retained both tooling and rapid modelling options.

SE has more flexibility!

>>625229
No. autocad is autodesk autocad, inventor is autodesk inventor.

autocad can be used for basically everything that includes any sort of blueprint, sketch, scheme or actually anything that includes shapes.

I use inventor pro 2013 because it's the newest version that still has decent non-iritating minimalistic icons. And I hate those faster-simpler-quicker-close-friend/coworker-cloud sharing shits! It's fucking annoying!

But solidworks is kinda drawing me to try it. I'm a graduate mechanical engineering student and I've never opened solidworks. Imagine that, huh...
I know catia tho...

ANDROID OVER IPHONE btw

>>625573
pivot point is the last vertex/line/face/body you selected. Took me a year till I realized it

>>625658
tssssssss One of the better burns I've heard.

>>627787
Yeah, some of us don't have 3D printers.
>tfw no 3D printer

>>627835
I want to pass college, so with a student loan, I'm gonna buy myself a legal version of 3D modelling software. Seriously? AutoCAD is like $10000 man...

>>629289
Luckily I'm still in school and my teachers love me. I've heard there are places where you can bring in the files.and pay for plastic, and you can pick up your parts later. It's pretty cool.

>>629289
it didn't fit together anyways, some dick stepped on it.

I stepped on it.

anyways, pic related. what it should have been.

fun fact: the creator of bitTorrent made this puzzle! he self-diagnosed himself with aspergers!

>>629462
While making this puzzle, I saw a tight spiral. Inventor 2013 doesn't allow that because of self intersecting profiles, but 2014 did. I set up a spiral, kept the intersections and used face fillet to cleanthings up. But when I printed it, it didn't fit.

Jokes about not being able to fit it in aside, does anyone have advice on tolerancing it or making it differently?

Those of you hating on AutoCAD: do you use it similar to inventor, setting the ucs xy plane to each face, or do you use it like AutoCAD, with the coordinate system?

I find AutoCAD's 3d acceptable, but inventor/solidworks faster.

Depends. AutoCAD may be easier, but in the long run it depends if you will be needing 3Ds of the part or not. On SolidWorks, you only go through one step, click a button, and it does it all for you. I started with CAD, but SolidWorks is hella faster in getting 2 jobs done in 1.

Does anyone here work in the industry, or is everyone here a hobbyist?

>>624429
God my company uses Alibre as well. Shit is terrible, the other engineer and I have a terrible time importing and exporting for one another, mostly because we do have 1 SW license. Trying to get it converted to a FLEXnet so we can stop this lame game

>>624396
>>624397
Another oddly similar quick sketch.

A little later I will export as a DXF, take it over to the CNC Router, set toolpaths, and cut it out

I want a copy of the Machinery Handbook.

>>632600
Download it you dipshit. Easy to find.

What are your thoughts on cadkey?

>>632862
hardcopies > digital copies

for everything ever, all the time,

>>633099
whatever, grandpa

>>633102

> I want to take my tablet out into the shop so it can get metal chips in all the ports

Ok champ, have fun with that.

>>629291
AutoCAD is free for students. Solidworks has a student version for like $100 AUD. Admittedly, I still pirated Solidworks, but fuck them. If you want people to use your product in industry, then you should make sure all graduates are familiar with the software. They should want to proliferate the use of their product among students, not try and profiteer off them.

>>633103
Are there IP68 rated tablets? Hell you could probably get away with a much lower rating than that assuming the rest of it was pretty sturdy

What software is good for simulations?

Do you guys use thingiverse or Autodesk 360 or other sharing/storage websites?