CAD, CNC, 3d printing, etc - questions.

[Bucky685]

I am a mechanical designer by trade, I have been using different cad software for about 12-13 years.
I used Autocad/solidwork daily at work. At home I use Draftsight. It is a free version of 2d cad. Very similar to Autocad. It even uses the same commands.
http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/free-cad-software/
Any questions please feel free to shoot me a PM.

Tim

A few things I have drawn up in Solidwork/Autocad.



Drawn in autocad then waterjet from 1/4" aluminum.

 

[vbtravisd]

Great stuff man! I have a definite appreciation for the work that goes into the drafting and design on stuff like this!

 

[J-Rod10]

Started with Solidworks 3D. If I remember correctly, the student version is around $300.

 

[Spalding]

Another option might be Rhinoceros 3D. Its a 3D free form modeling software thats up there with Solidworks. Its not as technical as Solidworks, however you can export CNC ready files, and best of all if you have a Mac, its free! Currently the mac version is in beta format and if your willing to "test" it out, it's no charge.

I took a class on Rhino last year and learned the basics. I believe that it's intuitive and easy to learn and that you could probably learn just as much as anyone else by downloading it and forcing yourself to work with it. Anything beyond that is learned by asking questions or by watching endless videos on youtube.

Here's some headphones I designed solely on Rhino OSX, which pretty much shows that you can form complex 3 dimensional shapes with this software. I love it, I think it's great to work with and easy to use but that's just my opinion and I have yet to dive into Solidworks.

 

[J-Rod10]

It is insane how much knowledge can be gained by watching YouTube.

 

[Rich Ard]

I took a lot of drafting coursework as a kid, and have been considering getting back into it - a friend who is a tool and die maker has been using this and has good stuff to say about it:

http://www.mastercamu.com/index.html

 

[1chrisb]

Agree on the skipping 2D part. Unless you can get a free version of some 2D CAD, start with 3D. If you're going to invest time and money into it, might as well start with your goal. You can always do 2D with something like Solidworks. Then, when you're ready, the jump into 3D is right there. It's not that hard. Probably the hardest part is trying to think/plan out your model so it's not 500 features to make a box with a few holes in it that is impossible to modify. The hardest learning curve isn't how to make parts...it's how to make parts better, more efficiently, in less time. Good luck! I CAD all day every day, so if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up.

+1 on the SolidWorks student $100 edition. I've used it personally to make parts for my bike. You just can't use those drawings to mass produce and profit off of. Most smaller shops will have no problem making you one part though.

 

[Walms]

Here's some down time fun...

 

[trkwhre]

I actually went to community college for engineering design and worked for about a decade as a civil engineering designer. Like others have said, go straight to 3D and don't even worry about AutoCAD and 2D.

I recently got the bug to work on old bikes and picked up Geomagic Design to use for engineering custom mono-shock setups and such for my builds.

http://geomagic.com/en/products-landing-pages/geomagicdesign/

It's parametric, meaning when you start getting into assemblies and such, a change to one part effects the whole assembly and really integrates the whole project. It's also the CHEAPEST 3D cad program on the market that has everything you could need for design/engineering, including motion analysis. It's $2k for full blown Design and $1k for the elements version, but real solidworks (not bootleg download hacks) is at min $5k+.

Other option is Cubify, which is basically geomagic's old personal version that gives you the basics of 3d design and assembly without the frills of full blown Design Elements or Design. It's $200 and the best bang for the buck out there. Plus its LEGAL and not restricted like bootleg Solidworks or the student version (which you can only get for one year, before you need to enter another student email addy or have a professor to sign off on an extension....it's all just a pain).

http://cubify.com/products/cubify_design/index.aspx

From the sound of what you want to do, get Cubify Design and start playing with it. You'll want to come up with all sorts of things in no time.