Beginners guide to 3D printing

[Agroshield]

1. you need 3D CAD.

I do not know much more than it exists, but I think Alibre (Atom 3D) is a low cost paid option (looks like £150). Are there any others in that same category?

Should we say anything about windows/mac/linux (like all the cloud ones work on all three)?

 

[Dr.Al]

I do not know much more than it exists, but I think Alibre (Atom 3D) is a low cost paid option (looks like £150). Are there any others in that same category?

That's on my list of "wouldn't touch it with a barge pole". I tested it as part of a fairly thorough comparison of lots of paid & free CAD options and concluded that it offers slightly less functionality than FreeCAD at a considerably higher price. It's also deliberately limited in functionality so they can charge more for "Design Expert" or whatever their premium package is called.

Others that are low-ish cost include Solidworks Makers Edition ($24 a year; I've never tried that one) & Solidworks Education Edition ($49 / £40 a year for the desktop version - scroll down at that link and avoid the cloud version, but only for students, although you can sign up for the free online "Titans of CNC" course and that seems to count... or so I'm told ).

Solidworks seem to do two versions these days, a cloud thing that isn't well thought of and a desktop app which is (in my opinion) the easiest to use and best desktop parametric CAD system out there.

Should we say anything about windows/mac/linux (like all the cloud ones work on all three)?

Good point. OnShape works everywhere, as does FreeCAD. Fusion can be made to work on Mac/Linux but is generally reported to be clunky as hell on either (I've only used it on Windows). I think Sketchup web version is cross platform.

There really aren't many good options (apart from OnShape) that are cross-platform, powerful and feature rich. Even OnShape doesn't support 3dconnexion 3D mice on Linux.

 

[Screwdriver]

One of the things I look out for with "free" software is privacy and security. I am not a business but I do not want all of my models to be shared online for anyone to use.

Fusion 360 is the only one I have found which does not share all of your work to the entire internet. Tell me I am wrong and recommend me a free 3D package which does not insist your files are free for everyone to copy. I'm not sure about FreeCAD but I know for sure that Onshape insists your files belong to everyone. Unless you pay.

 

[ajlelectronics]

One of the things I look out for with "free" software is privacy and security. I am not a business but I do not want all of my models to be shared online for anyone to use.

Fusion 360 is the only one I have found which does not share all of your work to the entire internet. Tell me I am wrong and recommend me a free 3D package which does not insist your files are free for everyone to copy. I'm not sure about FreeCAD but I know for sure that Onshape insists your files belong to everyone. Unless you pay.

DSM.

 

[Dr.Al]

One of the things I look out for with "free" software is privacy and security. I am not a business but I do not want all of my models to be shared online for anyone to use.

Fusion 360 is the only one I have found which does not share all of your work to the entire internet. Tell me I am wrong and recommend me a free 3D package which does not insist your files are free for everyone to copy. I'm not sure about FreeCAD but I know for sure that Onshape insists your files belong to everyone. Unless you pay.

Solid Edge Community Edition. Far better than Fusion (& far, far better than DSM) & does everything you just described. Also a download where you don't have to renew the licence every year like you do with Fusion.

Personally I don't see the issue for onshape. Yes, your models are online, but so are a million others. Good luck to anyone trying to find your model.

Nevertheless, if that's a concern for you, use Solid Edge.

 

[iNf]

Onshape insists your files belong to everyone. Unless you pay.

If you want to sell/make money from your design then none of the CAD programmes apart from opensource ones and Onshape are suitable as they are not for profit software? ?
In Onshape your open to everyone design can be made almost invisible if you give it an obscure name. Onshape is a lot less intimidating than most fully functioning CAD.

 

[My Old Landy]

If you want to sell/make money from your design then none of the CAD programmes apart from opensource ones and Onshape are suitable as they are not for profit software? ?
In Onshape your open to everyone design can be made almost invisible if you give it an obscure name. Onshape is a lot less intimidating than most fully functioning CAD.

I have wondered how they prove this? Autodesk say you can make £1000 pa before licensing. They have not enquired about it from me yet. Just curious really!

 

[Dr.Al]

If you want to sell/make money from your design then none of the CAD programmes apart from opensource ones and Onshape are suitable as they are not for profit software? ?

There's also Solidworks Makers Edition (which, as I've said, I haven't tried). It's not free, but it's cheap ($24 a year at the moment by the looks of it) and can be used for small-scale commercial use (less than $2000 a year). I don't know how it compares to the (superb) full desktop CAD system though.

In Onshape your open to everyone design can be made almost invisible if you give it an obscure name. Onshape is a lot less intimidating than most fully functioning CAD.

Exactly

 

[Screwdriver]

Solid Edge Community Edition. Far better than Fusion (& far, far better than DSM) & does everything you just described. Also a download where you don't have to renew the licence every year like you do with Fusion.

Personally I don't see the issue for onshape. Yes, your models are online, but so are a million others. Good luck to anyone trying to find your model.

Nevertheless, if that's a concern for you, use Solid Edge.

Thanks but I am Mac only here.

 

[Screwdriver]

DSM.

Windows only.

 

[iNf]

One of the things I look out for with "free" software is privacy and security. I am not a business but I do not want all of my models to be shared online for anyone to use.

Another thing you could do with Onshape as well as giving it a '@$%÷€8£' type name is to design it, export it in whatever format you want then delete it from your public documents.

 

[Dr.Al]

Thanks but I am Mac only here.

Ah, then you're probably stuffed. If I had a Mac I'd use OnShape, but I know you dislike the idea of it, so I can understand you having to fall back on Fusion.

3D CAD is one of the main reasons I'd never migrate from Windows to Mac.

 

[Screwdriver]

The Mac platform has historically never been much good for 3D. I guess it's because what CNC packages really need is integration with industrial machinery and that sort of software/firmware/code integration is not a strength for a sandboxed product.

But yes, that's why it always looked like when Sketchup finally expires* or just can't do what I need, I will port myself over to Fusion 360.

Hey, nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.


*I am still using the totally free, entirely local 2017 version of Sketchup. Later versions are cloud based etc. Much as I love the software, I couldn't recommend it if you're starting from scratch. It is not the feature set or the tools that make me hang onto it, it is the sheer speed of use in sketching out ideas. I often start from a blank sheet with literally no idea what the product might look like, how I am going to construct it, what the dimensions may be - all those things emerge from what I want the end result to do. Like this for example:

 

[Dr.Al]

The Mac platform has historically never been much good for 3D. I guess it's because what CNC packages really need is integration with industrial machinery and that sort of software/firmware/code integration is not a strength for a sandboxed product.

Makes sense when you look at it that way.

But yes, that's why it always looked like when Sketchup finally expires* or just can't do what I need, I will port myself over to Fusion 360.

Hey, nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.

No, but if I ran an engineering company and someone suggested Fusion 360, I might fire them for that

*I am still using the totally free, entirely local 2017 version of Sketchup. Later versions are cloud based etc. Much as I love the software, I couldn't recommend it if you're starting from scratch. It is not the feature set or the tools that make me hang onto it, it is the sheer speed of use in sketching out ideas. I often start from a blank sheet with literally no idea what the product might look like, how I am going to construct it, what the dimensions may be - all those things emerge from what I want the end result to do.

I often do the same in either OnShape or Solidworks and find them very efficient for doing so. I've tried Sketchup a few times (including designing the front driveway and the steps up to the house using it) but it just infuriates me and I get nowhere fast. I do manage to produce models eventually, but I find the process painful and simple things seem long-winded and awkward.

I do, however, accept that this is partly down to a mind-set that I've never quite got my head around and the fact I taught myself 3D parametric CAD before trying Sketchup. Perhaps if I'd tried Sketchup first I'd have a similar view to you.

 

[Cal]

Thanks all, very interesting. The reasoning behind using my mates printer is he has a very snazzy one and I have nowhere to keep one.

 

[Dr.Al]

Thanks all, very interesting. The reasoning behind using my mates printer is he has a very snazzy one and I have nowhere to keep one.

He's probably got a slicer as well, so all you need is a CAD application (OnShape, Solid Edge, Tinkercad etc) and use it to generate STEP files (and, if necessary for his slicer, STL files).

 

[Normsthename]

There's also Solidworks Makers Edition (which, as I've said, I haven't tried). It's not free, but it's cheap ($24 a year at the moment by the looks of it) and can be used for small-scale commercial use (less than $2000 a year). I don't know how it compares to the (superb) full desktop CAD system though.

I use Solidworks Professional 8 hours a day at work and I also have Solidworks Makers Edition.
There is hardly any difference between the two.
The main 'Issue' is Full Solidworks will not load Solidworks Makers Files but you can export from Makers to Solidworks with a STEP or IGES file if you really need to.
Strange thing is that Solidworks Makers Edition will load all Full Solidworks Files
I paid $50 last year for Solidworks Makers, which works out approx. 0.75p a week

Andy

 

[Dr.Al]

I use Solidworks Professional 8 hours a day at work and I also have Solidworks Makers Edition.
There is hardly any difference between the two.
The main 'Issue' is Full Solidworks will not load Solidworks Makers Files but you can export from Makers to Solidworks with a STEP or IGES file if you really need to.
Strange thing is that Solidworks Makers Edition will load all Full Solidworks Files
I paid $50 last year for Solidworks Makers, which works out approx. 0.75p a week

Andy

Thanks Andy, that's useful.

For anyone else considering it, Solidworks Makers is $24 (about £19) for a year in the black friday sale at the mo. 37p a week if you want to look at it like that!

 

[Screwdriver]

OK. I am looking at Solidworks Makers right now. I can do £19/yr.

I have to move away from Sketchup, there are just too many missing features like threads, complex curves, parametric modelling, and I need something I can test mechanisms with plus in the longer term, fire off to some sort of CNC.

 

[Dr.Al]

OK. I am looking at Solidworks Makers right now. I can do £19/yr.

It won't work on a Mac I'm afraid.