23 Aug
2021
23 Aug
'21
9:29 a.m.
I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed (some plastic board
mounting guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software is best for
a novice? Preferably free!
Thanks
Rob
23 Aug
23 Aug
9:39 a.m.
I use Fusion360. It is free for hobbyists and students.
alan
On Aug 23, 2021, at 09:34, Rob Jarratt via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
?I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed (some plastic board
mounting guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software is best for
a novice? Preferably free!
Thanks
Rob
10:31 a.m.
On Mon, 23 Aug 2021, Alan Perry via cctalk wrote:
I use Fusion360. It is free for hobbyists and
students.
...for now. Pray Autodesk doesn't alter the deal further. Again.
For a true, completely offline, free parametric design package, take a
look at Solid Edge 2020 Community Edition. The only in-built restriction
is the inability of the commercial edition of Solid Edge from opening
native format files created by the Community Edition. It's a perpetual
license too - you don't even enter a license key. Download and go.
It only works under Windows however.
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
10:47 a.m.
If you prefer programming, OpenSCAD https://openscad.org/ might be the
3D modeling software for you.
HTH
--
Regards,
Torfinn Ingolfsen
9:59 a.m.
I haven't used it for 3d printing work, but from other use I can recommend FreeCAD3d.
That is open source software, so free for everyone, not just for "students".
It has a GUI, and it can also be scripted using Python, which is a great way to construct
very complex models. I've used it to model a SF spaceship.
paul
On Aug 23, 2021, at 12:29 PM, Rob Jarratt via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed (some plastic board
mounting guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software is best for
a novice? Preferably free!
Thanks
Rob
11:19 a.m.
What OS were you running it on? When I first started trying to use it a couple years ago
on a Mac, it didn?t work so well. I started trying to make it work better and then
realized that I was spending most of my time trying to make the tool work and not so much
time modeling the part that I was trying replicate and threw in the towel and started
using Fusion 360. Using Fusion 360 has had some advantages when getting the part made
(there is a common language for tweaking the model).
alan
On Aug 23, 2021, at 09:59, Paul Koning via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
?I haven't used it for 3d printing work, but from other use I can recommend
FreeCAD3d. That is open source software, so free for everyone, not just for
"students".
It has a GUI, and it can also be scripted using Python, which is a great way to construct
very complex models. I've used it to model a SF spaceship.
paul
On Aug 23, 2021, at 12:29 PM, Rob Jarratt via
cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed (some plastic board
mounting guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software is best for
a novice? Preferably free!
Thanks
Rob
12:35 p.m.
Mac OS, 64 bit Intel until recently, Arm64 right now. It's still the Intel build,
that works impressively well through Rosetta 2. The current version is 0.19. I
haven't run into significant issues with it for quite a while. It's been pretty
solid since 0.14 in my usage. That's a bit off the beaten track, perhaps; I mostly do
my modeling in a 5000 line Python script, and use my own export to PovRAY rather than the
FreeCAD Render workbench. But I did use that a bit, in some experiments with the KiCAD
importer. That's pretty slick, converting a PCB layout to a 3d CAD model.
paul
On Aug 23, 2021, at 2:19 PM, Alan Perry <aperry at
snowmoose.com> wrote:
What OS were you running it on? When I first started trying to use it a couple years ago
on a Mac, it didn?t work so well. I started trying to make it work better and then
realized that I was spending most of my time trying to make the tool work and not so much
time modeling the part that I was trying replicate and threw in the towel and started
using Fusion 360. Using Fusion 360 has had some advantages when getting the part made
(there is a common language for tweaking the model).
alan
> On Aug 23, 2021, at 09:59, Paul Koning via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
wrote:
>
> ?I haven't used it for 3d printing work, but from other use I can recommend
FreeCAD3d. That is open source software, so free for everyone, not just for
"students".
>
> It has a GUI, and it can also be scripted using Python, which is a great way to
construct very complex models. I've used it to model a SF spaceship.
>
> paul
>
>> On Aug 23, 2021, at 12:29 PM, Rob Jarratt via cctalk <cctalk at
classiccmp.org> wrote:
>>
>> I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed (some plastic board
>> mounting guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software is best for
>> a novice? Preferably free!
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>>
>>
>> Rob
>>
>
4:18 p.m.
Cool. It wasn?t working that well when I tried.
On Aug 23, 2021, at 12:35, Paul Koning <paulkoning
at comcast.net> wrote:
?Mac OS, 64 bit Intel until recently, Arm64 right now. It's still the Intel build,
that works impressively well through Rosetta 2. The current version is 0.19. I
haven't run into significant issues with it for quite a while. It's been pretty
solid since 0.14 in my usage. That's a bit off the beaten track, perhaps; I mostly do
my modeling in a 5000 line Python script, and use my own export to PovRAY rather than the
FreeCAD Render workbench. But I did use that a bit, in some experiments with the KiCAD
importer. That's pretty slick, converting a PCB layout to a 3d CAD model.
paul
On Aug 23, 2021, at 2:19 PM, Alan Perry
<aperry at snowmoose.com> wrote:
What OS were you running it on? When I first started trying to use it a couple years ago
on a Mac, it didn?t work so well. I started trying to make it work better and then
realized that I was spending most of my time trying to make the tool work and not so much
time modeling the part that I was trying replicate and threw in the towel and started
using Fusion 360. Using Fusion 360 has had some advantages when getting the part made
(there is a common language for tweaking the model).
alan
>> On Aug 23, 2021, at 09:59, Paul Koning via cctalk <cctalk at
classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> ?I haven't used it for 3d printing work, but from other use I can recommend
FreeCAD3d. That is open source software, so free for everyone, not just for
"students".
>
> It has a GUI, and it can also be scripted using Python, which is a great way to
construct very complex models. I've used it to model a SF spaceship.
>
> paul
>
>> On Aug 23, 2021, at 12:29 PM, Rob Jarratt via cctalk <cctalk at
classiccmp.org> wrote:
>>
>> I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed (some plastic board
>> mounting guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software is best for
>> a novice? Preferably free!
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>>
>>
>> Rob
>>
>
3:02 p.m.
On 8/23/21 1:19 PM, Alan Perry via cctalk wrote:
What OS were you running it on? When I first started
trying to use it a couple years ago on a Mac, it didn?t work so well. I started trying to
make it work better and then realized that I was spending most of my time trying to make
the tool work and not so much time modeling the part that I was trying replicate and threw
in the towel and started using Fusion 360. Using Fusion 360 has had some advantages when
getting the part made (there is a common language for tweaking the model).
I recently got a free 3D printer tossed out at work.? I use
Linux pretty exclusively, and so downloaded FreeCad.? The
problem is the developers are changing things so fast the
docs and on-line tutorials are having trouble keeping up to
date.? It is a very complex software package, but it DOES
work if you can learn the mindset of it.? There are
sketches, extrusions, solids of revolution, etc.? So, this
is a mixed recommendation, but if you have a complex part to
design, it is probably worth the effort to learn the
basics.? As far as I can tell, it will do everything
Inventor will do.
Jon
10:53 a.m.
I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed
(some plastic board
mounting guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software is best for
a novice? Preferably free!
Thanks
Rob
I use the web version of Sketchup 3D. It's now owned by Trimble. It gets
me by for making project boxes and parts.
--
: Ethan O'Toole
11:35 a.m.
On 23/08/2021 17:29, Rob Jarratt via cctalk wrote:
I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed
(some plastic board
mounting guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software is best for
a novice? Preferably free!
The hobbyist version of Fusion 360 is free. It's what I use. I've
tried FreeCAD more than once but it still has some serious bugs.
Tinkercad is also free but more limited and although it might be easier
to get started with, it's more difficult to do some operations in. I'd
avoid Sketchup because it's renowned for producing faulty STL files
unless you're careful.
If you want some help, you know I'm not very far away. I can certainly
I can test STL files out for you, and possibly even print some,
depending on what they are.
--
Pete
Pete Turnbull
2:12 p.m.
Rob,
I asked on the Radio Club net. The other program mentioned RS Design Spark
https://www.rs-online.com/designspark
Dave
G4UGM
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> On Behalf Of Rob Jarratt via
cctalk
Sent: 23 August 2021 17:29
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: 3d modelling software
I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed (some plastic board
mounting
guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software
is best for a
novice?
Preferably free!
Thanks
Rob
24 Aug
24 Aug
1:29 a.m.
Rob asked
I think I may need to get a small part 3d printed
(some plastic board
mounting guide rails from a PDP 11/24 H7140 PSU). What software is best for
a novice? Preferably free!
I've found OpenSCAD to be perfect for things like brackets, machine parts and so on.
It's no good for figurines and other
complex curved objects, perhaps use Blender for those. It also has its quirks and
limitations such as being notoriously crappy
at fillets, but even passable versions of those can be achieved now (see
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4932117).
I like being able to model solids from first principles, where the model's source is
literally just that, a piece of source
code. Easy to email or print. And I know that my model is always going to be around and
not beholden to the cloud.
You can get the program at http://openscad.org/
Being code I think anyone here on cctalk could pick up the gist of it in only one or two
clock cycles. Some public models of mine
at https://www.thingiverse.com/1944gpw/designs feel free to look at the source which I
provide with all my public designs.
An STL file is not a source file, but a .scad file is, and is naturally parametric. And
only three consecutive keypresses
required to generate an STL file ready for slicing: F5 (preview) then F6 (render) and then
F7 (save STL). That's fantastically
simple.
Other free CAD apps I've used include FreeCAD but I found it crashed when trying to
import machine-generated DXF files of
involute gears with line segments that weren't properly closed. OpenSCAD imported them
no problem.
Why not give it a try, I'm sure it would be ideal for your guide rails.
Steve.
998
days inactive
999
days old
12 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
-
aperry＠snowmoose.com -
dave.g4ugm＠gmail.com -
elson＠pico-systems.com -
ethan＠757.org -
geneb＠deltasoft.com -
paulkoning＠comcast.net -
pete＠dunnington.plus.com -
robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com -
steven＠malikoff.com -
tingox＠gmail.com