Design Software

[mlapaglia]

I use pen and paper to much effort and time to design in software. and as far as I can see little point.

Some of us use or used the fancy software in our day jobs so its VERY easy for us to do it. I use Autocad. The same software I used to design the Audio/Video/Fire systems for the Hawaii Convention Center some years ago. It's second nature once you have the skill set. For me it's faster than paper and pencil. Everyone uses what works for them. Since I have access to a plotter I can "print" patterns with a maximum size of 48 inches wide and 30 feet in length. Now all I need is an Elephant that wants a skinny belt.

There is something about designing and printing a pattern for a $100 holster on a system with $10,000.00 of hardware and $8,000.00 of software. I love overkill.

If I did not have the knowledge and access to this system I would be using paper and pencil too.

Michael

[Alamo]

I use pen and paper to much effort and time to design in software. and as far as I can see little point.

I like using pen and paper for custom orders, but when making patterns or templates for things that will be made over and over again, the precision of using a computer/machine is quite handy.

[JLSleather]

And graph paper works quite well

[Alamo]

I like making orthographic and isometric drawings!

[JLSleather]

What, no 3-d render with spotlights and drop shadow?

[Alamo]

Yeah, about those..

[mlapaglia]

What, no 3-d render with spotlights and drop shadow?

Careful, I have a buddy that works for Pixar. We could animate it. Of course it would take a year to get it back......

[shtoink]

This thread truly shows that the sky is the limit for what to use, doesn't it?

I am most familiar with SolidWorks, so I understand the "using what you know best" aspect of it. That's really the crux of it, though. If you know how to sketch out some designs on paper and turn those into a functioning object, then stick with that. If you know how to model it all out in a software package and then create a flattened pattern, then that's awesome, too. It just comes down to what you know or are willing to learn to get the particular task you have done.

I comment on this because I just recently had to start looking at different software packages that allow me to model some hobby specific things without breaking the bank or violating any licensing restrictions. I don't have the spare funds to purchase a non-educational SolidWorks license, so it mean searching around for something else that had a similar work flow with a price tag that is much lower or free. Not that the several thousand dollar price tag is unjustified, just not currently possible for my wallet to handle. Here's a list of some of the things I found.

Free: (completely and provisional)

FreeCAD: Open source, totally free, and not very intuitive. It works, and had loads of features, tutorials, an active developer, and a forum, so help is pretty easily gotten if it's needed. I found it functional, but too different from what I am familiar with to be able to be effective for my needs.

SketchUp: Now owned by Trimble Navigation, which means new licensing options. Free for personal, non-profit, or educational purposes, but the Pro version requires purchasing. Well established and pretty simple to pick up. Having a shallow learning curve, a huge library of help, tutorials, and pre-built models is excellent.

SALOME: Open source, and totally free. This is a huge modeling and simulation package with loads of options. It has a pretty steep learning curve, but lots of tutorials and videos to help you out. The work flow is it a bit weird, but capable of some pretty complex and high level stuff.

progeCAD 2009 Smart: Free for non-commercial stuff. I didn't look too closely at this one, yet. It does look to have a healthy list of features, but I can't comment on much else.

flood: I intended on playing around with this, but have yet to get to that, just yet. It looks like a purely online, web and cloud based tool for parametric solid modeling. I couldn't find anything on licensing, but the code is open sourced, stored on github, and is still in beta.

Onshape: I intended on testing this one, too. It has both free and paid options, but I didn't check the fine print for the details on it. Lots of options and the tutorial videos looked like the workflow was similar to SolidWorks. The video I watched had a guy build a pretty interesting birdhouse, for several birds, and create an assembly from multiple parts with ease. It looked promising.

fusion 360: A newer package from Autodesk that has a similar workflow SolidWorks, tons of features, and flexible pricing and trial options. This is the one I am playing with at the moment. It's a free trial, but can remain free for educational and hobby ($1000 per year and under) purposes. So far, it looks very nice and pretty straight forwards to pick up. Tons of features!

Payed Licensing:

Geomagic: I was not able to test this one out. I don't know the pricing due it needing a put in a request for it, but they offer a free trial.

PTC Creo: This used to be Pro/ENGINEER. I didn't get to test this out. There are some free software tools and a free trial. You need to place a request for pricing, so I don't know much else beyond that.

SolidFace: This software looks like it has a modern style of workflow for parametric modeling and a pretty long list of features and capabilities. I didn't test it, but there is pricing and a free trial from the website.

Cubify: Several options for different needs, but lots of features for the price. Does have a free trial, but I didn't test this one out.

I hope that someone finds some use from this list. I know that most of these software packages won't be for everyone, but maybe it'll give an option, or alternative, to those interested in getting started, or looking to switch to something new.

[Clamatron]

You guys are awesome! So much stuff to check out

[ENC]

You can add Inkscape to the free list for Vector graphics. I have been using it for years. Only down side is I have to export a format that my old version of photoshop will take to print. That may have been fixed in the version released in Jan 2015. I haven't tried to print directly from the new release yet. My $30 epson printer from 10 years ago will print up to 8.5 by 44 in. I tape paper together on the back side, and set length/size I need in the printer set up.