Gondor Goes 3D

[Gondor]

I have not been able to connect to the site all day, and have even caught up on postings from Britmodeller, so I decided to actually start to learn to use Fusion360 by following a tutorial on The Unofficial Airfix Forum. So far, I have drawn a cylinder, then put a hole along its axis. Not got any further in turning this into a wheel, as the tutorial shows more circles being drawn using the same axis, but I can't get the darn thing to draw any more circles with the same start points and to edit the diameter to the size I wish. So I have paused for now until I get a reply from the tutor.

It is progress, though!

[scautomoton]

YouTube. The are lots of good tutorials on there, then you can pause whilst you try to follow along. 

[Gondor]

YouTube. The are lots of good tutorials on there, then you can pause whilst you try to follow along.

I do use two monitors, specifically so that I can CAD on one while looking at reference or instructional material on the other. Could you recommend any particular videos, Stuart?

[frank2056]

There are some strong drawbacks to using Fusion360. You can also use FreeCAD which has some advantages - one is obscure, but very valuable: Converting an STL back into editable objects (not just editing meshes). You can also try Blender (also free) although it still has a steep learning curve.

[Gondor]

There are some strong drawbacks to using Fusion360. You can also use FreeCAD which has some advantages - one is obscure, but very valuable: Converting an STL back into editable objects (not just editing meshes). You can also try Blender (also free) although it still has a steep learning curve.

I will keep trying with Fusion, although I have also downloaded Blender as a backup if I find Fusion too complex. I think I may get myself a notebook, which I can put little instructions on how to do certain things into it.

[scautomoton]

I do use two monitors, specifically so that I can CAD on one while looking at reference or instructional material on the other. Could you recommend any particular videos, Stuart?

I've used some videos from a channel called "TEX - Design & Engineering", he covers multiple real worked examples (including modelling aircraft) using a variety of tools.

....You can also use FreeCAD which has some advantages - one is obscure, but very valuable: Converting an STL back into editable objects (not just editing meshes)....

That is a very useful feature which Fusion has you pay for (for the properly useful version anyway). I may download it just for that.

[frank2056]

The greatest issue with Fusion360 is that your work (and the time invested in learning the software and creating your designs) is tied to the whims of the company. They may decide that a feature will get placed behind a paywall or that the "free" version will stop being so. Autodesk has a history of buying programs with free features and slamming them behind expensive paywalls.

I mostly use Rhino3D, but FreeCAD is great as a general CAD program. The STL editing/solid conversion works well. You have to follow the way FreeCAD deals with objects, but once converted, the object can be freely edited. There are many videos just on this feature.

[Gondor]

I do use two monitors, specifically so that I can CAD on one while looking at reference or instructional material on the other. Could you recommend any particular videos, Stuart?

I've used some videos from a channel called "TEX - Design & Engineering", he covers multiple real worked examples (including modelling aircraft) using a variety of tools.

That TEX looks interesting, I shall watch a few programs and see how I get on with it. 

[Gondor]

Ok, it's been a while since I last posted here, but then nothing much has happened since the last post. The appointment I had with the eye surgeon, which should be when I should get released from his care, has been cancelled and moved back a couple of weeks. That meeting should have happened last week, and I had an options appointment set for the friday afternoon so I could order new glasses with the correct lens for my left eye. I decided to go ahead with the optician's visit, and I have ordered a new pair of glasses. I should have them before I now go and see the surgeon. Everything is waiting on my getting the new glasses, lining the booth, and me getting my donkey in gear to learn CAD. I have though, received two empty 5L containers for waste liquids from washing parts, so a step in the right direction. Easy and cheap enough to buy more if required as well.

[Captain Canada]

Interesting stuff. I'd love to try it, but don't feel i have the patience......good luck with the eye appontment.

[Gondor]

Interesting stuff. I'd love to try it, but don't feel i have the patience......good luck with the eye appontment.

No luck involved Captain. The last time I saw him, he said that the eye had healed. All I was waiting on at that time was for the gas bubble to dissapate which it did about a week or two later. This next visit should just be a check that nothing has changed, and for me to be signed off from his care.

[Captain Canada]

Even better ! I've got a co-worker going through some cataract issues. Been nothing but appointments and consultations, he's getting rather frustrated !

[Gondor]

Even better ! I've got a co-worker going through some cataract issues. Been nothing but appointments and consultations, he's getting rather frustrated !

It took a year from being told that mine were too bad for me to drive, until I had my first operation. I think there was only a couple of medical appointments between the two dates.

[Gondor]

I have actually looked at Fusion and had a little play, five minutes worth, but I am starting to find my way around it a bit. I created a rectangular box without a top or bottom, and then moved one of the ends and thickened the wall that I had moved. Not much, but progress. I really must spend some time watching videos of how to use the darn thing.
I did a while ago buy a couple of empty 5L containers for waste and recycled IPA, so more bits for the build system.

[scooter]

recycled IPA

There's a beer joke in there, that I'm going to ignore.