The power of CAD

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I recently made the pedestal shown below. It was fabricated entirely of maple. The legs and balls were turned on a lathe. The stretchers were made from 1/2" baltic birch plywood with edge banding tape and mortised into the legs. The top is cut from plexiglass, although I would have preferred frosted glass. It was then filled, painted and/or cleared.

However, my point is to illustrate the power of CAD and CAD's rendering ability. The picture of the real pedestal is shown on the right. The CAD rendering is shown on the left. When my friend and I photographed the real pedestal, we tried to replicate the lighting and angle of the CAD rendering. If I was to cheat (I may try this), I can probably now get the rendering to the point where you could not tell if it's real or not. When I made the original rendering, I did not apply all the tricks I know now.

This leads me to my second point, which is a bit disturbing. I've noticed that young folks are not interested in working with their hands. When I go to model railroad shows, or woodworking shows, I think I'm the youngest guy there...and I'm 45 years old! I think the instant gratification of computers is part the blame. I feel that computers should be presented as a tool to create real things better, not a means unto itself. Oh well...let me get off my soap box before I fall and break a hip.

cheers, Jeff

[Jeff Sudmeier]

WOW! That is some great cad drawing and some wonderful woodworking. The photography is exceptional as well. Great job on all 3!!

I am a computer guy for work, but for pleasure I tend to like to draw things out by hand. Something about drawing by hand lets me "see" the project in steps while I draw.

[Frank Chaffee]

I recently made the pedestal shown below
However, my point is to illustrate the power of CAD and CAD's rendering ability. The picture of the real pedestal is shown on the right. The CAD rendering is shown on the left. When my friend and I photographed the real pedestal, we tried to replicate the lighting and angle of the CAD rendering. If I was to cheat (I may try this), I can probably now get the rendering to the point where you could not tell if it's real or not. When I made the original rendering, I did not apply all the tricks I know now.

So, Mr. Jeffrey Makiel,
Is the gorgeous kitchen you presented here a real construction or a CAD plaything? Were it not for the second ½ of your post I would wonder:

This leads me to my second point, which is a bit disturbing. I've noticed that young folks are not interested in working with their hands. When I go to model railroad shows, or woodworking shows, I think I'm the youngest guy there...and I'm 45 years old! I think the instant gratification of computers is part the blame. I feel that computers should be presented as a tool to create real things better, not a means unto itself. Oh well...let me get off my soap box before I fall and break a hip.

cheers, Jeff

I was in light manufacturing for a good part of my life, and during that time noticed the declining numbers of machinists in this country.

Hands on, and here’s to funding HS shop classes!

Frank

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Jeff...thanks for the compliment!

Frank...You got me going! Here are renderings of my kitchen using higher level rendering software. Some of the moldings are not present. The quality of rendering can still use some work, but this part of CAD can be a real time eater. At some point I had to put down the mouse, and grab a saw...

[Frank Chaffee]

Wow Jeffrey,
Admirable work with and without the mouse.

We need more of that integration to keep this world healthy.

Frank

[Jarrod Nelson]

"Instant gratification of computers"

I don't know about that. I make a living writing computer programs for computers. Most of them are anything but instant! Then again, maybe I'm just slow.

For me, creating physical things is a great balance to the grind of my daily routine.

As far as young people not working with their hands because of computers... I'm wondering if it's that, or maybe just an interest they will pick up as they get older.

That is some amazing CAD work. Something I haven't played around with. What program do you use?

[Alan Turner]

This leads me to my second point, which is a bit disturbing. I've noticed that young folks are not interested in working with their hands. When I go to model railroad shows, or woodworking shows, I think I'm the youngest guy there...and I'm 45 years old! I think the instant gratification of computers is part the blame. I feel that computers should be presented as a tool to create real things better, not a means unto itself. Oh well...let me get off my soap box before I fall and break a hip.

cheers, Jeff

Jeff -- Couldn't agree more. I teach in an adult evening program, and in all of the local high schools in my township, what used to be beautifully equiped wood shops are now computer rooms, with a few old benches with broken vises. It is sad that many young people don't seem to derive pleasure from working with their hands.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Folks........It may be true that there are fewer shops in high school but don't give up on the younger generation yet! I was one of the "nerdy" types. When every other guy was taking shop and welding, I was taking physics, chemistry, trig, etc. The closest thing I took to shop was basic electricity. Today, in the little community I live in in north central Idaho......you can get a 2 year associates degree in carpentry, electronics, automotive repair, autobody repair, etc at 2 different colleges within a 4 mile radius of where I'm typing this. There are a lot of opportunities for younger folks to use their hands. In 2000 I rode the aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson for 3 days. Guess what? There are still a lot of young, hard working adults willing to use their hands to make those jet fly correctly. 2nd biggest schocker for me while riding that carrier. This came from my youngest son, who has a degree in pre-med and was a ships company officer at the time.......the largest number of post-graduate degrees in total number and based on percentages among the crew members of that same carrier, at the time was among the enlisted ranks. Let's hope in high school they are getting a good solid education...basic math, english, history, social studies, etc.

It's amazing how things change with a change in time. I started working on oil rigs for my father when I was 15. You worked an 8 hour shift and more hours if necessary, 7 days a week. If you wanted a vacation, you had to get someone to work in you place or you didn't have a job when you returned. Today in Wyoming where my brother works, they can't find enough experienced crews to work 3 8 hour shifts .....7 days a week. Instead, it's like a regular job where 3 crews work an 8 hour shift for 5 days and then they take the weekend off. Almost a human job............Not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion!

[Darren Zisser]

Jeff,

Those drawings are awesome. Which program do you use?

As for the the younger generation, I think it's safe to say that there's no turning back. My friend's son is 25 years old... very keen, makes a good salary, and is single. He has a decked out machine and wood shop with multiple homemade CNC machines. I was told that he has a hard time getting his friends to come see his shop. They just don't care. Starbucks is more exciting to them than a 5-axis mill. And he's among the oldest of the Gen Yers. I can't even imagine what teens these days are thinking. Probably dreaming of PSPs and I-pods.

I have another friend whose son is in college getting a B.S. in Mech E. Apparently, he has never touched a Bridgeport.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Darren & Jarrod,
The pedestal was drawn and rendered in AutoCAD full version. However, the kitchen was drawn in AutoCAD and rendered with AccuRender which is a third party add-on to AutoCAD that provides a better rendering engine than AutoCAD.

The AccuRender version that I used is a pre-production test version (version 4.0 'beta') and is only available as free evaluation software, but not yet fully functional. Although this is my first try using AccuRender, it was very intuitive and yielded very realistic results. I could have fooled around with it a little more to improve the image, but this stuff begins to become a time sink!

-Jeff

[Brad Kimbrell]

That's superb CAD work and actual woodworking also! Very inspirational.

I have the full version of AutoCAD and lot's of HS and College old-style pen & pencil drafting skills. Also a VBA, VB.NET, etc. programmer to keep up with my crew (I'm a V.P. of Sales for a software firm).

What would you suggest as the fastest way to get up to speed in drawing with this monster (AutoCAD)? I see the 3-D stuff and then I get in there and draw a few things in 2-D views and lose interest. I downloaded a program called DeltaCAD which is very simplistic but I got the cabinets drawn after very little learning curve, but I still want to tackle AutoCAD.

Are there any good books on the market that you guys recommend? I plan to watch for a University of Kentucky night course but in the mean time, how do I get going?

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[Julio Navarro]

Autocad is what I call a "full spectrum" drafting tool. It goes from very simple line work to full rendered production prototype stuff. It all depends how much time and in what direction you head in. You can even use auto cad for solid wax prototyping. Its an amazing thing. I use autocad all day long for architectural design but I dont get into the rendering aspect in my work, though I have done some.

The best way to start using autocad is to follow a how to book. You can find very good ones at Borders and such. Autocad is up to 2006 now and is very resource demanding but comps are pretty beefy now a days.

The best platform is a fast processor and a large format monitor. I use two 19" flat LCD screens at work. But a single 17" at home is good. Make sure your graphics card is fast and has lots of memory, rendering is all graphics and will tax a cheap card.

Current Autocad versions are very expensive in the 5,000 range and maybe even higher. You can get a scholastic version but it will be non upgrdable and may be a version or two behind.

You can find a full version in the alt.binary.cd.image and variations there of. It is illegal, of course, I wouldn't recommend you do it, viruses and such , you know.

The best way to get into it is as any new toy, just open it up and use it.

There are other rendering programs that are specifically for rendering in 3d such as Rhino. You can do some amazing things with it, but the learning curb is way high. Do a google search on Rhino rendering and download a full function version to try out, its amazing.

I have been using Autocad for a better part of my career in architecture and I have still much to learn.

If I can be of any help dont hesitate.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Brad,
As Julio mentioned, AutoCAD is very expensive. It's also not the ideal 3D software for it has not had any significant 3D upgrades since 1999. AutoCAD is focusing on the 2D market, and the makers of AutoCAD (AutoDesk), are pushing their clients towards specialized 3D softwares such as Inventor. But AutoCAD's 3D capability is still pretty good for relatively simple shapes.

There are a ton of books out there for AutoCAD. Many of them seem poor. I recommend a book by George Omura "Mastering AutoCAD". It's thick, but well written and easy to follow. It also includes a lessons CD. You will need to learn 2D first, then graduate to 3D. This book will take you there.

Another good author is John H. Wilson. He also has a book that just focuses on 3D modeling with AutoCAD including how to render (that is, add material textures, backgrounds, lighting, etc.) to your 3D model. Both of these authors are long time authors of AutoDesk books.

You may be able to find lower cost copies of AutoCAD with older versions. But don't go older than AutoCAD 2002. Currently, there are AutoCAD 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Also, as Julio mentioned, there is an 'educational' version which is fully functional but I believe it will place an 'educational' stamp on your drawing upon plotting (printing).

Another low cost option is to use TurboCAD. It has 2D and 3D capability, and is very, very inexpensive relative to AutoCAD. However, it doesn't have the rendering capability to give your model photo realistic features.

[Julio Navarro]

As Jeffrey stated, autocad relys on "addon" software for rendering. Just to clarify, there are two issues in rendering, the modeling and the redering of the modeling. Autocad is excellent for modeling; Creating the actual virtual shape. It is very usefull for planning, visualizing and executing the object which you will later render. Rendering is the process by which you give texture, color, lighting/shading and so forth. As Jeffrey mentioned on the earlier post, Accurender is such an "addon." The object was created in autocad as a model then exported/imported into Accureder which then gave life to the model. Most rendering software will not model, some will though I have found tehm cumbersome for modeling.

Once you create the model you can render it using most rendering softwares. Autocad has a built in renderer. called...ready?..."render" but it is not its most powerfull tool.

Rendering is its own discipline, and many get very good at it.

Another option we have not mentioned is Photoshop (another expensive software)

Often illustrators will create the model in autocad then import into Photoshop or another graphics program and illustrate it by "hand." if you will. Photoshop affords near photorealistic results but is also steep learning. It requires quite alot of technical ability and knowledge to acheive good results. Good thing is there is a ton of free support for photoshop via user groups shuch as this one. Mastering Photoshop is a highh paying profesion.

Jeff mentioned the book by Omura.."Mastering Autocad" is an excellent book, pretty much the bible on autocad, I have had several. Be sure to use the version for the autocad you are learning on, autodesk has a tendancy to make slight changes that will be incompatible for earlier version "how-to's" buttons, commands and such.

[Julio Navarro]

Here is a building I desinged and modeled in Autocad, it shows only a few of the components that make up the building. The building is modeled inside and out. The first image is the floor slabs, next the walls, the roof then the model is shown shaded. The last image is a wire frame of the entire model. This would be the model that gets imported into a rendering program to render.
http://www.pulterfi.com/images/skin2.jpg
http://www.pulterfi.com/images/skin3.jpg
http://www.pulterfi.com/images/skin4.jpg
http://www.pulterfi.com/images/skin5shaded.jpg
http://www.pulterfi.com/images/skin1.jpg

The model is designed so that you can view the actual condition inside any where in the model.