Software-- 2d drawing to 3D model suitable for CNC or printing

[roger wiegand]

Is there such a thing as a design program that allows you to draw 2D front, side, and top views of an object that will then put them together to make a 3D model?

For the life of me I've tried to make 3D drawings in software like Sketchup (took classes, invested probably 100 hours over a month period) and failed. There's something about the logic that my brain can't do, and in Sketchup in particular, even if it looked OK there was always some hidden surface that was mucked up or failed to close rendering the drawing useless.

I can look at the classic views of an object and envision it perfectly (better than looking at a 3D representation), and they are trivially easy to draw, at least for the kinds of simple objects I build.

I need to make drawings of these spool ends (slightly modified to get rid of asymmetry and internal structure) suitable for prototyping by 3D printing and then sending to a CNC lathe (sadly the machinist who made the injection molds for these melted them down for recycling):

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[Gary Campbell]

Like you I do better with a 2d dwg than a 3d model, but the world is changing. For the long term I would look at SolidWorks or an Autodesk product, maybe inventor. In the short term, you might want to look for a local design service or person. CAD guys are all over the place now days

[Alex Zeller]

I'm not great at it but I could make it in Fusion 360. It just took a few you tube instructional videos. I've never used Sketch Up but with Fusion you start out making a 2d model then make it 3d.

[Chris Schoenthal]

Like you, I had an issue with SketchUp (mine was getting the parts aligned). I got a 3d printer a couple of months ago and have been playing with Tinkercad. It's a free web-based app at tinkercad.com.
It also starts as 2D shapes that you modify to 3D. Don't know if it will export for CNC, but it's several steps down from Fusion 360 on the learning curve.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Vectric Aspire will do it. It is very pricey, but powerful. You can play with the trial version for free to see if you can make it work. There are lots of tutorials available.

[stan kern]

I used vetric aspire on the paddle
trace a canoe paddle and use that *.dxf file to create a 3D file for a cnc cut

https://logicgroup.vids.io/videos/ac9dd8b2191de2c725/creating-a-dxf-file-and-using-this-file-to-create-a-3d-file-and-machine-this-file-on-cnc-machine oct 2021

[Gary Campbell]

None of the Vectric products are compatible for use with a CNC lathe

[Jim Becker]

Solidworks now has a "Maker" version that's relatively inexpensive and may be worth trying. April Wilkinson has a discount code available, too. I have not tried it, however. I have a Sketchup Subscription.

[David Falkner]

None of the Vectric products are compatible for use with a CNC lathe

How about Carveco, Gary? Is it compatible with a CNC lathe?

[Kevin L. Waldron]

"MOI" this program is incredibly easy, user friendly, and extremely powerful and yet relatively in-expensive for what it can do. It does not have a CAM package but at far as being able to do what your asking, it is great for this kind of work. They also have a 90 day trial. Give it a spin think you will find it works great. It also has a multitude of "Save As" formats. It will also allow a 3D mouse to work.

Blessings,

kw

http://moi3d.com/index.htm

[roger wiegand]

To be clear, I know nothing about CNC lathes, my hope was just to make a good 3D drawing that could be sent to someone who might fabricate the parts for me after they translated it into whatever format they used. I figured that 3D printing would let me ensure that the sizes are all correct before sending it out. A fellow I know who has a lot of parts made for various machines he sells suggested a CNC lathe as being reasonable for what I need (100-200 pairs of ends).

I will be checking out your various suggestions over the next several days, thanks!

[Gary Campbell]

Roger...
Ask your lathe guy what CAD/CAM program they use. They may be able to point you in the direction of a CAD guy that can draw up your parts.

[David Buchhauser]

Is there such a thing as a design program that allows you to draw 2D front, side, and top views of an object that will then put them together to make a 3D model?

For the life of me I've tried to make 3D drawings in software like Sketchup (took classes, invested probably 100 hours over a month period) and failed. There's something about the logic that my brain can't do, and in Sketchup in particular, even if it looked OK there was always some hidden surface that was mucked up or failed to close rendering the drawing useless.

I can look at the classic views of an object and envision it perfectly (better than looking at a 3D representation), and they are trivially easy to draw, at least for the kinds of simple objects I build.

I need to make drawings of these spool ends (slightly modified to get rid of asymmetry and internal structure) suitable for prototyping by 3D printing and then sending to a CNC lathe (sadly the machinist who made the injection molds for these melted them down for recycling):

479635479636

Roger - I'm sort of "late to the party" - but you can email me your 2 D drawings and/or sketches for one of these and I will provide a 3D solid model (STL file) which you can use for sending to your slicer and then 3D printing. I use both SolidWorks and Fusion 360, but have pretty much transitioned to Fusion 360 for my solid modeling needs. I much prefer the user interface of Fusion 360 to SolidWorks, and it is also fairly easy to learn as well. I will send you a PM with my email address.
David

[roger wiegand]

Roger - I'm sort of "late to the party" - but you can email me your 2 D drawings and/or sketches for one of these and I will provide a 3D solid model (STL file) which you can use for sending to your slicer and then 3D printing. I use both SolidWorks and Fusion 360, but have pretty much transitioned to Fusion 360 for my solid modeling needs. I much prefer the user interface of Fusion 360 to SolidWorks, and it is also fairly easy to learn as well. I will send you a PM with my email address.
David

Talk about an offer one can't refuse! Thanks!

[David Buchhauser]

Roger...
Ask your lathe guy what CAD/CAM program they use. They may be able to point you in the direction of a CAD guy that can draw up your parts.

Gary,

I use MasterCam for both cnc lathe and cnc mill work. I typically draw up as 2D with AutoCad or Bricscad, then import to MasterCam to extrude and/or rotate to create solid model to be used for creating tool paths. I find it much quicker to do the drawing with these external 2D packages as opposed to doing it all with MasterCam. MasterCam has different "modules" for lathe, mill, wire edm, routing, etc. and also different post processors associated with these as well as being specific to the particular cnc controller for each machine. My lathe is Fanuc, and my mill is Yasnak.

I think that most cnc machinists can work with stl files, as MasterCam will as well. Most of my parts are so simple that creating a 3D model first and sending the stl to MasterCam would be overkill.

David

[David Buchhauser]

Here are some screen shots showing my basic process for creating a solid model for a part similar to the ones shown in Roger's original posted photos.
I am using Fusion 360 (free for hobbyists and students).
David

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[David Buchhauser]

For anyone interested in learning to use Fusion 360, I highly recommend the Fusion 360 Tutorial Lessons from Arnold Rowntree. Arnold provides separate drawings which you can print out - one drawing for each lesson. This makes it very easy to follow along with each associated video lesson. Each lesson is about 15 minutes long, and self contained to the particular drawing he is using for each lesson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSRKJgTSS4c

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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSRKJgTSS4c)