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Thread: 3D Planning Software

  1. #46
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    A lot of Fusion 360 users go for it because of the 3D design/modeling capability that ties directly into CNC and 3D Printing. It's really cost effective for that for hobbyists where they don't have the ability to afford products like SolidWorks and Rhino, etc. I don't really think it's intended for "traditional" dimensioned drawings, but I do agree that it would be nice if dimensions could flow with 3D/three axis drawings like they can in SketchUp.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  2. #47
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    Tim, go to the last video on this forum, and play it.
    This seems to allow 3d dimensions on a single View in 3d space in F360.
    While you can not spin the object in 3d space with dimensioning shown, it appears you can show dimensioning at any given snap shot in 3d space. Would you agree with this?
    thx in advance.

    https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusio...s/td-p/8218063

  3. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Will Blick View Post
    Tim, go to the last video on this forum, and play it.
    This seems to allow 3d dimensions on a single View in 3d space in F360.
    While you can not spin the object in 3d space with dimensioning shown, it appears you can show dimensioning at any given snap shot in 3d space. Would you agree with this?
    thx in advance.

    https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusio...s/td-p/8218063
    So something like this?
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Beranek's Law:

    It has been remarked that if one selects his own components, builds his own enclosure, and is convinced he has made a wise choice of design, then his own loudspeaker sounds better to him than does anyone else's loudspeaker. In this case, the frequency response of the loudspeaker seems to play only a minor part in forming a person's opinion.
    L.L. Beranek, Acoustics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1954), p.208.

  4. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by Will Blick View Post
    Tim, go to the last video on this forum, and play it.
    This seems to allow 3d dimensions on a single View in 3d space in F360.
    While you can not spin the object in 3d space with dimensioning shown, it appears you can show dimensioning at any given snap shot in 3d space. Would you agree with this?
    thx in advance.

    https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusio...s/td-p/8218063
    That's just showing dimensions in the model space. You cant add 3D dimensions in the drawings. And when dimensioning in model space you can only add so many dimensions before Fusion 360 wont let you add more because the Sketch becomes too constrained. That's a whole other topic though.

  5. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by Will Blick View Post
    Very interesting, thx Tim.

    I knew F360 integrated CAM, but was not aware that was the products hallmark.

    When u say, "plan", you do mean 2d drawings, right? just making sure.

    Considering your experience in CAD, and knowing the needs of the hobbiest ww, i.e. a typical workflow, design a 3d model of what we want to build, render to see wood types, then when happy, break parts out and dimension in 2d for detailed cut list.... is there CAD programs better designed for this simple and limited workflow? (which is also acts like standard CAD, so we can also design an occasionaly metal part to have CNC'd, etc)
    Or would you say F360 is as good as any for this workflow / basic tasks?
    I don't know of anything that does all of this in a "simple" application. My guess is that Inventor has this capability but it's very expensive. I used to be a millwork engineer and we used AutoCAD. One of the guys I worked with tried really hard to get the company to switch to Inventor because of functionality such as this.

    One thing I've learned in my professional life is that just isnt a single application that does everything you want it to do. I end up using a combination of Fusion, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, InDesign and sometimes SKetchUp to produce my plans. While AutoCAD could handle everything I need it's just too cumbersome in 3D mode. Someone more versed in AutoCAD 3D could probably make the type of plans I want as efficiently as I'd like but I am not at that level. And again, AutoCAD is really expensive.

  6. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by David L Morse View Post
    Oh, I can see where that would be nice for plans you sell. I've never had a need for that so that's new to me. Thanks for your explanation.
    Views like that are really handy for people that didn't design the piece. I never use those views when I am building but they go into my plans. Well, I shouldn't say never, but very rarely.

  7. #52
    i use autocad for design, but its what i feel comfortable with as i've been drafting for 25+ years. as for modeling software, i have both inventor and fusion and am teaching myself both. sketchup seems too bulky for me and i don't care for it.

  8. #53
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    So after much college-work, finals and the work season wrapping up, I finally made time to tinker with a 2 of these design softwares. I chose Fusion360 and Sketchup, and honestly I found Fusion360 as the obvious winner. I found it much easier to use and understand, plus the navigation is nicely compacted for all it's features. Sketchup on the otherhand was a bit different. Not sure if it was the 6 hours of Fusion360 withdraw but Sketchup seemed very difficult to navigate and perform simple procedures. I'm not sure if I was overlooking the navigation but I wouldnt find a quick and easy way to change the dimensions of objects and to just work with me. Of course this is my opinion on this comparison, but I'm happy with the results from my first project via Fusion360 - bathroom corner shelf.

    Edit: Not sure how much the features change from Free Version to Paid Version, but using my .Edu email allowed me to obtain a free full version copy. Either way i'm lucky for that!

  9. #54
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    The thread title initially threw me off! I started with AutoCAD over 20 years ago. I still use it for the majority of my 2D drawings, but I like Solid Works for the solid modeling stuff. I also use VCarve Pro and Aspire for the cnc wood router. I have been using Fusion 360 for the last year or so - particularly to create tool paths for some of my cnc stuff (routing aluminum and some plasma cutting). For the money (or lack of it) I think that Fusion 360 is your best bet. I have no experience with Sketchup, but from what I have heard - it does seem sort of "clunky".
    David

  10. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by David L Morse View Post
    So something like this?
    Or like this.


  11. #56
    Quote Originally Posted by Will Blick View Post
    am curious if other ww appreciate the value of parametrics?
    I run parametrics every day in SU with dynamic components

  12. #57
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    My comment may have already been made, but I couldn't find it. SketchUp (Make 2017) is indeed free at this point and, based on information online, will continue to be free essentially forever. The qualification is that the company that now owns SketchUp does not support this free version and, whatever is out there to download will stay the same into the future. So, as long as it works on your computer, you can use it. When Windows or Apple OS changes enough that the 2017 version won't work, that's it.

    So, the real question, at this point, is whether you want to invest a significant amount of time learning software that may not work for more that a couple more years. If I were acquiring 3D modeling software, I'd look for something else right now. What you need depends on what you make in your shop. Since I make various types of furniture and cabinets, some tables, etc. I need something that will produce those drawings without a substantial investment of my time to make the drawing or it's possible that it would be just as easy to use an old 2D drawing program I own called DeltaCad which is extremely easy to use; but only draws in 2D which means you must draw all views of your piece and make sure they all match in measurement. Still, for those of us who use a drawing program to make a few pieces a year, that is a good option worth considering.

    Other than that, I'm trying a program called SketchList (3D) which is OK but sometimes can be a little cumbersome. I will again try Fusion 360 but it seemed somewhat complicated to learn, especially if the free version may not be out there at some point in the future.

    I realize that software companies must charge to pay for updates to keep up with rapid changes in operating systems and computers. However, there are many users, like me, who only need drawing programs for the small number of projects we do every year. For that, spending several hundred dollars up front with annual maintenance fees just doesn't make sense. For us, companies should continue to make downloadable versions of the software which incorporate the basics requirements for woodworking. We don't need all the features that people in the business and professional world need to use it for our hobby.

    There still are one-time purchase applications available but they are hard to find and some just don't really work well for woodworking.

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