how do use CAD

[paffy]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Rikard Levenstam
	I have designed and machined in my CNC machine, i can tell you that this will need aloooot of time and knolleage... Please look at my Sukhoi if interested in Cad/CAM www.modellbyggeriet.se/sukhoi My next project ready for machining is a small F3A machine (935mm span) Good luck! /Rikard

That's some excellent work !!

[hipollito]

hey do any one of you use some other program besides CAD, I know how to use Inventor, 3d viz and alias studio tools 13, and alias roks yo can do anything then export it to cad, and on inventor you can do the 3d modeling and make the plans veeeeeery fast
I havent done airplanes, but lamps, boats, cars and other things maybe I will gie it a try sometime, when I have less projects...

[CSpaced]

	Quote: Originally Posted by hipollito
	hey do any one of you use some other program besides CAD, I know how to use Inventor, 3d viz and alias studio tools 13, and alias roks yo can do anything then export it to cad, and on inventor you can do the 3d modeling and make the plans veeeeeery fast I havent done airplanes, but lamps, boats, cars and other things maybe I will gie it a try sometime, when I have less projects...

3DS MAx and Solidworks all the way....

[Ian]

Solidworks is awesome IMO. Ive tried autoCAD 2007 and didnt like it at all, the 3D work was nearing impossible

Heres something im playing with at the moment, a scratch built heli, this is lower and upper main frames, motor (hacker A40-s) in blue. started the other day, got a lot of work to do on it.

Ian

[CSpaced]

Looks sharp!

[Ion01]

Ian,
I think you found it difficult because the "language" is so different from solidworks. I have always used autocad so I am deeply familiar with it and the first time I used solidworks I didn't get it at all just because the process was so different. If I were to go to solidworks I would probably have to take classes before I could be even near as proficiant as I am with autocad. Of course, I have been looking at it really closely and I think if I can become as proficient that in actuality I could become even more efficient with it because of the way things are designed in it. I also have used inventor and didn't like it as much even though I was more familiar with it. I eventually decided to stick with autocad 2007 because I do so many different types of drawings that I felt it was the most flexible. but thats just my opinion and fact is if I were working in a different industry and the job requirements were different then I may have chosen a different program.

[CSpaced]

For me, at the end of the day it is a library of programs that gets the job done and their ability to interact with each other. SW or ACAD would be useless to me if they didn't have the ability to export different file types to be used in other software. The more you use different programs the easier it gets to learn a new one, but I imagine that if you are a sole user of one particular software then it will feel very foreign trying to learn something new.

[Ion01]

It is pretty difficult when you have done something a certain way for so long. This is why people have such a problem changing even if something really is that much better. Its kind of like when I tried to fly heli's (I personally have never like helis as much as airplanes) and I was so used to flying airplanes that I had a horrible time braking certain habits in order to fly the heli proficiently. It got quite frustrating but I did learn (I never did get to the point that I could 3d them)

[Ian]

Deffinatly, its like learning another language.

I learn most of what i know, CAD wise, in a program called proDesktop, its an educational version of proEngineer. I just however got Solidworks, and its very simular, so luckily i picked it up fairly fast, but im still learning some of its quirks and differences.

Looking at AutoCAD 3D again, and yes, its a totally different "language", and im way too stubbern to bother looking at it. anyway, i just do this CAD thing to relieve a bit of bordum, and for fun, so im just going to stick with what i know, i dont really want to go into the design industry, unless its for models or something, but thats not really what im looking at.

Heres my heli so far, its now onto a diet!

[Ion01]

Thats some good cad work! Keep it up.

[Worldraft]

If you ever need to change a plan to smaller or bigger scale do not take a pic because the lines will be distorted, not much maybe but distorted none the less. The way to go is to have the plans scaned then you can import in Acad after wich you can draw over them. When this is all done scale to what you want. This way is a lot of work but you will get a good straight scale.
I'm doing this with with my plan as we speek and it's comming a long great.
Have a good build and most of all have fun doing it.
Jean Forgues