User-friendly cost-effective 3-d modeling software 3

[boltonza]

Hello,
I currently am working on a project for our enclosure manufacturing plant where we are looking to model all our standard enclosures in 3-d. We have a seat of Mechanical Desktop, but I've heard good things about Solidworks. Will the files we create be viewable by someone with an AutoCad seat? We are just looking to get our products out there to be viewed in the 3-dimensional state and are not too picky about surface clarity or anything like that. Any suggestions of software which may suit our need?
Signed,
Zack

 

[MacGyverS2000]

SolidWorks has eDrawings, which are essentially self-contained 3D image viewers. It allows the viewer to use perspective, rotate, shade, plane slice to view internal features, etc. Pretty powerful. After you finish a component, send your client an eDrawing as an executable.

 

[MadMango]

It sounds like you want 3d models more for marketing than for manufacturing. Is this correct?

If so, then there are far cheaper 3d CAD systems out there for this. I would look into Alibre (~$700). If you are truely lookng at 3d CAD for manufacturing, then I would look into SolidWorks and SolidEdge (~$5k).

Ray Reynolds
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[tygerdawg]

Also, to answer your question:
the only way something in SolidWorks or any of the others can be seen by someone with an AutoCAD seat is after you create a drawing file of the solid model. The drawing will be typical engineering drawing, either dimensioned or assy drawing.

Most 3D packages allow you to export the drawing you created in the AutoCAD .dwg and/or .dxf format. Pretty much the same thing as with your MechDesk, just one extra step.

pssssst! Big whopping hint: MechDesk is a dinosaur! Get SolidWorks, Inventor, Alibre, or any of the others.

TygerDawg

 

[knobhead]

Cheap and cheerful and easy to use is Rhino 3D

http://www.rhino3d.com

Autocad-ish in use, can read and write dwgs, and even has a built in renderererer (or however you say it) which allows you to create near-photorealistic images for you marketing.
Importantly it also uses NURBS for geometry, which means the accuaracy of the model is good enough for manufacture.

Ditch Mechdesk, it's horrible.

Also Pro Engineer do a cut down version called Desktop which is supposed to be pretty good. They were doing a free version but have stopped now, though you might be able to find a mirror somewhere to download it.

Or you can get OpenCascade, which is an open source 3d modelling and lots of extras too program (

http://www.opencascade.org).

That is very good and it's completely free.


Excessive accuaracy is a sign of poor breeding. -Socrates.

 

[ianholmes]

Look at turbocad professional. You can export to VRML and then anyone with a web browser can see a rotatable 3D model.
It is very cost effective at under 200GBP at entry level.

 

[Theophilus]

We use SolidWorks for the above-mentioned positive attributes and get a lot out of it--including photo-realistic renderings for the marketing folk.

Rhino is OK, but the NURBS-based models can be a hassle in translating to other model forms for manufacturing. SolidWorks has great translation into manufacturing formats that seem to have excellent read-in results (like valid surfaces and surface knits, etc.). Rhino tends to like splines to the point of wiping out simple forms such as arcs to create the equivalent in a spline--not so good for manufacturing. Perhaps the newer releases have different exporting options now--I haven't used it for a couple of years.

Ditch Mechdesk, it's horrible.

(By the way, we have some newer thumb-nail renderings posted on our projects page at our web site for reference--all done in SolidWorks.)




Jeff Mowry
Industrial Designhaus, LLC

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

 

[brengine]

#1) Listen to MadMingo
#2) eDrawings would definitely be the way to do this if you wanted to purchased SolidWorks. The eDrawings are basically a stand-alone file that opens up as a viewer with it's own interface...no other programs need be installed on the machine, only the eDrawing file.

Ken