Mark J Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 Does anyone have much experience with Solidworks? A friend of mine suggested the product to me when I was lamenting that neither Sketchup nor Fusion360 were doing quite what I wanted. Solidworks looks a little daunting and there doesn't appear to be a free option as far as I can see at their website. Is it hard or easy to learn and use? Any trial opportunity you know of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 Sorry, no real experience aith solidworks. It appears to be along the lines of Fusion 360, but more mature and probably more advanced. If you want a free way to dip your toes into the parametric modeling world, I can recommend FreeCAD as a very powerful tool. And it is, well....free. If you are migrating from Sketchup, be prepared for the learning curve. Sketchup is a video game compared to full parametric modeling. You really have to think ahead to achieve the best result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 Solidworks is serious $$$. About $5300 for an annual license. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 27 minutes ago, Mick S said: Solidworks is serious $$$. About $5300 for an annual license. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted August 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 28 minutes ago, Chet said: +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 I don’t know your situation, but if you qualify for the student/faculty edition it is only $150 per year. I had a chance to play with it a bit years ago, but didn’t have a chance to really see all it was capable of. If you are trying to find something better for your bowls, I’m not sure any software can handle those designs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 3 hours ago, Mark J said: A friend of mine suggested the product to me when I was lamenting that neither Sketchup nor Fusion360 were doing quite what I wanted. What do you want it to do that it's not doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 Can’t comment on Solidworks but I’ve gone from Sketchup to Onshape and in the last few weeks started to try Fusion 360. Onshape is a great free online program that has similar features to Fusion but in a stripped down way. I think Fusion is the way to go for me. Just got to spend the time to learn it. The drawings I’ve seen on on Fusion look realistic and quite complex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peepaw Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 If you need design help I can help you. Otherwise what everyone else says, it's expensive and there is a learning curve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted August 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 10 hours ago, Llama said: What do you want it to do that it's not doing? I turn forms like these... ...and I would like to model them before I settle on a final design. This drawing was done in Sketchup, but takes a lot of labor. I create a 2D cross section of the side wall. "Follow me" this into a 3D shape. I then create a 3D squared block to represent the wood and superimpose the two models in exact alignment. The two models are joined with "intersect faces". Now I laboriously remove every line segment that is not part of both models. This takes a solid day of work. I am looking for a process that is easier and faster so that I can readily try small changes to the idea. Also Sketchup cannot draw a true curve, only polygons so I am left with lines and facets on the drawing which are distracting. This also means that instead of a single curved segment to remove I may have to delete 10 smaller straight segments. Fusion 360 does not seem to have an equivalent to the "intersect faces" function, hence my friend suggested Solidworks, but that price is too steep. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 Combine is what you are looking for. It's a tool that is used to subrtract a solid from another solid. Fur turnings revolve is your friend and combine (subtract or cut) is how you'd remove the portions in the quadrants like you typically do. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted August 19, 2019 Report Share Posted August 19, 2019 5 hours ago, Mark J said: I turn forms like these... I agree with Chestnut. Looks like a revolve with some combine features would get you there. Another way would be to use construction planes and form the swooping layers on each, then combine with the triangular pieces. You could make the whole thing use parameters so you could very quickly change the shape and feel of the design quite easily. The use of parameters would also allow you to create the base shape then size it to your workpiece. Another way would be a combination of the above methods and using the shell tool for removed material. You can change this on the fly as well. I usually create a parameter for shell to see what different thicknesses will look like. Possibly another way is to use the mesh model feature. I have very little experience with it, but it looks like you could really come up with some cool designs using that method. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 20, 2019 Report Share Posted August 20, 2019 @Chestnut and @Llama have it right. And I woukd encourage you to at least give FreeCAD a try, it does all of that and is truly free to use. No 'trial period', no 'Educational license', no fees. I know I'm starting to sound like a sales rep, but frankly, I'm just really impressed with the program. Did I mention, it's free? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted August 20, 2019 Report Share Posted August 20, 2019 Hum i don't think that you mentioned that FreeCAD was free.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted August 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2019 But is she easy? I mean is it easy, is it easy? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 20, 2019 Report Share Posted August 20, 2019 7 hours ago, Mark J said: But is she easy? I mean is it easy, is it easy? Free and Easy are definitely two separate things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted August 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2019 Looks like I'm going to have to climb the learning curve on one of these programs. For Fusion I probably need an updated computer. My last foray into Fusion seemed to tax my 2012 laptop. @wtnhighlander any good training videos or books on how to use FreeCAD? Does it run on Windows 7? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted August 20, 2019 Report Share Posted August 20, 2019 I think the nature of your operations will be fairly demanding in any software, so a computer upgrade might be worthwhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 21, 2019 Report Share Posted August 21, 2019 12 hours ago, Mark J said: @wtnhighlander any good training videos or books on how to use FreeCAD? Does it run on Windows 7? Tons of video on YT. Pay attention to version numbers, as there are noticable differences. Don't be disturbed by the low release numbers, it's been under development for almost 20 years. Yes, it runs on Win7, and is pretty light on resources. I use it on a 5 year -old amd laptop with only 4 GB of ram. Even if you switch to another application later, the concepts you learn will apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Coop Posted August 21, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted August 21, 2019 If I had to rely on any of these to build a project, I might as well just go inside and watch soap operas. Give me a Big Chief Tablet and a #2 pencil any day 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted August 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2019 Actually, Coop, I agree with you. When I can rely on 2D I prefer to just draw it. Sometimes what I'm thinking is too complicated for me to visualize withput 3D rendering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 21, 2019 Report Share Posted August 21, 2019 It helps others (wife, client, etc...) visualise, too. I use it mainly to assist with dimensioning complex objects that must fit a space, like cabinets or built-ins, and for trying out different joints before making the first cut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted August 22, 2019 Report Share Posted August 22, 2019 On 8/21/2019 at 4:57 AM, wtnhighlander said: It helps others (wife, client, etc...) visualise, too. Yep! And the better the visuals, the more money they pay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted September 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2019 I just gotta say that I am finding FreeCAD and Fusion 360 difficult to learn. I've been working on FreeCAD these last several days using written material from the FreeCAD site and a video tutorial for v0.14 (currently it's v0.18). I am nowhere. After a great deal of effort I managed to make two solid objects and superimpose them, but as soon as I try the Boolean operations the whole thing disappears. Undo, try again, try something else, same result... poof. Finally the thing disappeared and no amount of undo would bring it back. So I hit the little red x in the top right corner. I am frustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 17, 2019 Report Share Posted September 17, 2019 @Mark J your frustration is understandable. I suggest searching youtube for video tutorials on freecad than are more closely matched to the version you are using. There are significant differences between 0.14 and 0.18. I must admit that while FreeCad is good at making parts, creating multi-part assemblies still frustrates me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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