AutoCAD 2013

[SNCF stephen]

Hello,

 

So I have been on a 3 day CAD course this week which focussed on AutoCAD 2013. It is an impressive program but the course only taught the basics (what I need for work) and I now need to learn the 3D element of the program. Luckily they supplied me with a very comprehensive text book that would assist in learning the program's 3D elements. 

 

Therefore, I am interested to know if anyone else has used this program for sending stuff to Shapeways and the like? Is it easy to learn this element of the package or should I start from scratch with another piece of software that might work better? 

 

Any help would be gratefully received. 

 

Stephen

[Rammstein2609]

Hi Stephen,

 

If i remember correctly I think all the 3D print companies require the files to be in formats other than DWG or DXF (these are what Autocad outputs).  I always draw everything in Autocad 2010 then import the DWG file into 3DS Max Design by Autodesk and export them as OBJ or STL files.  These are accepted by Shapeways or iMaterialise.

 

I learned how to use all the 2D functions of Autocad at university but bought a book on all the 3D functions and taught myself like you plan on doing.  It is well worth it in the end if you are used to Autocad but if you are learning from scratch there may be other CAD programs out there which can get the drawing done quicker.  I find that drawing a model in 3D in Autocad it can be long winded to create a complex component. 

 

Cheers

 

Martin

[PJM]

To add to Martin's comment - up until very recently AutoCAD could not export to STL but now you can, but I have no experience of it's use with regards to STL export - but using it for 3D I do.

 

If you work with it all day, it is easier to learn than another programme. The challenge is looking at the same screen at the end of day at home - if you do - I struggle to stay awake with computers when at home.

 

If you are subscription user or your company is - there is the possibility of installing the software at home and transferring the licence (speak to your IT department).

 

 

With regards to the use of AutoCAD to draft in 3D - it can do most things expected ot it - the rule of thumb is the simpler the better.

 

 

Most ACIS solid shapes will start as 2D polylines etc - and I would suggest that you keep these in case you need to remake the solids.

 

Also with regards to lofting shapes along profiles (polyline) the trick is for each profile (polyline) to have the same number of vertices / same sequence / logical positions - in order to obtain predictable results so I tend to create the first profile then copy it to the second location and edit the positions of vertices and so on.

 

 

And when you need to join solids etc together by union or subtraction - adding shapes together before subtracting others proves to be a more predictable and stable process rather than a mixture.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Kind regards

 

Paul

[SNCF stephen]

Thank you both for your replies. Luckily AutoCAD is not something I use all day (MapInfo on the other hand is...). I have a student license on my machine for learning the product on and I am hoping to have a go at something next week. I am going to start with some basic stuff first. 

[AJ427]

Hi Stephen,

 

I use autocad for my shapeways 3d prints with no problems. As Paul says the export to .stl function is fairly recent - remember to set facetres to 10 as, iirc I think this affects the resolution of the .stl. The full 3d functionality is also a fairly recent addition and I would agree with Martin that it may be a long winded way of doing things for a new user and there is probably more dedicated 3d software. I've been using autocad for 15 years+ in mainly a 2d capacity so the evolution to full 3d work was only a small learning curve for me.