Hi Alex,
Iâve been working in 2D / 3D CAD for 20+ years and have used all the big names as well as the free software for weekend projects etc.
The answer to your question really comes from asking a question. That question is âWhat do you want to model?â
If the answer is Geometric, engineering type parts e.g. brackets, enclosures etc then Iâd go for the Pro-E (or is it Creo now), Solidworks, Inventor, 123D Design, TinkerCAD style software as they are easy to start using and the models are driven by dimensions. Meaning the editing is as simple as changing a dimension size.
If the answer is Organic, natural type parts e.g. fractal driven parts etc then Iâd go for the 3D MAX, Rhino, Blender style software as they are far better at direct face manipulation.
But what does that mean?
Ok, so lets say yo want a 100mm x 50mm x 25mm box. Any software can do that, nice and easy.
So now you want to wrap the box in text so the letters are âgapsâ in the box. Again easy for any software.
Now you think "hmm i want to âdentâ the box lid a little or add some cool curves to the box.
Using the âEngineeringâ type software youâll have to edit your box initial shape and then work on any errors that get thrown up by the text cut operations etc.
Using the âOrganicâ software you simply hit the correct tool and drag the faces how ever you want them. Youâll see the faces distort and have better control over the distortion BUT youâll distort the text too.
What I am really trying to get across here is that the software you use greatly depends on how you want to model and WHAT you want to model.
Try sticking with 123D Design for âEngineeringâ parts and give Blender a go for âOrganicâ parts. Both are free and have a good info base on Youtube.
Finally, I also want to mention something called âDesign Intentionâ. This is the thing you need in the back of your mind while modeling. Usually it makes you aware of how you model, âdo I INTEND this hole to be 10mm in from the left side or 50mm in from the right sideâ This makes a difference when editing the part and is usually the biggest cause of the well know âWhy has the model changed shape in THAT way?â
To make things a little more interesting, Design Intention also drives your design with respect to the manufacturing process you INTEND to use. You âIntendâ to 3D print the part so you model something that can actually be 3D printed, thinking about overhangs, print bed orientation, support material etc etc etc.
Best example I can think of is âI want to 3D model a carâ, cool sounding project and the result will be photo real images. But TOTALLY different to âI want to 3D model a car for 3D printingâ where the result will be a real object.
In conclusion, there are a whole ton of things to think about when 3D modeling and even more to think about when 3D printing. The software you use to model isnât really the biggest driving factor. The first thing Iâd recommend to anyone is to go with 1 package, what ever it is, create some parts and after a few weeks decide if itâs what you want.
hope this helps
Steve
