CAD Questions Thread?

[Sam@NP]

How many people in here use or have used Catia V5?

 

[conneh]

Yea it needs to be in cad. I can do it in 2d view with ease, but then when I need to copy it and make it look like a bridge I can't as it's all on the flat and not vertical.

 

[Meek_racing]

What do you want from this? Just a render or detailed drawing? PM me sizes and what exactly you want to achieve and I will try to squeeze something in after work next week.

May just submit my paint drawing. This is all i wanna draw

 

[conneh]

If i draw one of the pillars in 2D (which i have too anyway aswell), can i then flip that up so it sits up right to then create the 3D model?

 

[Rob]

Yes, but 2d needs to be 2d, not isometric or anything, you know?

 

[conneh]

I think i know, i'm drawing one of the collumns now in 2D which i have to do as a detailed drawing. I then have to to it in 3D as a detailed drawing - simple, just extrude it and add depth dimensions.

Once thats done i just need to then mock up the bridge in 3D - which i'm assuming can be done by just taking the 3D extruded bits, flipping and copying? ;p

 

[Rob]

Essentially.

Draw in 2d

Extrude

Face correct way

Copy from reference point and set distance, double distance to repeat, triple if necessary.

 

[conneh]

Yea thats my plan. Thank you xx

 

[Ray Gin]

Do any of you guys know how I would go about acquiring a SolidWorks CAD program for personal use? Can you buy it from PC World, or is it a license that's needed to buy/download etc?

Thanks

 

[Meek_racing]

go on solidworks uk website or contact the re-sellers, Solid Solutions Management and NT CADCAM are the main sellers in the UK. tbh, just download a trial version off the SW website for a 30 day trial, or just geta hooky copy off the net.

 

[Gouldy]

I'm not sure if this is in the right thread but it is a CAD question.

What CAD qualifications are there?, how long is your average CAD course? And how much are they to do?

Due to recent ongoings I am looking at alternative career paths within the construction industry and I am interested in becoming a designer.

 

[Rob]

If you want to ask anything mate, feel free.

As for qualifications, I think it's like a level one, level two type thing. I haven't done any yet, but will be doing one soon just so I'm "officially" qualified.

 

[Andy_con]

am also interested in gaining a cad qualification

 

[Kitestyle]

When drawing in 3D view... my straight lines are vertical however when i draw a circle/arc - it is drawing it horiz, any idea? Pissing me off.

Circle will only draw in x/y plane (ie default is flat on page when viewed from above. Never in x/z or y/z. So you need to rotate UCS so that X/y plane is in direction you want to draw circle. Work out which needs rotating (x or y or z) so that you can draw the circle in x/y. Then type UCS -> (x or y or z) --> 90 to rotate it 90 (or -90 if it goes the wrong way).

If you can't see UCS icon type ucsicon then ON.

Just read up on UCS basically. Can't draw in 3D without understanding it.

 

[Kitestyle]

Got a question about CAD, ask in this thread and im sure someone in the know will anwser.

heres my first question, how do i raise the dimensions so when i look from top view i can actually see the lines. as currently they go under the object

Select dims, move --> @0,0,100 (instead of 100 use any value same or higher than the part you're drawing). use DI with snaps on to measure height if you're unsure.
or
recreate dims, snap onto top of part not bottom!

 

[Gouldy]

If you want to ask anything mate, feel free.

As for qualifications, I think it's like a level one, level two type thing. I haven't done any yet, but will be doing one soon just so I'm "officially" qualified.

I have used CAD before and I could do the basic stuff on it but it's been a while. Have you looked into the courses Rob and how much they are ?

 

[conneh]

Made good progress today, got my 2D and 3D detail sorted. Just need to remove the crap and create a 3D model out of it now.

 

[conneh]

How do i make my object vertical? I'm guessing i use USC to flip the XYZ so its sat on it?

ALIGN command is doing something close to what i want it to do ;x

EDIT

Done using 3DALIGN

 

[conneh]

Why can't i convert this polyline to a 3D solid?

http://i42.tinypic.com/x4gie1.jpg

If i extrude it i just get a surface solid and not a 3D solid so when it's rendered you can see right through it.

Tried CONVTOSOLID etc.

 

[glenn_adam_doble]

Why is autoCAD so popular for experience when applying for a job, everywhere I look this crops up, is it because it was the industry norm since cad became used and people haven't moved on to new things or is it really that good,

I'm looking for jobs that require solidworks, but its difficult to find them and the only jobs that tend to use it that I know of are mechanical engineers but I don't have a HND in said field, so no one is interested.

I know a couple of mechanical engineers and tbh I don't know if they could write their own name on a word document never mind use solidworks or similar cad packages.

I am about to graduate with a product design degree and I'm looking for a job using solidworks, could anyone point me in the direction of what I should be looking for ?

Thanks

 

[conneh]

Ok sorted that out, extruded it in 3D wireframe view. How do i extrude past 100000mm now :/

 

[conneh]

Well i'm chuffed with what i got so far.

Never done 3D before, doesn't look like much but has taken me a while - learning bits and bobs as i go!

 

[conneh]

Ok, going to need more help now/pointers.

Is it possible to add a ground in 3Ds Max, and do some contours to meet at each end? I need to render it so some tips/pointers to tutourials on basic lighting would be much appreciated - basically make it look more 'pretty' and 'realistic'

 

[conneh]

Anyone about today? Basically finished, just need someone to tell me how to extend a render. I slowed it down 1/4x in the time management and that was about the speed i wan't my fly around to be. However, when i rendered it - it rendered it at 1x - which is too quick. How do i properly slow the camera down?

 

[Rob]

You should be able to extend the actual time line, whether by dragging, or right clicking, that should do it.

I'm not too up on 3DS Max, I was more of a Maya guy!

 

[Rob]

I'd also suggest importing some free pre-made models of cars etc, maybe some landscape to go either side?

Somewhere like turbo squid will have a load of free cars you could import to make it look better.

 

[conneh]

I done my own landscape, created a plan and added a heighfield map - then extruded that. Worked out alright, looks ok - i just can't get a material to look too good on it. It doesn't look great, i don't even have to do a VR anymore but i did it anyway for bonus points. Spent hours playing with bitmaps and the material editor to try and find something that looks resonable. I'll take a look at finding some pre made cars.

 

[Eddie.]

I don't have the faintest idea on the ins and outs of 3Ds or anything (I use AR4) but are there any shader options you can use?

I have the option to use a shader, which allows complex curves to have textures, without blurring/distorting them. A simple grass based shader would look much better on that.

Failing that, I would leave it a light shade of white/grey. That way the bridge stands out.

Focus on getting your design looking correct, the bridge is what you are working on and is what should look best. You need some life in the image, cars/people and some better managed shadows would look much much nicer

Not really the same sort of thing as you're doing, but see below for an example of my recent work:

Pooler Design 001 V1 (Edited) by Eddie the Kid, on Flickr

You're looking for "realism plus" I know it sounds daft, but imho, it's a bit like OEM+. You want it to look real, plus a little bit more, of course in my opinion.

 

[conneh]

I know what you mean, and i would like that! But right now i dont have the time. People from my course have seen what i done and apparently they think it's 'good'. I'm not happy wth it, and i'm also not ashamed as it's my first ever attempt at anything remotely 3D. I'm a civil engineer so i 3D cad isn't what i solely do, it was just a module we had for this year.

I have done everything the brief has asked me to do, so i'm just gonna tinker some more and have done with it

 

[Scrooge]

Anyone know how to import an .arg file to LT?

 

[Scrooge]

Anyone know how to import an .arg file to LT?

Don't worry, I sorted it.

 

[Knuckles]

any UG people about? i've managed to import a datum co-ordinates system into a drawing as well as what looks like a body meauserment point. f**k knows how

oddly though its only showing in the assembly drawing, not in the individual part drawings.

but yeah, can anyone aid me in removing them?

 

[Andy_con]

doing my head in now, i inserted some blocks - some other drawings id done. all the layers came across and it wont let me do anything with them, i want to delete them.

why wont it let me??

 

[CHRIS172CUP]

I have used CAD before and I could do the basic stuff on it but it's been a while. Have you looked into the courses Rob and how much they are ?

Is it courses for jobs or learning the package? I picked autocad LT up in about a week just messing about with it. Using vectorworks previously a bit may have helped, just get a hooky copy and mess around with it.

The guys i work with use it for 3D, i'm on something else.

 

[CHRIS172CUP]

I don't have the faintest idea on the ins and outs of 3Ds or anything (I use AR4) but are there any shader options you can use?

I have the option to use a shader, which allows complex curves to have textures, without blurring/distorting them. A simple grass based shader would look much better on that.

Failing that, I would leave it a light shade of white/grey. That way the bridge stands out.

Focus on getting your design looking correct, the bridge is what you are working on and is what should look best. You need some life in the image, cars/people and some better managed shadows would look much much nicer

Not really the same sort of thing as you're doing, but see below for an example of my recent work:

Pooler Design 001 V1 (Edited) by Eddie the Kid, on Flickr

You're looking for "realism plus" I know it sounds daft, but imho, it's a bit like OEM+. You want it to look real, plus a little bit more, of course in my opinion.

Nice render

 

[Millsy]

doing my head in now, i inserted some blocks - some other drawings id done. all the layers came across and it wont let me do anything with them, i want to delete them.

why wont it let me??

Tried purging?

Type purge, then purge all

 

[Eddie.]

Nice render

Cheers mate

 

[Rob]

Andy, although there's nothing on that layer, the contents of the block you imported are probably on that layer.

Insert the block (onto another layer), open the block in block editor, select all, move to a different layer, save.

Try to delete again.

 

[pug_leg]

any UG people about? i've managed to import a datum co-ordinates system into a drawing as well as what looks like a body meauserment point. f**k knows how

oddly though its only showing in the assembly drawing, not in the individual part drawings.

but yeah, can anyone aid me in removing them?

bit slow on the uptake, sorry. usual things to check for things like this are layer settings or show/hide settings. if its only a problem in your assembly drawing it could be to do with the reference sets selected for the components in thebassembly.

 

[Rob]

OK so this is probably a n00b question, but it's what happens when you've taught yourself.

Anyway:

I've got a drawing that if I paste stuff into, it comes out 90 degree different to the other drawings.

Is this a case of rotating the UCS or something?