2D design: AutoCAD, GIMP, Inkscape
This week I made some 2D designs both for work reasons and for testing and exploring new design softwares.
AUTOCAD 2D
I have a lot of experience working with this software, especially in some jobs where I perform location and calculation of luminaires, it is a very good software in 2D design, it is only weak in artistic work since this is not its main function, for all the rest is excellent.
GIMP
For family reasons I decided to design a logo for a family business in software unknown to me, which I did not find very good for image editing and artistic work, the only problem I would have is that it seemed unintuitive to someone who It starts, but working one manages to take advantage of it.
INKSCAPE
To explore other drawing softwares I decided to use this because of its corel Draw-like environment, which I used to make a toon drawing of a piece of my project that I was devising, I found it very intuitive and easy to use.
2D/3D design: SolidWorks, rhino, freeCAD, TinkerCAD.
This week for the design I decided to test programs with different characteristics to have a range of possibilities when making the final designs for my project.
SOLIDWORKS
This program is where I have more experience, so I decided to make a more complex part of my design; designing the housing of a control cube with octagonal faces.
I started by modeling the front face of the cube, drawing an octagonal figure of 40 mm per side, extruding it and then performing an extrusion of two 8mm radius holes, whose centers are 13mm from the center of the figure, these measurements are taken thinking of placing an ultrasonic sensor hc-sr04 on this face.
I continued with the modeling of the pieces for the corners of the cube whose shape is of an equilateral triangle of side = 40mm, which were the most complicated to do, because it had to fit correctly on the sides of the octagons whose edges are chamfered in 45 degrees.
Once I had all the pieces, I proceeded to make the assembly of the pieces, in which I highlight the facilities that solidworks gives me to perform this procedure.
For the creation of the models I used tools, such as sketches, extrusion, chamfering, cutting extrusion, planes, symmetry, radial matrix, etc.
what facilitates the creation of models are the automatic references, in addition to the design tools, which have a friendly environment where exact measurements can be placed, making it easy to model complex solid pieces
exploded assembly video
RHINO 6
It is a software tool for three-dimensional modeling based on NURBS. It is a computer-aided design software created by Robert McNeel & Associates, originally as an aggregate for Autodesk AutoCAD. The program is commonly used for industrial design, architecture, naval design, jewelry design, automotive design, CAD / CAM, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering, as well as in the graphic and multimedia design industry.
I began to document myself about the program, for being the first time I used it; I did a practice with the help of my instructors, to adapt to the program, finding great advantages, such as when drawing organic shapes or when giving ergonomic shapes to objects; I also found disadvantages when working with solid objects or rigid forms.
To make a comparison with other design softwares, I decided to make a simple piece, the octagonal front face of my model, which was more complicated to do, due to my inexperience in the software and the limited 3D modeling tools, but I highlight the screen divided that allows to observe in real time all the main views of the model, in addition to the great facility to design organic forms.(for 2D drawings it is better to use other software).
FREECAD
It is a free application of three-dimensional computer-aided design, computer-aided engineering, for mechanical engineering assistance and the design of mechanical elements. It is based on Open CASCADE and programmed in the C ++ and Python languages.
This is the first time I use freecad software, I found an environment similar to other CAD software, but with fewer options at a glance, because many of the tools must be downloaded; Also that the work environment was not very intuitive for me.
Perform the modeling of the same piece as in the other software; Finding its strengths in mechanical design, understanding that it is free software, gives you the options for the construction of mechanical parts.
TINKERCAD
It is a free online 3D modeling program that runs in a web browser, known for its simple interface and ease of use.
In tinkercad software it is possible to model superimposed solids in a very intuitive way; Similar to softwares such as scratch, it is possible to model figures using parameters by entering the option Code blocks, where I modeled an octagonal figure chamfered at the edges
the online software stands out in the intuition of its use and in the attractiveness of its interfaces, where the step-by-step modeling of the piece can be observed; but it lacks the drawing of 2D drawings and more complex tools to accelerate the construction of mechanical parts. This software is very good for educational purposes.
CONCLUSIONS
SolidWorks software stands out in the modeling of rigid parts in 3D and 2D planes. Rhino software stands out in modeling curved shapes. The freeCAD software stands out for its easy installation and for being a free software for mechanical design, in addition to having a large community that supports it. The tinkerCAD online software, stands out for its intuitive and easy-to-use environment, although it lacks more professional options, you can create parts in a simple and interactive way.
Self evaluation
What problems did I have?
I had some problems getting used to the environments of some software.
How did I resolve the problems?
I looked for tutorials and the guide of my advisors to be able to better understand the software and its advantages.
What should I improve?
I must perfect the use of some of these software since they have very useful functions for future projects.