) Solidworks is actually very easy to use after you've jumped an initial learning curve and I'd seriously consider having a go with that instead as you'll be able to use it for a lot more than making pretty pictures.
I'm not much good at CAD (too old, everything new learned is something else forgotten) but I would like to get some idea of what my designs might
look like from various different angles before I go too far.
I've experimented with Sketchup, the 3D viewing is excellent and the price is good too (free), but haven't got very far.
Some people have, though, and some of the designs available from the Sketchup warehouse are pretty amazing. There's at least one I would like to
modify to suit my own ideas but I don't know how, yet, and I'd value others' opinions on whether or not is worth trying to acquire the
knowledge
John
Had a little play myself and seems like a good tool for making rough designs and sketches, not sure about using it for the final design of a chassis
as I'm not sure if you could export it into a FEA program to analyse it.
Ive used ProE, Solid Works and AutoCAD alot and Solid Works isnt too hard to pick up. You could design a fairly basic chassis without too much trouble
if you can use sketchup. There are loads of tutorials out there. They you can use the FEA to analyse it, even if you have to get someone else to do
the analysis at least you can export it and have the option.
[Edited on 18/10/2007 by greggors84]
Not sure if anyone has used it for much more than visualisation/packaging, but these threads show what has been done.
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=34895
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=32916
quote:
Originally posted by mr henderson
I'm not much good at CAD (too old, everything new learned is something else forgotten) but I would like to get some idea of what my designs might look like from various different angles before I go too far.
John
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=69629
quote:
Originally posted by Confused but excited.
Ever tried balsa wood?
quote:
Originally posted by greggors84
seems like a good tool for making rough designs and sketches, not sure about using it for the final design of a chassis
[Edited on 18/10/2007 by greggors84]
As long as you bear in mind it's realy only a visualisation tool then I'd say go for it. I've never bothered trying it but a lot of
people I work with have (for architectural visualisations) and after an inital 'wow this is amazing and really simple' honeymoon type period
have realised it has numerous shortcomings and have gone back to 3D Max because it's actually easier to do more with it (if you get what I mean -
probably not as I haven't explained it very well )
Solidworks is actually very easy to use after you've jumped an initial learning curve and I'd seriously consider having a go with that
instead as you'll be able to use it for a lot more than making pretty pictures.
quote:
Originally posted by mr henderson
quote:
Originally posted by Confused but excited.
Ever tried balsa wood?
No. I expect I would try some type of model (maybe even 1:1 scale) at a later stage, but the easy edit-ability of CAD is very attractive for the early stages of a project.
It's
really obvious if a fuel tank will/won't fit for example using a physical mode. I'm all for balsa models - especially if you want to see how wobbly (note the technical term there ) your chassis will be. FEA isn't
nearly as easy to use properly as an awful lot of people seem to think it is!
quote:
Originally posted by Tralfaz
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=69629
On Sketchup I can't comment but in regards learning a 3D tool in general it is ABSOLUTELY worth the effort.
You are looking at potentially the most powerful engineering - design tool in the workshop, at your finger tips you have more computing power
than put a man on the moon developed the 7, 917 and GT40 put together.
So to me it would seem a complete waste not to use as much of that power as possible so that your hard earned money and probably even harder to come
by time are not wasted in the shed, cock ups in the PC world are a lot cheaper to fix than in the real world.
Of course we're all doing this for FUN so if the idea of using the PC for design etc doesn't excite you then thats fair enough, but if you
want to do the best job possible that you are capable if doing then its a must do thing.
For my part so far I've had to learn 3 reasonably complex programs from scratch for my project. But I've also learned to TIG weld, a shed
load about suspension and a bunch of other stuff a good deal of which I wouldn't have been able to visualize or test without using pc tools.
Obviously the proof of the pudding is in the real world so prototyping things is also necessary but I couldn't count the iterations of design
I've been through before I even got to the first prototype.
I'll get off my soapbox now.
quote:
Originally posted by Confused but excited.
quote:
Originally posted by Tralfaz
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=69629
O.K. Ever tried straws?
Any plans to make that awesome sled a reality Tralfaz?