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I hope this is close to appropriate for this thread, apologies if not. Anyone have any tips for taking good reference photos of parts to be used as a projection canvas in Fusion 360 (or any other CAD I guess)? Other than just being right on top of the part, I always feel like I’ve got some weird perspective skew. Just wondering if there are any best practices, ideal setup, etc exists. I’m just using my iPhone but if there’s a recommended lens setup I can definitely pop my DSLR out.
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Apr 15, 2022 18:56
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some kinda jackal posted:I hope this is close to appropriate for this thread, apologies if not. I try to get a calibration grid in the picture so it can be used for perspective correction. When possible a flatbed scanner will give good results. As long as the part is fairly flat.
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Apr 15, 2022 21:38
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Shoot them as square as possible and with a long lense from a ways away imo, it'll reduce the perspective and flatten the image and prevent barrel distortion. Close and wide is usually worst case for a good reference photo. Seconding have a grid in the image as well, but try to make sure it's not too far behind the item so it doesn't throw off the scale.
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Apr 15, 2022 22:01
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If you cant get a grid or anything, at least throw a tape measure or ruler or something on there. That helps a ton with being able to sort out the distortion.
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Apr 15, 2022 23:04
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All those are awesome tips! You can’t totally account for parallax error on everything, unfortunately. What are you trying to photograph? Often for engineered parts there’s no substitute for calipers and legwork, unfortunately.
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Apr 15, 2022 23:34
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Honestly? I didn't even consider flatbed scanner. Most of my stuff just needs rough dimensioning and that is probably the outright best way to do it. I can add a handful of rulers alongside as well. Perfect, thanks! I'm trying to DIY a rotopax adapter for a non-rotopax box, and I kind of posted this before I realized the easiest way is to just caliper the absolute extents of the rotopax mounting handle as you said, add a few mm for slop and call it a day since everything is friction fit and compresses down. This is what I came up with in 30 minutes of trying to remember how to use F360. The calibration thing was genius and I was hoping something like that existed. Still have to add slots in the middle of the body to secure the bolts coming in from the bottom but I've gotta hit up home depot to see what I have access to. Then it's a quick export and a few hours in the resin printer to prototype. I only made it this weird shape because I have a rectangular small-ish resin vat. The easier (but maybe not ideal, since it would be excessively bulky) solution would have been to just print this as a circle.  For reference, this is trying to emulate the center of a rotopax canister:  except I want to use it to mount a pelican case knockoff to my bike. Plan is just to cut a small slot in the bottom of the case, print this out and screw this in from underneath, and then it can mount using my existing rotopax mount. I'll probably add some kind of rubber gasket to keep the super obvious moisture out but by no means do I intent to make this splashproof. The way it's mounted on my bike is upright, at least, and in an area where the bike would need to be under water to actually have any significant moisture ingress. Definitely a risk, but a decent trade-off IMO  e: for clarity, I have zero industrial design experience. This is very much an amateur first attempt. I am very very very likely making some really boneheaded design decisions that I'll discover after my first trial print, and if not then then definitely subsequently when I mount it on my bike and something fractures from stress. Definitely my attempt at minimizing bulk but not so much that it's overly fragile or thin in ways that make sense to my amateur design sensibilities. Stay tuned 
some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Apr 16, 2022 |
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Apr 16, 2022 01:47
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Trying to imagine the worst case scenario of your first 3D printed part failing on the highway at 80mph and the mushroom cloud it would create when the gas in that tank instantly aerosolized
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Apr 16, 2022 18:11
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Hi I just came here from the 3D printing thread and I really hope you're going to use a material that can handle UV exposure without breaking down.
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Apr 16, 2022 19:45
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It’s mounted inside inside a closed case — if it gets a lot of UV exposure I’m pretty sure I’ve got bigger problems 
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Apr 16, 2022 20:43
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Looking forward to your trip report from the ICU of your nearest hospital.
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Apr 16, 2022 22:32
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I do not think it's a good idea to replace an extremely tough roto-molded polypropylene feature on a part designed to hold 10 pounds of gas, with a 3D-printed part (on an SLA, to boot -- the material is brittle and becomes more so as it ages) that will be holding up a pelican case loaded with who knows what. If you want to do this, I would first calculate the expected torque on the mounting point from the fuel canister and also from your proposed setup to see if they're remotely similar. Then I would make the part itself out of something really tough, like machined HDPE, and bolt it onto the case. Hell, even a wooden block of the right shape would be better. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 22:44 on Apr 16, 2022 |
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Apr 16, 2022 22:40
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Ok, all valid points. I’ll reconsider.
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Apr 16, 2022 23:04
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I think it's a cool project though, and support this for off-road purposes
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Apr 17, 2022 01:36
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I'm trying to design something like an analog button, that will tell you how far down it's being pressed. This is going to go on the bottom of something like a flute that rests on your leg: an electronic Uileann bagpipe. I'm planning to use magnets to have the button spring back out when you lift it off your leg, and use a linear hall effect sensor to measure the depth it's pressed in. It's okay if you don't know what this means (but maybe you do, and can tell me I'm making a mistake here). The issue I'm having is that the mechanism sticks. Here's what it looks like:  The gray disks are ceramic magnets. The three holes are for the sensor, which will lay flat against the post. You stick the two parts together, compress the magnets past flush, rotate clockwise 30 degrees, and let go, and it pops out and you have your button. Most of the time. Sometimes it sticks because the 3D printed layers are binding against one another. Does anyone here work with physical gizmos enough to have advice on this? I might try printing it sideways to see if it runs smoother, or maybe just sanding the pieces would be enough. But I'm hoping that someone who doesn't blow goats when it comes to mechanical design can toss me a few pointers on how to improve this. Thanks!
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Apr 17, 2022 04:55
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cruft posted:Does anyone here work with physical gizmos enough to have advice on this? I might try printing it sideways to see if it runs smoother, or maybe just sanding the pieces would be enough. But I'm hoping that someone who doesn't blow goats when it comes to mechanical design can toss me a few pointers on how to improve this. You're trying to get a slip fit which will be challenging with short throw switches. Another potential difficulty is roundness of the two parts. A good, non-3d printed example is an industrial push button. They have a bore with a fairly tight fitting, smooth, shaft. We have high cycle machines at work and even with a ton of lithium grease that bore wears out and the button sticks. There are a lot of places that friction or poor fit can seize up your mechanism. One spot I'd look at is adding a second tab for support so keep it from moving about the axis of motion. I'd do it on each of the switch arms. 
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Apr 17, 2022 12:30
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cruft posted:I'm trying to design something like an analog button, that will tell you how far down it's being pressed. This is going to go on the bottom of something like a flute that rests on your leg: an electronic Uileann bagpipe. I'm planning to use magnets to have the button spring back out when you lift it off your leg, and use a linear hall effect sensor to measure the depth it's pressed in. It's okay if you don't know what this means (but maybe you do, and can tell me I'm making a mistake here). redo the design so your sliding contact surfaces are on one axis offset to the side and then implement it with dowel pins and a reamer, and then open up the clearances inside the magnet bore until everything in there is free floating with no contact.
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Apr 17, 2022 14:57
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shame on an IGA posted:redo the design so your sliding contact surfaces are on one axis offset to the side and then implement it with dowel pins and a reamer, and then open up the clearances inside the magnet bore until everything in there is free floating with no contact. I almost think I understand what you're suggesting. Unfortunately, I can't have the pins go through the back of the button, because there's going to be other stuff behind it. Based on what Yooper wrote, I'm now looking into using a Time Of Flight sensor instead, which will allow me to have no moving parts, at the cost of requiring a custom printed circuit board. Which I guess is still CAD work, so I'll keep y'all posted. I should probably be documenting this whole process with photos and videos, it would probably make an interesting HCH thread since it ties in so many different areas.
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Apr 17, 2022 15:05
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cruft posted:I almost think I understand what you're suggesting. Unfortunately, I can't have the pins go through the back of the button, because there's going to be other stuff behind it. https://www.pololu.com/product/2490 This is probably small/cheap enough you can use it as is without needing a custom PCB. This sensor is super easy to work with.
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Apr 17, 2022 17:29
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L0cke17 posted:https://www.pololu.com/product/2490 I've actually been playing with a vl6180x, which is closely related to this, but is better for shorter distances. The thing I'm trying to put it into is about 12mm in diameter, which means this PCB is almost 2x too wide. I'm reading up on how to solder linear grid array chips now. Looks like a heat gun is in my future. E: some rando on eBay has a dinky one already made! Hooray, I'm saved! cruft fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Apr 17, 2022 |
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Apr 17, 2022 18:22
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cross posting from yospos blender threadSagebrush posted:this looks extremely awesome. my biggest annoyance with blender is the kind of convoluted way you have to work if you want accurate real world dimensions and relations. this not only lets you draw shapes like a CAD program, but also appears to have a full set of parametric constraints like solidworks. so you can define things like "this hole needs to be 3mm in diameter, with its center always 8mm from this edge" and the software will solve it for you. hell yeah. it's not quite a replacement for a full CAD program yet, but it's a major step in the right direction.
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Apr 28, 2022 00:35
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I had an engineer make me a Solidworks 2022 project a few months back. Now a manufacturer I gave it to, while they can view it with eDrawings, is asking if I can "save it down" to Solidworks 2019 so they can work with it. Is that something I can do myself in 2022?
Zero VGS fucked around with this message at 05:01 on May 5, 2022 |
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May 5, 2022 04:52
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Nope. Welcome to SOLIDWORKS. You can save it as a STEP file and open that in any version, but you'll lose all of the construction history -- it's just raw geometry.
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May 5, 2022 05:14
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Zero VGS posted:I had an engineer make me a Solidworks 2022 project a few months back. Now a manufacturer I gave it to, while they can view it with eDrawings, is asking if I can "save it down" to Solidworks 2019 so they can work with it. Is that something I can do myself in 2022? Nope. Solidworks has never had the capability of saving in older year versions. You can have your friend export everything as STEP files, otherwise that manufacturer needs to re-up and get current.
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May 5, 2022 15:17
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FWIW if they’re asking for an older SOLIDWORKS version, exporting as a parasolid PRT file can avoid some export geometry weirdness. It’s still dumb geometry, but it’s the same number of clicks and that’s cheap insurance for weird problems.
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May 5, 2022 20:35
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Is there a relatively painless/quick or even semi-automated batch-process way to add some engraved text to .stls? This is for non-technical/CAD-inclined people in a commercial 3d printing environment trying to do QC on 3d prints; their current CAM/slicer approach doesn’t let them modify the mesh files to include something identifying which machine the print came from. A single numeral or glyph would suffice, and they could add them at a standardized coordinate like the origin. They don’t do the CAD in house and the printer isn’t known at the CAD stage, so individually modifying each .stl in a new additional program is probably not gonna fly.
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May 19, 2022 16:57
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I answered in the 3DP thread, but as a curiosity: isn’t there a G code for engraving serial numbers? I wonder what would happen if you just put that on the print raft layer or something. For those of you not in the 3DP thread, Materialise Magics sounds like the correct software for this and other needs.
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May 19, 2022 17:59
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I was asked by some of the 3DX SOLIDWORKS for Makers folks about how to improve awareness that it exists, I'd be real curious if anyone has any ideas. I'm fully lost in the sauce since I work for a reseller, so I don't know how it looks from the outside in.
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May 20, 2022 16:28
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NewFatMike posted:I was asked by some of the 3DX SOLIDWORKS for Makers folks about how to improve awareness that it exists, I'd be real curious if anyone has any ideas. I'm fully lost in the sauce since I work for a reseller, so I don't know how it looks from the outside in. If they'll pay me a commission for sales off a tagged link I'll tweet about it. Otherwise they can get hosed looking for free sales/marketing labor. Edit: Also that vvv Some Pinko Commie fucked around with this message at 17:09 on May 20, 2022 |
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May 20, 2022 16:59
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most of the makerspaces/hobbyists I've seen are aware it exists if only as 'the Fusion 360 competitor that costs money', but it costs money and plenty of stuff that's adequate for hobby-grade 3D printing doesn't, people who can afford a CNC router can get VCarve or Aspire and stop worrying about it, and attempts to try out Solidworks in those spaces generally end with it randomly locking the session because the DRM had some problem continuously phoning home, which is kinda a bigger deal than theoretically being able to design a jet turbine or whatever
A Wizard of Goatse fucked around with this message at 17:09 on May 20, 2022 |
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May 20, 2022 17:07
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I'm a hobbiest, willing to pay, and want to use it. But after spending twice as much time figuring out their absolutely awful 3DX system as I did using the drat modeling software I can't be bothered to renew it. The cad part works fine once it's set up at least. Tell them to fix their lovely system and maybe I'll tell my friends to try it. Until then they can do their own marketing.
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May 20, 2022 17:42
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Those things are helpful to know! I’m sorry if it sounded like I’m looking for free marketing help, I just don’t know what I don’t know on this front. Good to know that it’s mostly UX issues, since they’re technical issues with technical solutions.
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May 20, 2022 18:45
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NewFatMike posted:I was asked by some of the 3DX SOLIDWORKS for Makers folks about how to improve awareness that it exists, I'd be real curious if anyone has any ideas. I'm fully lost in the sauce since I work for a reseller, so I don't know how it looks from the outside in. NewFatMike posted:Those things are helpful to know! I’m sorry if it sounded like I’m looking for free marketing help, I just don’t know what I don’t know on this front. NewFatMike posted:A lot of that depends on what you’re looking for - imo SOLIDWORKS has the best hole and stud tools. You can get a Makers version for $10/mo, but this version is currently pretty rife with usability issues. I feel like this is a fundamental issue. They want to market a paid product that is, as you put it, rife with usability issues. Make a viable, usable product FIRST. Don't release a half baked neutered version that totally sucks to install and use and then ask your PAYING users to troubleshoot it. Fusion actually did this right: release a free product, improve it, and when it's really useful and relatively polished, start charging for it. 3DS has it backwards. It's among the many user-unfriendly poo poo they do. I know you're just a VAR, but it drives me nuts. I'm still pissed about them killing online licensing for SW. It's literally half the reason I dropped the $5500 on a legal copy rather than sticking with the hacked Russian version. Now I'm stuck with it on one machine at home and going through the annoying de-register, re-register process every time I want to do design work on my laptop (I sure hope the servers aren't doing maintenance). At least it spares me from the agony of the online license system using the MAC address as part of the internal scheme so if you use a randomized MAC (the default option for Windows 10 on Wi-Fi like you'd use on a laptop), your license gets hosed up every time you deactivate to switch it to another machine and you've dared to reboot since the license was activated (like you do with a laptop). What does the VAR say? Known technical issue, call us and we can reset the license. Super helpful when I'm on the road (using a laptop). Saying it's "technical issues" with "technical solutions" is pretty tone deaf. You ever been annoyed by Word's constant formatting gently caress ups when you paste from another document, insert a picture, or try to change formatting using the default toolbar instead of the overcomplicated formatting toolbar in the ribbon? The same poo poo that's been happening for over a decade? "Technical issue with a technical solution".
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May 21, 2022 04:19
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NewFatMike posted:I was asked by some of the 3DX SOLIDWORKS for Makers folks about how to improve awareness that it exists, I'd be real curious if anyone has any ideas. I'm fully lost in the sauce since I work for a reseller, so I don't know how it looks from the outside in. i'm installing it on a new computer right now and lmao this fuckin thing is all i can think about. whoever greenlit this as the web portal interface for the new hobbyist-geared software edition should be sent to a reeducation camp. i'm plenty computer literate and i can't figure out how to download the fuckin installer or otherwise access the software i just paid for. absolutely nothing on this entire menu is of any use to me, nor to any actual end-user. if i didn't have an EAA installation guide assuring me they're going to send me a very exclusive Access Link for SW (do not lose this link bookmark plz!!!), some time after the Subscription Successful link, i'd be flipping my poo poo. never let a room full of c-suite freaks steer the ship on an engineering tool
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May 21, 2022 04:52
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Just wait until your subscription is lapsed and it locks you out of the entire interface. It took me most of an hour to figure out I had to go back to the main SWx website and pay again as if I was getting a new license. Most web based services trip over themselves to take your money but this one was actively hostile.
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May 21, 2022 05:00
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Ambrose Burnside posted:i'm installing it on a new computer right now and lmao this fuckin thing is all i can think about. I was thinking for a while that maybe I was a little too harsh on it, but no I think flipping my poo poo was the right response. Granted I am now used to its quirks and someday when I have the spare brain cycles I will try out the CAM I REALLY wanted when it launched.
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May 21, 2022 05:02
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sharkytm posted:3DS has it backwards. It's among the many user-unfriendly poo poo they do. I know you're just a VAR, but it drives me nuts. I'm still pissed about them killing online licensing for SW. It's literally half the reason I dropped the $5500 on a legal copy rather than sticking with the hacked Russian version. Now I'm stuck with it on one machine at home and going through the annoying de-register, re-register process every time I want to do design work on my laptop (I sure hope the servers aren't doing maintenance). At least it spares me from the agony of the online license system using the MAC address as part of the internal scheme so if you use a randomized MAC (the default option for Windows 10 on Wi-Fi like you'd use on a laptop), your license gets hosed up every time you deactivate to switch it to another machine and you've dared to reboot since the license was activated (like you do with a laptop). What does the VAR say? Known technical issue, call us and we can reset the license. Super helpful when I'm on the road (using a laptop). yeah it's remarkable how going legit here just punishes you in every possible way. they opened up an avenue for hobbyist software stealers to go legit, and then dump poo poo on everybody who walks it. if you have a filez version of Classic SW that works for you there's less than zero reason to fork over for 3DE. the main reason i'm putting up with it and paying up is because I did a lot of projects using a legit SW2020 install which I eventually lost access to, and criming later SW editions isn't worth loving around with because of how aggressively Dassault goes after people who aren't 100% successful at stopping the program from dialling home and snitching. Or so I've heard.
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May 21, 2022 05:03
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oXDemosthenesXo posted:Just wait until your subscription is lapsed and it locks you out of the entire interface. It took me most of an hour to figure out I had to go back to the main SWx website and pay again as if I was getting a new license. oh my god lol
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May 21, 2022 05:04
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still haven't gotten a download link email 20 minutes later, but fear not, i have been auto-added to several 3DEXPERIENCE maker's social media pages. are you gently caressing kidding me. i paid for software and can't actually access it for an arbitrary and undefined length of time because they take their time emailing you a Secret Download Link. this would be a loving insane and infuriating way of handling a software purchase if it were a one-man indie production, it's beyond the pale for loving solidworks e: well, i found the 3DEXPERIENCE portal link, but i don't have access to it. 40 minutes since subscription, no sign of an email yet. guess i'll start downloading it tomorrow?? maybe?? thank you all for coming on this adventure with me / letting me vent, needless to say an additional reason 3DE specifically is not getting traction with people is because there is no real reason i'd recommend The 3D ExPERIENCE to other users e^2: eventually found my way to the online store FAQ page https://www.3ds.com/online-store/faq which appears to have the Super Secret Link urls posted publicly under a question about not receiving the promised email, lol. glad they made me jump through all those stupid hoops to get a working link, tho! Ambrose Burnside fucked around with this message at 05:48 on May 21, 2022 |
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May 21, 2022 05:09
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Ambrose Burnside posted:still haven't gotten a download link email 20 minutes later, but fear not, i have been auto-added to several 3DEXPERIENCE maker's social media pages. are you gently caressing kidding me. i paid for software and can't actually access it for an arbitrary and undefined length of time because they take their time emailing you a Secret Download Link. this would be a loving insane and infuriating way of handling a software purchase if it were a one-man indie production, it's beyond the pale for loving solidworks Lol I forgot about that part. After wasting an hour figuring out how to renew, I had to wait overnight for it to activate.
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May 21, 2022 05:49
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It's all the parts of early 2000s DRM that drove people insane resurrected in one package lol Wait until you go to use it and you just can't, every half hour locks you out and you gotta go back to the website and log in like it's your first time again A Wizard of Goatse fucked around with this message at 06:27 on May 21, 2022 |
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May 21, 2022 05:58
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