So, I’m trying to print some older models from thingiverse and I have discovered that basically all the files I want to print have glaring flaws in them.
Internal free floating structures, connector pieces and holes that are the exact same size… So on and so forth…
Do I need to learn a software like CAD or Blender to fix these? I seem to be able to do some basic stuff in Orca Slicer but it honestly seems like as much of a pain to modify the parts there as it would be to use a real software.
Is there one that’s easier? I think I messed around with SketchUp once upon a time.
I am worried this feels like opening a can of worms just so that I can make a thing that already exists in a dozen forms better.
Good old Thingiverse. You’ll get a great education in now not to design things for 3D printing wading through that slurry pit.
Yes, consider a 3D printer useless if you don’t know how to use 3D modeling software.
i’ve been dying to try an llm that can generate stls from natural speech
@slug @Krauerking there are some out there. Can’t say I looked to closely but I wasn’t terribly impressed.
In my view CAD is always worth learning, especially if you understand what prints best on your printer.
FreeCAD is basically the worse possible beginners tools. Don’t get me wrong when you learn it, it’s good and comparable to professional CAD software. But the learning curve is dumb.
Learn the basics first. TinkerCAD is free (from Autodesk) and will get you started. But if you want something which would take you further Fusion360 is fantastic for beginners.
The workflow of CAD is as follows. Sketch -> Action -> Sketch -> Action. Lets say you want to make a box with a hole in it. Sketch the outer box -> Extrude it -> Sketch the inner box -> Extrude/Cut it.
it’s good and comparable to professional CAD software. But the learning curve is dumb
I have to agree on that. I feel I can only use FreeCAD because I’ve taught myself SolidWorks years ago and I know what to look for when I want to achieve something. Or said another way, when I want to do something in FreeCAD, my though process is always “In what roundabout, convoluted way can I do in FreeCAD what I used to do in 2 clicks in SolidWorks?”. The only reason it works for me is because I know it can be done and I know the intuitive way it should be done.
I kind of have the same issue in Blender: I’ve been trying to teach myself Blender for years, but no matter how hard I try, it’s just not letting me in. Unlike FreeCAD, I have never known any other software similar to Blender, so I don’t know what I’m doing - or rather, what I should be doing - and it’s excruciatingly frustrating.
The commercial alternative to blender is software like Maya. But I too struggled with Blender, however I feel that’s because 3D modelling is different from CAD, since modelling is like molding clay into the shape you want it in, rather than accurately measuring it out like in CAD.
Yes 3D modelling like in blender can be quite precise but it’s a completely different mindset than CAD, much more about taking basic shapes and sculpting into what you want. Of course then there’s the whole animating/shading/lighting and so on which don’t exist in CAD at all.
I have trouble remembering what key pans and what key rotates view and the thought of actually figuring out how to manipulate the 3D file in FreeCAD felt like it was gonna melt my brain.
But thank you for the recommendation. TinkerCAD made me feel like I was playing with children’s blocks but at least I understand them.
I also think I’m gonna try get started on learning something else after I brute force this stupid single print. And I think it will just be trying some of them out.
Yeah Fusion is the way to go, especially if you are learning. Lots of hate for it around here, due to Autodesk endlessly changing their policies. But there’s no point in learning the basics when you don’t know if it’s you… or the software.
But if your issue is just navigating the 3D space in FreeCAD, you can set it such that it’s the same in TinkerCAD/Fusion 360. FreeCAD calls it Revit, and you can set it in the lower right corner. Hold you mouse over it to show tool tips.
May not be a popular opinion, but if you just want to fix shit like that, you can use Microsoft 3D Builder, it’s super simple and pretty powerful.
Modifying existing meshes is difficult, especially more complex ones, I find that this makes it much easier to fix dumb shit or make simple modifications.
Oh my God the bastards at Microsoft killed the app!
I had used that before to fix files. It was great.
I can’t seem to redownload it without jumping through hoops but know this was the right answer for none coder fixes. Sigh.
Looks like you can download and install it using this:
Paste in the product url and select retail.
Https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9wzdncrfj3t6
It will take a little Google to see which files to DL and how to install them.
I’m going to keep a copy on my PC now that I know it’s been taken down.
Is that like their replacement for 3D paint? I used that once to add a hole to a model?
It’s insane that I feel like I can understand the rules of 3D printing just fine but need to potentially put hundreds of hours learning software to fix other models so I can do it past the easier fidget toys that seem to be designed by the modeling geniuses.
No, it’s adjacent to 3D Paint. I never really liked 3D Paint actually.
For parametric modelling, that’s super easy and you can get into it pretty quickly, but organic modelling is a whole different story and is what takes the hundreds of hours.
While I’ve messed around in Maya and 3DS Max, its so much more difficult than parametric and Modifying high poly models requires tons of ram and a beefy PC. I spent a month trying to bake a bump map onto a model so that I could 3D print it and 90% of the time the applications crashed, Maya, 3DS and Blender all crashed when trying to do it, and none of them could do it right either. I pretty much gave up on that.
Get SketchUp Make 2017 from the wayback machine. Is super intuitive and you can import stl files directly.
I just switched to Linux and couldn’t figure out the install. But I literally just switched to Linux, so I don’t know, it could work great for all I know.
