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.
I find knoowingbthe basics helps.
I use blender. Its not perfect for 3d modeling. But I knew it a little to start. Also easy to set up on linux.
But honeatly learning its scale odds. (Defaults 1m to mm) boolean modifiers and 3d print tools. (Allow testing for real world models and extra faces.)
Really is all i need to modify stls and make my own sruff.
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.
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.
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.
Tinkercad (free, closed source, in browser) is what I use. It’s very basic, but easy to learn.
So, FreeCAD. It’s a beautiful hot mess. There’s a 1.0 in beta right now that’s bringing some much needed changes.
FreeCAD has a lot of parallel capabilities; it has an architectural workbench for drawing buildings, a Drafting workbench for more traditional 2D drawing, the Part workbench for a weird kind of boolean approach, and the Part Design workbench for a more typical sketch-and-extrude parametric modeling workflow like Fusion360, Inventor or OnShape.
The workflow is you create a sketch and draw a 2D shape, and then extrude (FreeCAD uses the word Pad) it into 3D space, then you can draw further features on that to design the shape you want.
The basis of how it works is somewhat unintuitive at first. “Parametric” means you draw using rules. There’s a piece of software out there called OpenSCAD that is a very pure implementation of this because you “draw” by typing code in a kind of programming language. FreeCAD lets you represent rules by drawing things with the mouse. Rules like “this is a straight line. It is parallel to the X axis. It is 5cm long. The leftmost endpoint is 3cm from the X axis and 4cm from the Y axis.” There’s only one way to draw that line. Those rules may be called Constraints or Dimensions. The powerful part is you can later change one of the rules, like “Did I say 3cm from the X axis? I meant 4cm” and it’ll redraw the whole part for you. Get your head around that concept and CAD software will unlock.
The UIs are different, but the general concepts are similar for FreeCAD, OnShape and Fusion360, sometimes tutorials for one will be useful for learning the others.
Oh man I wanted to mention Ondsel but I just saw that they’ve shut down and it really bummed me out…
I second tinkercad for super basic parts. Need to print a knob for a radio that isn’t on thing-verse? 20min in tinkercad.
For blender basic things to learn could be plugging a hole in a part and adding a smaller or bigger one to match the screws you have on hand.
Or cutting a part in half to extend it, fill in the gap.
Tinkercad is just combining basic shapes, so there’s basically no learning curve.
Yeah abandon FreeCAD for now. It’s a powerful FOSS option, and the new v1.0 looks promising, but I second TinkerCAD to learn. It’s intuitive, and most of the principles you learn will translate fairly easily to other CAD software. Unless you’re trying to sculpt organic shapes, I’d focus off TinkerCAD
it made no sense to me
That’s all CAD software. You can’t just jump in and intuitively learn it by just doing it. It’s like trying to learn a programming language. You need a solid tutorial to explain the basics, at a minimum. Even with something simple like TinkerCAD.
FreeCAD was probably the worst choice. Give TinkerCAD a try. I know the FOSS community will hate me for saying this, but I like Autodesk Fusion for a full featured CAD package. It has a very steep learning curve, like all CAD software, and you need to watch some videos first. You will make a ton of mistakes and do even simple things wrong at first, but once you get going, it’s great to use.
If all you have are STLs then you’re pretty limited. I use Meshmixer to do basic modifications or tweaks to STLs but it’s not super user friendly.
The time and effort you put in to learning 3D Cad will more than pay off for you in your ability to make things you need that someone else hasn’t yet made and posted online. Sure, it will be a bit of learning curve, but what are we here for but to learn and grow?
I use FreeCAD which is FOSS. There’s a great series of Youtube Videos by Mango Jelly on how to use it.
I am down to learn. It’s why I asked but I will say there is a dozen softwares and forks out there and I am not in the right space to be able to spend large amounts of time learning the deep ins and outs. And I generally don’t feel a constant need to design new pieces for myself.
But thank you for the suggestions and the video suggestions as well.
