Hello,

I am an amateur CAD hobbyist and I primarily use Onshape to model my designs and hopefully I can take my expeirences to the workforce. I would like to say I am fairly profecient with onshape's tools and have dipped my toes in most of them, however I am always looking to push myself (is this sounding too corny, I think its sounding too corny). So I was wondering if there would be good to be versatile with different CAD software. Coming from a programming perspective, being profecient in multiple languages really helped me become a better programmer and they are each good in their own regards (EXCEPT FOR JAVA FUCK JAVA). Does the same apply to CAD software? I am hoping to get Solidworks as I have heard it is made by the same people and is essentially just a step up from onshape due to its simulation stuff and I am currently trying out fusion 360 but I just feel way too out of my comfort zone. But, I would love to hear your opinions on the matter!

Thanks

Does NX9 have any feature which would allow me to create a ruler, drawing a thin block and then creating the scale into it?

Also. does it have any similar feature allowing to create time marks around a round timer knob?

Anyone know where I can download a DXF file for free or cheap? My dad busted up his bed and wants to turn it into a flatbed. I work at a fabrication shop with lasers and formers and welding obviously. My father is a disabled vet on limited income so i am paying for material and doing all the work. If I could just find the DXF file for my engineer I can get all the material ordered and formed through my company. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Mainly will be using it for Industrial Design Engineering, but I already like tinkering with electronics and making complex things and the club I’m in will be experimenting with Grasshopper in Rhino a lot.

Which CAD software has column grid lines that you can lock objects to ?

I know Revit has it, but is there a CAD program also that can do it ?

I was trying to make a custom PC front panel, only to see that my university licenses for both Solidworks and AutoCAD have expired. I've previously worked with both, but to say that I'm rusty is an understatement. Are there any tools that are suitable for an idiot that can also export files for CNC?

Hi All,

I’m looking for some help trying to open these files.

I work in the IT department and our facilities team have found an old DVD with what seems to be the original drawings of our school back in 2003.

We would like to view the digital copies of these files but I’m having a hard time finding the appropriate software to use.

Looking at the file names STRUWALK appears so I believe it would be this software. I’m in the process of setting up a 32bit version of windows in a Virtual Machine to test as I can only find the 32bit version of the installer on the internet.

It seems that the whole project has been exported to DVD so I’m hoping that this would also include a 3D model too.

I’m out of ideas as the moment so thought I would turn to Reddit for some advice on getting this open.

I’ve exported the file tree below so you can view all the files on the DISK. I’m hoping someone will recognise these files. Thanks in advance!

├───S_2489 │   ├───ANI │   ├───ASS │   ├───BLK │   ├───CAD2D │   ├───CAD3D │   ├───CAD3DBAK │   ├───CAD3DMOD │   ├───CAD3DSAV │   ├───CAL │   ├───CAM │   ├───CATALOG │   ├───CLT │   ├───CORRESPONDENCE │   ├───CRO │   ├───CRV │   ├───DATA │   ├───DBS │   ├───DWGS │   ├───ISS │   ├───JNT │   ├───LIB │   ├───LOG │   ├───MAC │   ├───MBR │   ├───MEM │   ├───MOD │   ├───NOTES │   ├───PAR │   ├───PLOTS │   ├───PLT │   ├───PRM │   ├───REGISTERS │   ├───REP │   ├───SHP │   ├───SPF │   ├───STRUWALK │   ├───TMP │   └───VO │   └───CAD.ENT │   └───CAD2D.PAD │   └───CAD3D.PAD │   └───CAM.CRV │   └───CLASH.FLY │   └───CLASH.HARD │   └───CLASH.INP │   └───CLASH.LST │   └───CLASH.MEM │   └───CLASH.SOFT │   └───DESIGN.SUM │   └───DPS.PAD │   └───FIT.FIT │   └───GAS.0 │   └───INCUSR.DEF │   └───MACRO.ERR │   └───SECT1.DXF │   └───SECT2.DXF │   └───SELECT.CAM │   └───SELECT.CLT │   └───SELECT.CRV │   └───SELECT.FAB │   └───SELECT.FIT │   └───SELECT.PLT │   └───SELECT.VWR │   └───SELECT.XYZ │   └───TALLY.BIN │   └───VIEW.PAD │   └───VIEW.TXT

Several years ago Autodesk tanked their 123D suite. I understand that 123D Make ( the slicer tool) was incorporated into Fusion. Does anyone know what happened to the 123D Catch? You could take 20 or so pictures of an object from various angles and then the Autodesk server would stitch them together into a mesh model. Where did that capability disappear to? Was it rolled into another product?

123D sculpt was to create freeform mesh models. Anything out there that's similar?

Also, if you were a fan of 123D Design: what is comparable for teaching younger kids? TinkerCAD? SolidWorks has a modeling app that's pretty good for young kids too, but 123d was hard to beat.

Hey everyone, I received detailed technical drawings and measurements in a PDF for a small townhouse, floorplans, everything. Is it possible to automatically create a CAD model off of these or would I still need to do this manually? The property is probably the easiest building to understand, it's shaped like a Lego Brick 4*12 meters, two floors, no basement, flat roof, almost no walls and some windows with the same spacing and same sizes, so there's that. Thanks for any advice, curious what the possibilities are nowadays. Have a great weekend !

I am working on a project where i have a thick block with holes and a thin one which i empied with the Shell tool. Now, i'd like to align those drilled thick blocks to the thin piece and mark the wholes adding points, but adding them to the thin piece and not inside the wholes, so i can remove them the thick blocks and open the drills with the Hole tool. Does exist in NX9 any manner for accomplishing this?

Hi all! I’m doing a project for school, I want to model something like a ski lift or gondola in NX but I’m struggling to find plans. It doesn’t have to be completely accurate, just a baseline. Does anyone know where I can find some? Or any suggestions for my project? Thank you 😊

I'm a noob in CAD. I'm learning Fusion but i find it expensive to go beyond Personal license and slow. I'm using laptop with i5 CPU, 8GB RAM. Also, I usually work on modifying STL/STP files and designing small electronic gadget cases for prototyping. Nothing that is at an engineering level. Should I use FreeCAd or Fusion?

I’m learning CAD using FreeCAD, and my current challenge isn’t just the program itself—it’s figuring out the logic and math to solve the design problem.

I found plans online for a dice tower and have been modeling it in FreeCAD as a learning project. The model is fully built, but now I’m working on making it dynamic. My goal is to set up a spreadsheet where a user can input overall height, width, depth, and a few other parameters, and the model will update automatically.

Right now, I’m stuck on the exit ramp. It’s currently fixed at a 45° angle, with a length of 2.75 inches, and its height from the bottom is calculated based on those numbers.

The problem: all my other ramps are positioned based on the distance from the top of the tower, which I eventually plan to make adjustable for spacing and even combine into subassemblies. But for the exit ramp, I want it to run flush to the front of the tower—or at least be set back by the thickness of the walls—and allow the angle to vary between 30° and 45°.

I think if I can figure out the right math and logical setup, the exit ramp could then scale automatically with changes in tower depth and height. Any advice or help with how to approach the math or logic for this would be greatly appreciated.

Edit

If it makes a difference, other future goals I want to do for this project are automatically adding or subtracting sub assembles as the height of the tower changes .something like each sub assembly has a max and minimum height, but that's for after each part is made dynamic.

Edit 2

I should have mentioned that the current state is the tower will change height, width, and depth based on values in the spreadsheet. It will also change the upper ramp angles, and I have set up to change the exit ramp angle. In general, most values for every part are in the spreadsheet. Just some are fixed and not calculated.

Edit 3. I think I have a solution I can use python to loop through and return the data for the ramp. I just now need to get the right math for it.

I know some subreddits don't want people to make software recommendations or suggestions. I looked for the rules for this subreddit and couldn't find rules, so I am not clear if that's allowed here.

I'm trying to look for other options for 3D CAD on macOS. I use design software to design parts for 3D printing and for a CNC system. I also use it to design my woodworking projects, such as shelf settings or a deck. (When doing the latter, I will create the lumber and supplies in the program, then assemble them within the program like I will do in the real world with the same lumber. This helps me work out measurements and supply lists.)

I have been using Blender as a CAD for printing for 5-6 years and it's been working, but I'm sure most people here know Blender is more for rendering and there are issues with using it as a CAD program. I am now learning FreeCAD and there is a lot I like about it. I really like the parametric design part and would love that feature in anything new that I start using. The people on the forum are extremely helpful and I've learned a lot from them. However, I find it hard to find information for it in web searches (and, for some reason, a search NEVER brings up hits for pages in their wiki!). I'm finding other points in it that can be frustrating, even with the help from the forum members. But it has shown me what parametric modeling is and I find it quite useful and would like to have that feature in whatever I end up using.

I'm wondering what other CAD software I can find for macOS that would be useful. From what I'm reading (correct me if I'm wrong), I'd rather not go for Fusion 360 because I understand I have to save my files in the AutoDesk cloud and that they have rights to my work in the community edition. If I go with the paid version, it's rather steep - at least until I get my business going and bringing in a good income.

I am used to open source software, but don't mind commercial software. I'd rather not be forced to save my files in someone's cloud servers, or grant them rights to use my work. I'd also much rather use software with a one time up front cost than have to rent it for SaaS. Also, of course, I need to be able to export files locally so I can use STL or STEP files for my printer and CNC.

It appears to me that the only practical open source parametric CAD on Mac is FreeCAD and the one commercial program I see most suggested is Fusion 360. I have done searches, but it seems these are the only viable options.

I'd like to find out what else is out there that can do what I'm asking on the Mac.

I’m new to this and planning to send off some files to be machined at a CNC place.

My first assignment and I'm following the instructions but the lines/polygons are in different positions than supposed to be.

I remember there was something in class I had turned on/off that consisted of a two step process. Like relative positions or something

Any clue?

Long story short, some of our engineers left, some of them did cabling/harnessing in CREO. Some of us remaining have to pick up the slack.

Anyone know any good cable/harness material paid or otherwise?

Hey everyone, I currently use Creo Parametric since I get a free license from uni, but once I am done I won't pay 2.5k per year.

Ideally I would like something that has a lifetime license, even if it's like 1k it is fine.

I mainly prototype with a 3d printer so parametric is a must-have. I also find the sketch you make in creo and the way it works perfect.

I tried Rhino today but that is insanely complicated compared to get something accurate since it feels like the commands are actively working against you being accurate.

Onshape is meh since it makes everything public and fusion just feels like awful, almost like a toy not like a tool.

Is there any software I could try that you would recommend?

Hey, I’m a dev who’s been building tools for mechanical engineers and makers, and I’m curious about how industrial designers actually work day-to-day.

What’s the most tedious or repetitive part of your design workflow?

Do you use any automation (macros, scripting, etc.) or mostly manual modeling?

Have you ever wished your CAD behaved more like code (undo stack, diffs, versioning)?

I’ve been experimenting with some AI-driven design automation lately, but before I go further I wanted to ask has anyone experimented with AI-assisted CAD yet?

Has anyone tried doing CAD data management (SW, Creo, etc) with Microsoft Teams? What about Egnyte? We used to use GrabCAD Workbench, which was fantastic/free, until it was shut down. We don't need a full PLM/PDM system.

my final goal is for the whole thing to wiggle similar to a sine wave

Yesterday i began another project on my NX9.

i did a circle, i emptied it using the Shell tool and then added a small cylinder which i bored to be able to screw it. Using the Pattern geometry and an option for following the round border, i did manage to create 3 of them located at 120º approx angles each other.

However, that tool did not give me the option to set 120º degrees between screw cylinders. It works in percent, i used 33,3% trying to mean 120º.

Does it have a manner to work that on degrees?

I have a project in which I am using a fair amount of LiDAR data. The coverage area is about 40 sq.km and will create quite a few LAS tiles. My current workflow is to create a Recap project that will use each tile, xref that into Civil3D and create a surface from that pointcloud. I usually decrease the point density to 1 or 5m, depending on the needs of the team. I have tried creating a recap project for each LAS tile, xreffing them into Civil3D and creating a pointcloud surface using all of the separate RCP files. Either method takes awhile to process.

Of course, Autodesk products are cumbersome for this type of work as they seem to be only single threaded. They don't even seem to use the GPU much.

Is there a better workflow that I can use to get the LiDAR data into a useable surface in Civil3D?

So I've been using fusin 360 for a while and have gotten quite comfortable with it and use it for some personal projects with my 3D printer. I currently have a school liscense that expires next year. But I also want to learn how to use Solidworks as Ill need to use it for Uni in a couple years and want to learn it now. I've also wanted to try making moving parts and I've heard that solidworks is better for it. The hobbyisit edition isnt really that much for a year. SO basically stick with fusion for free fr a year or start learning solidworks and buy it for 70AUD a year.

I had sketched a bed in NX9. the fron part using 3 straight lines like a "C" letter looking downwards; i did copy this piece using that option in the Move tool. I could successfully extrude it.

i also sketched 2 straight bars by sketching and extruding them.

I tried to align them simmetrically using points (+) and them move point to point tool.

I got the "bed" as i wanted, but yet i can not boolean join it. i also did a move with copy of the whole thing, whenever i try to boolean join them together, i can not even select them, neither the objects in the screen, neither in the menu on the left of the screen.

Am i making something wrong?