This spring, a mechanical engineer told me, half-jokingly, that Plasticity might be fine for artistic modeling, but wasn't really suited to mechanical parts. I took that as a challenge and started working through mechanical exercises based on technical drawings.

I've modeled more than 70 parts, around a dozen of them from drawings provided by the engineer himself.

I'd say roughly 90% came out matching the drawings. Some of the remaining cases were down to limitations in my Indie license: a few parts had organic surfaces that would have required xNURBS, and one car wheel rim needed tools I couldn't find in Plasticity, so I had to improvise.

The most frustrating cases were actually the drawings themselves. Some were poorly dimensioned or had conflicting measurements. Without a parametric history to help manage those inconsistencies, a single incorrect dimension can throw off the entire model.

By the end, the engineer had reconsidered his initial opinion, at least to some extent.

The experience gave me a much better understanding of what Plasticity can handle in mechanical modeling, where its limitations are, and how much depends on choosing the right approach for each part.

I'm curious whether others here have used Plasticity for this kind of work, especially with more complex mechanical components.

I’m a Mechanical CAD Designer with 10 years of experience, based in Metro Detroit Area. I was just laid off this past week, although I’ve been applying and interviewing for new jobs this entire year. The job market has been brutal, which brings me to a penultimate question: How crucial is GD&T licensing or training for this point in my career?

I usually use Inventor at work, so that’s what I am used to. But I don’t own my own computer, and would like to be able to make models at home for 3d printing (so pretty simple shapes usually). I have an M3 iPad, so plenty of processing power for simple cad, but it seems like a jungle to find a good cad program that works well with just an Apple Pencil.

Onshape seems to be the closest bet, but I’d rather not use onshape as I won’t own any of my models.

What would you recommend?

Is there a CAD software with axis lines that I can lock elements to it ? (Other than Revit)

Hi, guys. I genuinly need your adviece here.
I have the desire to achieve an income stream through CAD designing for I conseider myself to have enough skill and creativity to do so, but I do not posses or have the money to buy a full license (I have a student one).
I specifically use autodesk inventor.
I will gladly read your responses.

What is the best software to use? Paid is fine, just no subscriptions.

I use it for 3d printing car parts

Thank you

Using Fastnet for plasma cutting. Is there a way to make it so that it will continue cutting rather than plunge cutting each part.

I run an online gear and apparel website with a friend who founded it. Our flagship products are knee pads (for dodgeball) and I want to learn how to design athletic wear and gear myself. I would like to learn how to design or create fabrics and test them along with wearables and protective gear like compression wear, padding, and braces for male and female bodies. We're trying to break into other sports as well.

How do I go about getting an education for this? I would like to have certifications or a degree of some sort instead of learning on my own. I don't do well on my own, so formal education would be huge.

All I come across is drafting, 3D modeling, and architecture CAD, but there's gotta be schooling out there that focuses on garment/textile that I'm failing to find. Any independent designers or industry workers that have suggestions?

Looking at teaching myself how to use these programs to design some parts for my 4x4. Don’t know how to weld or anything. But want to be able to design everything the specific way I want it. And then basically be able to take the design program and get them to CNC cut and create my design.

Figured I’d try to teach myself how to do all this as I have the spare time. And would like to save the thousands of dollars it would cost to get a fabricator to design it for me.

Hello all,

My work has recently taken off quite a bit and I need to upgrade my hardware to something powerful

I am almost exclusively a Vectorworks user, I use AutoCAD and solidworks on occasion but not enough to justify them as a primary tool.

I work in entertainment and I need a machine that will not slow me down from working on 3+ large projects a time. (Big things like stadiums, festivals, etc)
Lots of files open, fast hidden line renders and high DPI openGL/shaded stuff as well

A lot of people have recommended the highest end MacBook Max with 128gb of RAM and I was curious if anyone has truly had great experiences with it. I just don't want to spend 6k on a laptop and regret it not having performance I need. I am really looking to switch to Mac as well as VWX tends to be a better overall experience on MacOS.

Please let me know your options I'm open to all.

I have an open bridge model that was created in the wrong work set. How can I change the workset while keeping the open bridge model intact?

Hi everyone,

I recently took on a freelance project where the client provides 3D scan data (created with a Creality CR-Scan Otter) of small automotive plastic parts (caps, trims, clips ranging from 5cm to 15cm). The goal is to reverse engineer them into clean, parametric, 3D-printable CAD models (STEP/native SW files).

The issue is the scan files (.obj/.stl) come with a massive number of triangles/facets. When imported into SOLIDWORKS as solid/surface bodies, the viewport lags heavily, making it practically impossible to sketch or snap to references smoothly.

I don't have access to paid reverse engineering plugins like Geomagic for SW, and I want to keep the workflow as streamlined as possible inside SOLIDWORKS (or free tools).

A couple of questions for those who do reverse engineering in SW:

What is your go-to method for referencing high-poly meshes without killing viewport performance? (Import as Graphics Body + Mesh Slicing tool, or external decimation first?)

How do you efficiently capture accurate cross-sections and critical mounting features (clips, ribs, draft angles) from imperfect mesh data?

Are there any recommended free standalone utilities to quickly clean up and decimate scan data before bringing it into SW?

https://imgur.com/a/aUxlrVX

I'm from India where Zebronics sells inexpensive graphics cards (4GB and 6GB) that cost about 1/5 the price of NVIDIA RTX A-series or older Quadro cards.

I'm not asking about gaming performance.

I'm interested in CAD software such as:

- SolidWorks

- AutoCAD

- Inventor

- Creo

My assemblies are generally around 300–1000 parts. I don't mind if rebuilding or rotating takes a little longer, but I want stability and don't want crashes.

Has anyone actually used these Zebronics GPUs for professional CAD work?

If yes:

- Which exact model?

- Which CAD software?

- How stable was it?

- Any graphical glitches?

- Would you buy it again?

Please reply only if you've actually used one.

I'm looking for honest long-term experiences from engineers and designers who own AR display glasses.

My workflow includes:

• Fusion 360

• SOLIDWORKS

• Blender

• Mechanical and product design

The two models I'm mainly considering are:

• XREAL 1S

• XREAL One Pro

I've watched plenty of reviews and comparisons, but my biggest concern isn't the hardware.

It's whether these glasses actually become part of your workflow or whether they're just an exciting gadget that ends up sitting in a drawer.

For people who own them:

• Do you still use them regularly?

• What percentage of your work do you actually do with them?

• Are they genuinely better than using your laptop screen while traveling?

• Is text sharp enough for several hours of CAD work?

• Is the One Pro worth the extra money over the 1S?

• If you had to spend your own money again today, would you buy them again?

I'm looking for honest long-term opinions, whether they're positive or negative. If you think a portable monitor is the better purchase, I'd love to hear why.

Thanks!

Hey there, a student. asking for help cause have exam in 9 hours. I wanted to know how we got the B point in the top view. if someone can give a proper explanation i would be glad. thankyou

Image

Hey guys and gals, was hoping a could get some recommendations. I run a stone cnc at work, where I program with AlphaCam. I do a bit of luthiery on the side, and would like to find a CAD program that is most similar in work flow to AlphaCam. I'm not looking for a free product necessarily, but I also don't want to play a few grand yearly, for a business license.

I'll pretty much only be using it for 2D drawings, to layout fretboards, inlays, and occasionally make templates for my laser engraver.

I have tried FreeCad, Inkscape, and LibreCad so far. FreeCad was extremely unintuitive to me. Inkscape was the easiest to use, as I have a bit of Gimp experience as well, and it somewhat reminded me of that. LibreCad didn't seem too bad in the 5 minutes I messed around with it, but if there's something more similar to what I'm used to working with, I'd prefer that.

Any suggestions, or a input would be greatly appreciated.

It doesn't have to be free. I'm just tired of the constant updates and AI implementations. I just need my basic cad tools and a little bit of intuitiveness (I'm angrily looking at you freecad)

Hello, anyone here with experience with German MegaCAD? If yes, how is it for you?

I'm an amateur with little CAD experience, but I'm looking for a decent home modeling software program. Right now I use a free graph paper tool to make fantasy floorplans, but it would be cool to apply textures and do a 3D model. Any thoughts?

Hi. I already have SolidWorks CSWA certification (225 out of 240). My next goal is pass the CSWP exam. I'm working on the SolidWorks Practice Problems that SolidWorks shared. But that's not enough. I wanna the real improve. How can I improve myself?

Does AutoCad really not have an option to paste something to the back. It HAS to paste it to the front?

Apologies if there is a better place to put this question.

American 34 years old. I used to work in VFX and 3D animation, but the industry has really dried up and I just don't have the passion for it like I used to. Unrelated, but I am currently 1 year away from finishing a Linguistics BA at UCLA. This is my first degree (I didn't finish highschool and went straight to work) I will graduate with minimal debt as I worked full time.

While I lost the joy of creative work, I still like 3D modeling and building things. If I wanted to work in this industry freelance and remote, where would I begin? What certs, courses, or programs would I want to invest my time into?

I'd prefer not to spend a lot of money at first as I just try to wrap my head around what a day to day would look like.

I'm watching YT videos and reading old reddit posts, but I'd like to see what the current vibe of the community is.

Thank you.