hey Sled..
I recently had this exact conversation. I am an engineer in the Edmonton area for many years and what I learned 20 years ago is getting a little stale so I have also been looking for the easiest way to get my 3D design skills back on par.
Of course (if you have money growing our of your a*s) you can buy a AutoCad or MicroStation or even SolidWorks for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Or you can download a questionsable or major buggy torrent or cracked versions. Personally for me that's off the agenda for money and PITA reasons.
I did a whole bunch of homework and I'll give you our insight:
1. If you want to get slowly brought up to speed and not have to do ANYTHING in 3D a learning platform that could be productive in your current 2D world (like me). The makers of SolidWorks offers a boiled down i.e. easy to learn version of itself called Draftsight. obviously a "gateway" modeling tool but VERY capable and truly free for a beginner CAD person and may solve short term drawing capabilities while getting familiar with the design workspace.
2. SketchUp is very well reviewed [www.sketchup.com]
3. Blender [www.blender.org] is an Open source fanatics dream and my personal favorite. If you are ready willing and able to go to school this site has a million tutorials and it seems to be more that full featured.
4 Last but not least while trolling on Thingiverse I found [tinkercad.com] which appears to be the ULTIMATE beginners tool...
Please let's share our experience if you try any of the above and feel free to ask/call about any equipment or filament you need. We are here JUST to help western Canadians
Steve
www.reprapwarehouse.com
I recently had this exact conversation. I am an engineer in the Edmonton area for many years and what I learned 20 years ago is getting a little stale so I have also been looking for the easiest way to get my 3D design skills back on par.
Of course (if you have money growing our of your a*s) you can buy a AutoCad or MicroStation or even SolidWorks for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Or you can download a questionsable or major buggy torrent or cracked versions. Personally for me that's off the agenda for money and PITA reasons.
I did a whole bunch of homework and I'll give you our insight:
1. If you want to get slowly brought up to speed and not have to do ANYTHING in 3D a learning platform that could be productive in your current 2D world (like me). The makers of SolidWorks offers a boiled down i.e. easy to learn version of itself called Draftsight. obviously a "gateway" modeling tool but VERY capable and truly free for a beginner CAD person and may solve short term drawing capabilities while getting familiar with the design workspace.
2. SketchUp is very well reviewed [www.sketchup.com]
3. Blender [www.blender.org] is an Open source fanatics dream and my personal favorite. If you are ready willing and able to go to school this site has a million tutorials and it seems to be more that full featured.
4 Last but not least while trolling on Thingiverse I found [tinkercad.com] which appears to be the ULTIMATE beginners tool...
Please let's share our experience if you try any of the above and feel free to ask/call about any equipment or filament you need. We are here JUST to help western Canadians
Steve
www.reprapwarehouse.com