Learning Blender???  

RE: Learning Blender???

No idea for blender but the Prusa Fusion 360 course is good and easy to go at your own pace. Depends on what you designing but if it is functional stuff Fusion is probably a better choice whereas Blender is better for modelling

RE: Learning Blender???

I use Blender.  Its one of those things where you just have at it and when you don't know how to do something then do a search.

Not handling videos though is going to be a big problem as most of the useful stuff is youtube based.   Current fav on there is https://www.youtube.com/@ArtisansofVaul   I find he doesn't go really fast like some of them do.

I've got some paid add ons I use.  I've also got some paid ones I dont use often lol.  Built in ones to turn on immediately are the 3dPrint toolbox and the import/export stl one.  Paid ones I use HardOps and Boxcutter and more recently Meshmachine.

I mainly do hard surface models so while the parametric stuff in fusion is handy its is quite possible to do anything in Blender.  Even with stock tools.   Its just a different way of working.  All the add-ons do is make things quicker once you learn them. 

I also find it very useful to be able to manipulate stl /meshes from elsewhere with almost as much ease as a native Blender object.  Its far easier to work with a downloaded stl in Blender than it is in most other 'full' CAD software.  Repairing it or modifying it for example.  Once you know how naturally.  

Well worth learning it and the fact that its completely free and open source with no chance of access to your stuff being removed or the toolset being changed on you is a BIG plus in my books.

RE: Learning Blender???

My modeling needs are pretty simple (mostly geometric shapes) but for my money ($Zero), my go-to is the free CAD from emachineshop.com, with both download and web-based versions. Their paid version gets you more bells/whistles/input-output options but I get by with .DXF and .STL, and the learning curve is pretty intuitive/shallow. Lots of self-help videos, although meaningful tech support for the free versions is spotty. Try it, you might like it. Many other free CAD programs out there as well. Google will tell you who/where. 

RE: Learning Blender???

I gave up trying to learn Blender and switched to Fusion 360 Personal Edition (Free) and have never looked back.  There are a lot of good books on it out there.  It all depends on what type of things you are trying to model.Blender seems to be more popular with those who do mainly organic shapes (such as people or creatures) and Fusion 360 is very good for those making more artificial looking things (basically anything not organic shaped!).

RE: Learning Blender???

I’m thinking if I’m going to learn Blender this is the time to do it. I’ve never used CAD before so I don’t have to unlearn anything. I like that it’s open source, you download it onto your computer, you can work offline and it’s free. I’m not a fan of renting software or having my models on some company’s website that I can only see if I pay for their software.

I watched a few of Artisans of Vaul videos. I'm guessing he plays 40K. ;-)) Looks like a good place to learn how to use add-ons.

RE: Learning Blender???

You need to be clear what you want to design, as has been pointed out blender is not a CAD package, it ideal for organic shapes but if you are designing functional parts then a true CAD will serve you better.

Whilst I get the reluctantly for something like Fusion there are other open source packages such as FreeCAD and SCAD, YouTube channel Makers Muse made a good video recently on on free CAD, if you watch it then make sure you also watch the follow up he did on FreeCAD.

But as a final comment about the reluctance to store data on someone else's platform.  1) You can export in multiple formats so no chance of loosing it and 2) do you use gmail/yahoo, or Google docs/amazon photos/dropbox/one drive or an iPhone etc. I don't know anyone that does not have some important data tied up where they are not in control. 

RE: Learning Blender???

When I was initially researching modeling software I tried Blender and gave up fairly quickly.

If by chance you are a programmer who is designing functional parts, OpenSCAD is great. If you aren't a programmer, OpenSCAD isn't for you.

RE: Learning Blender???

JP Guitars, RedDawg, 3Delight, fabnavigator

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. If I give up or jump out a window in the next few months you guys can say I told you so. ;-))

Looks like Blender 4.2 removed a lot of the add-ons that were in 4.1. You can still get them you just have to download them now.   

RE:

I would suggest keeping in the back of your mind that not all CAD software is equally capable.  The online/free cad options like Onshape and Fusion360 are parametric modelers.  Understanding what this is and why it matters might be a good place to start if your interest includes designing functional parts that may not print to the expected dimensions the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd time.  Iterative design is where a CAD package that offers this kind of control makes an enormous difference.  You can imagine how long it might take to design a somewhat complicated model, and then consider how many downstream objects or dimensions might need to be re-worked or relocated in order to make it work again after making a change on a core part of it.  In a basic modeler, you'll likely spent lots of time adjusting downstream items after each change.  Parametric modelers allow you to go back to an early piece, adjust it, and the drawing (if modeled well), will automatically adjust all downstream items in reference to the changed dimension.  You can change a core dimensions, export and print right away.  

Taking this a step further, you can assign your own custom user variables and then use those throughout a model.  Now if you change that variable in a table, the model will re-adjust all uses of that variable.  When people casually mention that functional parts are best done with a tool like Fusion360 or Onshape, this is what they are referring to, and it is no small thing.  You can even slide back a timeline (effectively undoing work) to any point in the modeling process, add additional  (forgotten) components, and then slide the timeline back to present.  The time savings is often significant.

The user variable thing was unknown to me when I started, and it was actually a video from a cabinet builder on YouTube that taught me that piece of the software, and it kind of blew me away.  You can even define a variable as an equation including other variables, and by doing so you'll have some incredible design flexibility.  I now have a grommet design that I can print in any size, thickness, opening, flange overhang, etc..... simply by opening the file and typing those variables into the table, exporting, and printing.  I'm not a blender user, but I expect much of the above functionality is not in it.  

That said, if your interest is in organic shapes, faces, 'sculpturing' type stuff, Blender will absolutely be better for you.

-J

RE: Learning Blender???

I did a lot of research before downloading Blender 4.2. I understand that it’s not CAD and I’m ok with that. I might change my mind in a few mouths but for now I want to give it a try. 

Talking about CAD, has anyone tried using the Blender add-on CAD Sketcher? I’ve watched a few videos about it and it looks interesting.

@Neophyl

I’m curious what does Meshmachine do that HardOps doesn’t?

What’s your favorite Blender forum? 

RE: Learning Blender???

Sorry Ed, missed this until now.  I don't use any forums for Blender.  The one tool I use a lot from mesh machine is Symmetrize.  Just installed ND from Huge Menace which looks very interesting after watching on of Vaul's videos on it.  Especially as its free 🙂