Last week we sent out a quick post to spread the word about Sketch Browser beta. This week I had the opportunity to delve a little deeper.

So when I fired up the App, Mr. my.SketchUp himself “Josh” (the avatar, no relation to Señor Mings), greeted me with a casual but blank stare. He made me feel right at home and gave me plenty of room to roam around and explore. So that’s exactly what I did. In this post I’ll share three snippets; drawing tools, keyboard shortcuts and browser limitation specific to the build of my.SketchUp Beta available at the present.

Drawing Tools

Being that I was itching to model something, I headed straightway to the drawing tools. Positioned on the left side of the browser, I found all the standard drawing and editing goodies. My personal favorite tool, by the way, is the FollowMe tool. To keep the menu nice and compact, additional tools are hidden under each default tool icon. A simple click on any of the drawing tools (with a little arrow along the right edge of the icon) causes a few extra tools to reveal themselves via a fly out submenu. Below is a Drawing tool infographic put together for you courtesy of us here at SoldSmack.

Drawing tools fully expanded

Now being a Sketchup novice, figuring out how to use the drawing tools and the behavior of the geometry I was laying down, the experience had me somewhat scratching my head. I had visions of modeling a nice pair of earphones or something like that. But, in the end, I had a bunch of miscellaneous piece parts and shapes.

Objects made after my first my.SketchUp modeling session “Woo Whoo”

UI Navigation and Workflow

Given the wide expanse of the canvas, I quickly got tired of hoping far left and far right to grab the next tool. I thought “There has got to be keyboard shortcuts for this baby!” After a little digging on the my.SketchUp help center, forums, and a general Google search. I learned one, not keyboard shortcut cheat sheet for my.SketchUp Browser exists, and two shortcuts had to be mapped differently owing to browsers already owning keys. So it was not feasible to achieve an apples-to-apples translation of work-flow from SketchUP Desktop. Armed with this discovery, I began to “hunt and peck” until I unraveled the mystery of the shortcut keys as they exist today. So behold perhaps the first my.SketchUp Browser keyboard shortcut cheat sheet (mac). Enjoy!

Home-grown, Keyboard Smackdown coming at you! This list best we can tell, captures the present browser keyboard functional mapping.

 Multi-Browsers

I did the bulk of my test drive running the App on Google Chrome and it was as smooth as silk! I met with similar success on Firefox and Opera. However, my one  hiccup came when I fired up my.Sketch on Safari. For whatever reasons the App did not display properly and graphic elements got jumbled up.

Chrome Browser Displays all graphics and menu selection crisp and clean.

Safari browser does not display my.SketchUp environment properly. Misalignment and overlapping of graphics are distracting.

Well, there’s a few tidbits of what a learned in my first my.SketchUp test drive. Perhaps you’ve had similar experience and/or new discoveries. Feel free to give us a shout-out. Cause as they say “It’s nice to share!”

Well, THIS is timely. Why it wasn’t but four days ago that Simon, Adam and I were talking about how many tiny, 3D printed, low poly pumpkins we could hold in our mouth and still discernibly say ‘low poly pumpkin’– think ‘chubby bunny’ but with 3D printed pumpkins instead of marshmallows.

Sadly, our guesses were based on pure speculation, but now that David Hagemann has provided a set of sweet, low poly pumpkin prints, the competition can truly begin! David created nine different little low poly pumpkins, naming them Chompy, Slurpy, Crushy, Piercy, Slicey, Crunchy, Munchy, Smoochy and Squashy.

He designed them to either be snapped and stacked together or mounted atop a small LED light. Of course, the applications abound… You could create a necklace, put them in the eye holes of that cat skull you have on your desk, teach a chipmunk to jungle them or just spread the pumpkin love by throwing them lovingly at passers-by.

You can download the files on Thingiverse. (BONUS! Grab his torch size low poly pumpkin to set atop an outdoor light! Download here!)

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!

Presented by

Here we are, 2016, and as you know, SolidSmack likes to look at what’s pushing product development ahead. Well, to look forward, it helps to look back… unless there’s a large bear, then you just want to skip the reminiscing and jump forward, hastily. We’ve got time, no bears, and a hefty dose of speculation that Autodesk is preparing something big for Fusion 360. So first, we’re going to look back at what set all this in motion.

It seems like such a short time ago that Autodesk’s wee seed of Fusion 360 was planted, growing into a dense forest of cloud-driven modeling power in just a few short years, with collaboration options and tools to match each stage of the product development process.

If you read our last series on  Fusion 360, you’ll recall those tools and what makes Fusion 360 different. I wrapped it up by saying, “The sculpting, part and assembly modeling are so different from what I’ve experienced before, and when you combine that with the collaboration, and then the simulation, and then the CAM capability, it’s certainly more than just CAD.”

I’m familiar enough with Fusion 360, but to get a broader view, I wanted to talk with someone who has been there all along. Steve Hooper is the Senior Director of Manufacturing Strategy and Business Development at Autodesk, so I’m pretty sure he’s spent some time among the roots of Fusion 360, wrapping his arms around the trunk and swinging gleefully from its branches.

I asked him a few questions. Some of it is what you would expect from someone at the corporate level of a software development company. But some of it provides those gems of someone involved in the inner workings of the software and knowing the struggles of the engineer or designer who needs the tools to get the job done.

Milestones. Every project has milestones. What are the top five milestones for Fusion 360 over the years?
It goes without saying, that the first key milestone would be the fact that we successfully changed the industry by launching the first cloud-based product development platform. This was magnified by being the first to market with a CAD/CAM solution for Mac. From there, we’ve advanced over the years, releasing new functionality just about every six weeks. Within that, we’ve hit milestones for the first cloud CAM solution and integrated simulation.

What has been the most unexpected outcome from a new feature in Fusion 360?
The creative use of Fusion 360’s sculpting tools. When we introduced sculpting we were aiming at industrial design and styling but I’ve seen a lot of unique applications that go way beyond what you’d expect. Users absolutely love the intuitive behavior, a more fluid approach to design and  results they can achieve in a shorter space of time.

There’s this guy, Ed Eaton, Senior Industrial Designer and Principal at DiMonte Group. Ed’s a huge SolidWorks fan, but used Fusion 360 for a charitable project he was doing in his local neighborhood. He was designing a skate insert for a kid at his local hockey team who has one leg shorter than the other. The spacer helps ensure the blades of his skates are in line. At Develop 3D Live in Boston this year, Ed demonstrated this process using Fusion 360 mesh and sculpt tools to capture the existing sole of the boot and then generate the spacer insert matched to the scan with a sculpted body. It took him about 20 minutes in Fusion 360 compared to the four hours he would have expected in SolidWorks. If you have time, I’d highly recommend checking out the recording. Ed’s a great designer, an authentic speaker and his presentation was highly informative.

A company named Grovemade collaborated with renowned audio designer, Joey Roth, on a set of desktop speakers so gorgeous, your jaw will drop. They used Fusion 360 to design and machine these works of art. At one point, right up against deadline they decided they needed to redesign the amp that accompanies the speakers. It was a risk because they had less than 48 hours, but with Fusion 360, were able to iterate quickly, collaborate remotely, and the result was stunning.

How is Fusion 360 complementing/changing the product dev process? What are engineers and designers telling you about?
Fusion 360 is redefining the product development process, which historically has been defined by traditional silo’d software categories like CAD, CAM, CAE and PLM.  Fusion 360 includes all of these capabilities in one single, accessible cloud solution.  Not only is this a whole new category, but our accessibility (free for students and startups, $25/month for everyone else) levels the playing field.

This level of integration is unparalleled. One of our customers, Backhand Bikes, told us they were able to reduce their design and manufacturing software packages from eight to just one. And, as a result, they feel they’re bringing much more sophisticated products to market.

What are the game-changing capabilities that Fusion 360 has brought to product dev?
There are so many capabilities Fusion 360 brings to the table — CAD, CAM, simulation, T-Splines, cloud rendering, drawing, documentation on Mac, mobile or PC at $25/month… need we say more? – but it’s not the individual capabilities that have been game-changing alone, it’s that all of it is integrated in one cloud-based, collaborative product development platform. That’s what has really set Fusion 360 apart from past software options for product developers.

One of my favorite Fusion 360 customers is a Dutch company called K-M-P Motorsports. They design and manufacture custom race car parts for some of the best brands in the field. They used to design in SolidWorks and ProE and primarily off-shore their manufacturing. They are now adopting Fusion 360 and bringing it all in-house, allowing them to model, simulate, visualize, collaborate and manufacture on a single platform. They aim to get to 70% self-machining by the end of this year, and Fusion 360 is at the heart of making that possible. In fact, they attribute 60% productivity efficiencies as a result of using Fusion 360. That is game-changing because it’s directly impacting their bottom line, and their ability to stay innovative and cutting-edge.

What are the capabilities designers and engineers need to know about in Fusion 360 now to help them throughout their careers?
Fusion 360 is more than a collection of capabilities, it’s a new way of collaborating as a designer or engineer.  It enables global teams to collaborate on a project, all the files, with all the tools needed, and the cloud to help power them–it’s the building blocks of design, made accessible, so more people can go from an idea to a manufactured product.  Today it includes industrial design, mechanical engineering, simulation, documentation, data management and CAM.

Next time, we’ll take a look at the future of Fusion 360. From what I’ve heard so far, there are interesting things afoot and a few hints that now is the time to try Fusion 360.

In this video tutorial, I offer up a brief modeling tutorial on how to use the engineering draft feature inside PTC Creo Parametric modeling software.

Last time I touched on the fundamentals of draft angle, especially when designing objects that will be mass-produced using injection molding, casting, or other forming processes. Our illustrious subject will be the good ‘ole no frills trash can. They come in all shapes, sizes and materials. The one thing they all have in common: draft.

When it comes to 3D modeling packages, Creo Parametric contains a suite of tools that are wide and deep. The Draft Feature within itself has the flexibility to achieve basic draft such as in our tutorial today or complex, curve-driven split draft.

Only three inputs are needed to successfully create a draft feature: 1) Draft Surfaces, 2) Draft Hinges, and 3) Pull Direction. Pick’em right and you’re in business.

So, without further ado, feel free to dive into the video.

In summary, the steps to create draft using the Creo Parametric basic draft are depicted in this final image.

I believe there’s a study somewhere that shows 78% of Engineers and Designers, who plan a move into a management position, plan to light their office with industrial-chic light fixtures using vintage light bulbs… That figure may have been 7%… Numbers, Meh. Anywho, vintage light bulbs are all the rage, and judging by the 2000+ downloads of #David’s Vintage Bulb Set, a few people like the 3D models as well.

#David needed some bulbs to light some fixtures he was designing. He decided on some Bulbrite Nostalgic Edison lights, bought them online and went to work modeling up the incredibly stylish bulbs in SolidWorks. He has included three bulbs: The Bulbrite T14 Vintage Spiral Filament, the Victor Loop A19, and the Clear Dimmable ST18. Great choices #David!

The SolidWorks file contains three configuration plus one with the E26 (Medium) base only, in case you want to add another style to the mix. He has also included a STEP file with all bulbs and base for those who don’t have SolidWorks. Ima light this mother up! I have now idea what that means, but it seems the right time to say it. No? Oh, ok.

You can download the files on GrabCAD. (BONUS! Grab this sweet light fixture by Jack Townsend that looks GREAT with the bulb Download here!)

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!

I’m pretty sure LEGO minifigs have all the fun… except for, ya know, being completely inanimate and having the dexterity of a cardboard box. Besides that, they get to play around on and endless number of cool cars, aircraft and THIS, this LEGO Technic Dune Buggy.

Some of you may know this vehicle as the 8048-1 Buggy set, released in 2010, containing 314 pieces and cool, little ‘Nitro Buggy’ decals. If you’re GrabCAD user ‘lowradiation’ however, you know every single piece intimately, from the four-knob gears to the shock absorbers. He has a long history of making these LEGO sets, with over 20 available, many of which are in the Technic category.

For this model, he’s provided the model in both STP and (Rhino) 3DM, perfect for downloading, rendering, animating or using to complete more of your digital LEGO collections… because a digital LEGO collection is really useful and doesn’t hurt as bad when you step on it. Does a LEGO feel pain when it steps on itself? – Existential quandary for LEGO minifigs.

You can download the files on GrabCAD. (BONUS! Grab one of his other LEGO models on his project page!)

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!

Well, well, well. Just as you were getting comfy with the limited private storage of Onshape’s free plan and dumping your Documents occasionally to clear room for others, they’ve gone and switched things up on you.

As of this week, Onshape is offering a new 21-day Pro plan trial with no storage limits, unlimited private Documents and full CAD-crafting features. The Pro plan price stays the same at $100/month billed annually, but changes to $125 for those who want the convenience of paying more monthly. If you don’t continue on the Pro plan, you’ll be put on the Free plan (and given a sad face sticker), retaining unlimited public Documents and the same CAD functionality, but minus Private document storage, sharing and collaboration.

Here’s how it breaks down now…

Onshape Subscription Pricing

If you’re currently on the Free plan, and have private Documents, you have until December 15th to switch to Pro. If you don’t, and your Documents are not made public, you’ll be able to access them, but not edit them–they’ll just be sitting there, looking at you, giggling indistinctly. So, time to export your models, publicize them or bite the $100 bullet and upgrade to Pro. If you’re already a Pro customer and paying monthly, there will be no increase in price and you can keep it for any new users you add.

Along with these changes, Onshape is adding more features to the $200+ Enterprise edition to sweeten the deal for large design teams. Some of the features they’ve already revealed are reporting and analytics, and admin tool and controls.

Like the new features? I’ve always said, sell the features, not the storage. There will now be more people creating more public models, which is more sharing among the Onshape community and more knowledge being shared, less pressure to move to Pro, but an easy decision if you need the private features. Good move Onshape, good move.

CLO is to soft goods what SolidWorks is to machine parts. Game, consider yourself changed.

How we can illustrate this? Hmm. Ah yes…

Form-fitting Spandex Activewear. For Dogs.

You awake with clammy forehead skin, itchy fingers, and the germ of an idea that will change the world. You roll out of bed, gorilla walk across the snack food strewn floor, and wince as the piercing cold blue of ultra-bright OLED shatters the warm, musky darkness. SolidWorks.

You heave a sigh of relief as you enter your Parametric Happy Place, crack the knuckles of your sausage-like fingers, and, quietly, contemplatively, you hear yourself mutter: Maximum effort. It’s design time.

You stare blankly at the screen.

Have you ever tried to design spandex dog garments in SolidWorks? Words like “hopeless”, “asinine”, and “meat-headed” come to mind.*

* If you have actually attempted to design spandex dog garments in SolidWorks and are offended by any of the above word choices, get over it.

There have traditionally been two overarching phyla in the 3D design kingdom: Digital Content Creation (DCC) tools, and Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools. DCC’s are designed for makin’ pretty pictures for print, games, and movies. CAD is for designing hard-body objects in the real world. CAD is for designing objects in wood, metal, plastic, ceramic, glass: buildings (AEC), mechanical engineering (MCAD), and exterior shape design (Surfacing).

There is no existing category of 3D tools for the design of soft goods. Products made of wool, cotton, nylon, and Spandex are still, to this day, largely designed the old way. Designers pass 2D illustrations to skilled pattern makers, who, in turn, hand-make round after round of successive prototypes. Once a prototype is approved, its pattern can be drawn in a 2D vector drawing tool like Adobe Illustrator, then used to drive 2.5D CNC cutting machines for production. It’s slow, arduous, and, most importantly, requires a lot of guesswork, trial, and error.

Intrepid studios have long experimented with various 3D tools for soft goods design. DCC apps are favored by those who like the freedom that non-reality offers, but are then hindered by the lack of dimensional control or useful pattern output. CAD apps are typically favored by studios working with crossover products like shoes, luggage, or wearables. These products already contain elements of hard-goods design for which CAD is the perfect tool: rubber soles, wheels, plastic frames, and metal fixtures. CAD falls down, however, when asked to design the kinds of complex organic forms that Spandex demands.

CLO (big-sister to Marvelous Designer) is not a DCC, nor is it CAD. It represents an entirely new phylum. It allows users a level of fluidity, speed, and flexibility on par with that of a Visual Effects (VFX) design tool like Z-Brush, the ease-of-use on par with quasi-CAD poly modeller Sketchup, and the downstream manufacturing efficiency of a CAD tool.

With CLO, you can design soft goods around an existing 3D model, not unlike a cobbler’s last. Design patterns using simple 2D vector drawing tools, position them in 3D space, sew them together, and simulate the fall of the fabric across the last.

Most of the demos you’ll see are based around human mannequins, but you could just as easily import a dog, an iguana, or the latest MCAD data from that 9-axis robotic arm you’ve been designing. When the visual result in CLO looks good, you can export your pattern curves for the CNC cutter, and off you go.

As wearables come into vogue, we’ll need more and more tools like CLO to fill the role that CAD plays in the hard-goods world. I hope to see more of them. For now, try out Marvelous Designer. It’s free to try, and CLO really just adds pattern export features.

Do you use either? What for? And bonus if you’re using it in a workflow along with an MCAD tool like SolidWorks.

Presented by

If you want to find out what Autodesk is up too, Autodesk University is the place to be each year. Last week that happened… yep, I just checked and we were in fact at AU last week. It was a bit of a blur, but I know two things for certain, nay THREE — Titos is the best vodka, beatboxing should kick off more conference keynotes, and Autodesk shot out five feature previews for Fusion 360. They’re features many have been gnawing the last bit of their fingernail beds in anticipation of. Some are surprises, some are expectations and others just change the game completely.

In our last article, we looked at what Autodesk had done with Fusion 360, but it’s at Autodesk University–during the keynotes, special sessions and the bartop conversations in particular–where you not only see what’s coming to Fusion 360, but what people are doing with Fusion 360. As you know we loooove the latter, and it’s those people who influence the direction and development of features in Fusion 360. What are those features? Let’s have a look.

1. Integrated Electronic PCB Design

This comes from Autodesk’s acquisition of CadSoft with their massive ELEMENT14 userbase and the EAGLE Schematic/PCB Design software. The software will be fully integrated with bi-directional associativity between MCAD and ECAD environments.

2. Sheet Metal Fabrication

Hello. I’ll just let half of you pass out right now… and the other half when you hear it’s ‘Coming Soon’ to Fusion 360. For good reason though–with stiff competition, they’ve been perfecting this to be the best sheet metal available. It looks amazing, from flange creation, miters, feature creation and flat patterns of course, PLUS automatic nesting.

3. Nastran Simulation

Ever since Autodesk revealed the results of the NEi Software acquisition with Autodesk Nastran, it has been suspected the capabilities would make their way into Fusion 360. The wait is over. Fusion 360 has a new solver, new Contact Manager, Buckling, Bolt Connection, multiple load cases, nonlinear studies, shape optimization and super improved mesh refinement. Lattice optimization also coming to Fusion 360 for light weighting. Bit of a large update.

4. Additive Build Solver + 5-Axis Machining

The CAM capabilities in Fusion 360 were already great, but this is next level right here. Included now are both additive and subtractive capabilities that cover the gamut of machining needs in product development. Along with this are new fixture types, new tools, WSC Probe for stock positioning, 4-axis index and wrapping, and 5-axis swarf machining.

5. Browser Access

Fusion 360 is coming to the browser. Though not specifically mentioned, this is an outworking of Project Leopard (still in beta). No date has been set, but the intention is clear–the ability to use and access Fusion 360 anywhere on any device. Though the current desktop download/installation has been a criticism, it’s a move driven by customer need and cloud capability. Now, both are there with Fusion 360 Browser Access ‘Available Soon’. Note: the shot we got at AU above shows CAM. However, CAM won’t be supported initially, but toolpaths, simulations, and other related data will update in the browser view when geometry is changed.

BUT WAIT…

If you were not watching (I wasn’t), you may have missed (I did) the announcement that Fusion 360 Ultimate IS BACK.

They originally announced Fusion 360 Ultimate in October of 2014, adding features that didn’t exist in Fusion 360 at the time, including 3-axis CAM. Then they took all of those features and bundled them into the lower price of Fusion 360 Standard for $40/mth ($300/yr). Now, they’re playing with our emotions and bringing Fusion 360 Ultimate back, adding advanced (buckling, nonlinear) simulation and advanced (Probing, 4/5-axis) machining for $190/mth ($1500/yr).

Here’s more on the features:

So, Ultimate is back, and Autodesk has revealed features, many that you’ve been waiting for and some requested since Fusion 360 was first announced. Personally, I can’t wait for sheet metal, and I’m wondering what’s going to be the most useful for you, but most of all, I’m wondering how you’re using it–do let me know in the comments. And if you haven’t tried it yet, snag Fusion 360 here.

Think about it. What are you suppose to do with your fingers when you’re not CAD’ing about or peeling through the pages on SolidSmack? You could eat… or make stuff… or give your co-worker a very awkward massage, OR you could fidget. Fidget, fidGET, FIDGET. I’m a pen spinner myself, but Francesco Pantaleone has just revealed to me another way to fidget my life away.

Francesco says, “This Trispinner is smaller than other designs on Thingiverse” ….wait, there are more?! Sure enough. There are no less than a thousand other fidget spinners on Thingiverse, but this one, THIS ONE, is designed so it spins between the fingers at every position. “LET THE FIDGET TRICKS MADNESS BEGIN!!”

It’s a beautifully simple design printed with ColorFabb Woodfill at 0.20 mm layer height on a Prusa i3 MK2. I am absolutely impressed with the results on that printer – look how tight those layers are! Though not specified, it looks like it uses standard 608 ZZ bearings (22mm OD x 8mm ID x 7mm Width).

You can download the files (three in total) on Thingiverse. (BONUS! Grab one of his other LEGO models on his project page!)

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!

This post features affiliate links which helps support SolidSmack through a small commission earned from the sale! Thank you for your help in moving away from banner ads by delivering better content!

Mathieu Stern is a photographer, and also a collector of old, cheap and weird camera lenses. So, it makes sense that he would set out to create his own 3D printed camera lens, and you know what? “What?” Well, it takes a dang good photo. Check THESE out.

Mathieu says, “I never really learned how to make 3D models on a computer–I started by making a cardboard first prototype with a found lens from 1890 I had in a box. It was ugly and not easy to use but I was able to focus and take the measurements I needed to create a 2D design.”

He got rejected by a lot of 3D printers (because of the cost of creating it and the lack of funds to make it happen), but he finally found a printer willing to take a chance. FABULOUS, a 3D printer in France, took his idea and turned it into a photo shooting prize to behold.

“I met Arnault Coulet, CEO of a French 3D printing agency called FABULOUS. His team and he designed the 3D prototype and printed the lens. Luckily for us, he saw all the crazy potential and fun we could create with this project.”

The lens is simple, a 135mm f/1.8 lens that was made up of two cylinders threaded together. The first cylinder, containing the glass lens (the nineteenth century one he found in a box), moves back and forth to allow focusing. The smaller, inner cylinder attaches to the camera. This section contains a slot for a diaphragm plates with various shapes which add visual effects to the image. The created the 3D model (in Rhino?) and 3d printed it using PLA on a Leapfrog 3D printer.

In the end, it was proof a camera lens could be printed and printed at a cost of only “a few Euro.” You can download the files via Sketchfab!

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!

Right when you think everyone gave up on putting parametric 3D CAD software on an iPad, a small, rebellious group of software developers launches an app that puts those large, money-laden software companies to shame. When we first saw Shapr3D, it was well on its way to cracking the CAD app conundrum – How do you put functional parametric 3D modeling on an iPad? Well, they’ve doneit, and just released Shapr3D 2.0 that brings a few things it was missing.

With powerful laptops and 2-in-1s flooding the market, why put CAD on iOS now? I thought as much, giving up on ever seeing ‘SolidWorks for iPad’, but with the big CAD companies losing interest in the same and the iPad Pro + Pencil just out, it was a perfect time for others to pick of the task, and Istvan Csanady, founder of Shapr3D, believes their app to be a huge step forward in the life of the first truly mobile CAD software.

Six month ago, they launched the first version of the app with basic sketching, solid modeling and freeform surfacing features. To their surprise, it was hugely popular. They received loads of praise, even more feedback and many suggestions for improvements. “We thought people would just use it as a 3D sketching app,” Istvan says. “We were totally blown away when people started showing how they used it across different industries: architecture, jewelry design, engineering, industrial design, interior design and more.”

Constraints and Dimensions

In Shapr3D 2.0, they’ve refined the workflow and Apple Pencil interface, but the main focus has been on sketching and constraints. If you us any constraint-based CAD software, it’s going to look extremely familiar. Using your Apple Pencil, you can sketch lines, arcs, circles and splines (without pressing a single button or using ridiculous key combos). It work just like you would expect. Have a look.

The constraints even work with splines.

Education

The Shapr3D team is serious about getting their app into the hands of new users, announcing that Shapr3D will be free for students, professors, and educational institutions. “Shapr3D is a great tool to learn 3D modeling. This is why we decided to launch our educational program: all the pro features of Shapr3D will be free for educational purposes, without any limitations.”

Along with all of this, they’ve redesigned how layers and groups work and have improved the extrusion method by allowing a sketch, shape or face to be pulled directly. New in-app tutorial videos have also been added. Native CAD formats have not been added, but you can export as .STEP and .IGES and .STL.

Shapr3D 2.0 is currently available on the iTunes App Store as a free download with in-app subscription purchase options: Shapr3D ($19/month),  Shapr3D PRO ($99/year) and Shapr3D EDU (Free). An Apple Pencil is required for using all Shapr3D features.

When I bought a 1st-gen iPad in 2010, my first thoughts turned to the possibilities of using 3D CAD on the super mobile, touch-screen device. Waaaaay back then, I was still using a massive desktop for major CAD tasks. I have a smaller computer now, and a small mobile laptop capable of running any 3D CAD software, but I’ve already planned to purchase an iPad Pro and Shapr3D is the first app I will install.

Have you used Shapr3D 2.0? What features do they need to add next?

Was bound to happen sooner or later, right? We started worrying about this all the way back in 2011 when Autodesk acquired T-Splines. The small Utah-based company had a growing Rhino user base for its plugin that provide a unique take on organic modeling in a solid modeling environment, and they had just released a similar plugin for SolidWorks. The tsElements plugin was discontinued and now T-Splines for Rhino is headed to the burial plot, which completely ends T-Splines as it has been known.

As Develop3D reports:

T-Splines is to cease selling or producing updates of its Rhino plug-in on 7 January 2017, having made the decision to simplify its portfolio and include the technology in parent company Autodesk’s Fusion 360 CAD tool.

As Tom Finnigan, Software Architect at Autodesk, announced on the T-Splines blog, this affects more than just the T-Splines plugin for Rhino:

“Autodesk will no longer develop new versions or sell the T-Splines, Shape Modeling, and Real-time Renderer Plug-ins for Rhino. We have made this decision to simplify our portfolio and focus efforts to better serve our customers with Autodesk products.”

In the FAQ issued, Autodesk explains that they “will not update these plug-ins for Rhino V6 or any future versions” because they have “developed products that include these underlying technologies and provide similar capabilities.”

The last announcement, for T-Splines V4, was in January 2015 from former T-Splines Founder and CEO, Matt Sederberg, who went on to become Automotive Design Product Manager at Autodesk, and has now moved on to start another company called Isogeometrx, a company that is “dedicated to revolutionizing design and engineering in the automotive, marine, and aerospace industries by providing tools and technologies for integrated design and analysis.”

In Febraury 2014, Autodesk discontinued tsElements (T-Splines for SolidWorks) with the reason that “a community never really had a chance to coalesce around the concept before T-splines were acquired by Autodesk.”

We knew the end would eventually come to T-Splines support for competing products as it was absorbed into Autodesk products (currently Fusion 360 and Alias). That tsElements lasted three years and the Rhino plugin lasting six shows that Autodesk was at least slightly dedicated in keeping the products going. At least long enough to ask them, “Have you tried Fusion 360?”

The T-Splines 4.0 download for Rhino 5 is still available here. The tsElements plugin for SolidWorks is no longer available for purchase, but is reported to work in SolidWorks 2016. Those with T-Splines 3.5 or later will be able to activate their licenses on new machines indefinitely.

So, there are at least two questions. Will Rhino get a new SubD plugin? And, what are you using instead of Rhino + T-Splines?

@SolidSmack
Q: Will Rhino get a new SubD plugin?
A1: https://t.co/wBLmxBeKRU probably dead soon post acquisition
A2: https://t.co/eCdRyDiSvR

— Gustavo Fontana (@gustojunk) December 12, 2016

@SolidSmack
Q: what are you using instead of Rhino + T-Splines?

A: Modo for modeling + OBJ + SubDFromMesh conversion in Rhino V6 WIP build.

— Gustavo Fontana (@gustojunk) December 12, 2016

Resources
T-Splines for Rhino FAQ
T-Splines for Rhino V4

Not sure if you realize this, but Onshape broke out of beta exactly one year ago. They celebrated their first birthday this week with a tiny chocolate cake I’m sure was fought over after this photo was taken. Not sure why Kevin Bacon photo-bombed that lovely picture. Rude.

It honestly feels longer, doesn’t it? Especially with the rate of updates they were churning out – I count 5 or 500… not sure, somewhere in between there. An update every few weeks. Jon Hirschtick: “15 updates, 120 new features/enhancements.” Well there you go. They must have a few goals. They definitely have a growing user base, as we hear from professionals all over that they’re trying Onshape or using Onshape with others asking, “Have you heard of Onshape?” – yes, we get that question, more than you would think.

Given that we’ll take any excuse to eat cake whether we’ve been offered it or not, we thought it was time to crash the party and catch up with Co-founder and CEO of Onshape, Jon Hirschtick, to find out what the last year has been like, what they’ve learned and what their goals are for the future. Let the cake eating commence!

SolidSmack: Can you break down some Onshape stats for us?
Jon Hirschtick: Over 2,000,000 hours of usage! And 1 in 6 Onshape sessions are from a phone or tablet (Android, iPhone, or iPad).

• We have 3 refrigerators
• We have 2 coffee machines — one Keurig and one that grinds the beans
• We are in Sprint 57 — meaning our 57th ‘period’ of R&D
• I have sat at 3 different desks in our office
• How many times users have installed Onshape: Zero
• How many people have downloaded Onshape: Zero
• Speed of my home internet connection: 330Mbps (ok, it cost me an extra $7 per month). Approximately 5 times faster than when we started Onshape. Score one for full-cloud apps.
• Speed of the newest CPUs compared to the old CPUs that were around when we founded Onshape: The same. No improvement. Got it?

It’s clear Onshape has shaken up the CAD scene. What did you expect would happen? What didn’t you expect would happen that did?
I expected that we would assemble a great team of people — and we did.

I did not expect just how much interest there would be in a true cloud system.

I did not expect to see so much interest in, and really a brewing movement among customers to, “Agile Design” — basically a change in their process to be more iterative, nimble, involve more people, and move faster. Customers want to change their process, and they see that traditional file-based installed CAD is not well-suited for Agile Design, but Onshape and our full-cloud database architecture are great for Agile.

We also did not expect just how fast/powerful tablets and phones would get (like the iPad Pro I am writing this email on — we knew we were going to run on them for sure, but I did not quite expect how much performance has improved on mobile the past few years.

I’m also surprised that nobody else has yet come out with a true, full-cloud system like ours. Someday I expect they will, but so far we still are alone with our full-cloud approach.

Along the same lines, what’s been the most surprising development in Onshape to you over the last year?
The most surprising development in Onshape has been to see 40 different partners build apps using out API. It’s also been very surprising to see how reliable our full-cloud architecture is. Sure we have bugs and issues like any CAD system, but the notion of ‘crashes’ that plague installed CAD has been enormously reduced. Very surprising and cool to those of us who have built CAD systems for years.

Has the speed and which people/companies are transitioning to the cloud shifted? If so, has it changed how Onshape is approaching things?
Yes, more companies are accepting and embracing cloud, and faster than ever. One customer used to tell me a few years ago that they could not use cloud solutions. Now the same customer told me that he has a mandate from his management to get rid of all of his in-house compute servers, that the company has mandated that they *must* use cloud services.

It’s pretty dramatic actually to see the decline in cloud naysayers and the dramatic increase in cloud enthusiasts. Also, while there are of course still people with bad internet, the number of people with awesome internet is exploding. As I said above my home internet is 330Mbps. I’ve visited schools with 1Gbps.

You’re famous for your ‘Future of CAD’ outlook. Have you had some new thoughts about the future of CAD? If so, what has changed your thoughts?
One thing that hasgrown in prominence in my thinking about the future of CAD is the importance of mesh/facet-based 3D models. They have become much more important to the future of CAD than I might have thought a few years ago. I think the future of CAD will include great capabilities for importing facet/mesh-based 3D models and working with them as ‘first-class’ objects. Measuring to them, referencing them in building parts and assemblies, using them as components in assemblies, performing modeling operations on them (both parametric and direct editing), and even mixing them in a model with traditional Boundary Representation type 3D models.

The reason for this is because of additive manufacturing, generative shape optimization technology, and the enormous advances in 3D scanning. All of this has increased the ‘currency’, if you will, of facet/mesh data, like STL files.

Also, the future of CAD is going to be a lot more about how many, many people can work together in teams rather than what one person can do with merely creating a model. Products are not built by one person, nor can they even be built by an old-style, one-person-at-a-time workflow.

Teams of the future want their CAD to work in real-time: real-time deployment to anyone anywhere on all their devices, real-time data management, real-time collaboration, real-time analytics, real-time controls. There’s no time for the old ways anymore.

What are some goals you want to see Onshape hit over the next year?
The most satisfying and important thing we do at Onshape is to see our customers build real products in Onshape, and do it faster and with more innovation than they ever did before (and have more fun doing it).

So the main goal is to continue, as we have in year 1, to quickly grow the number of customers who are doing this. That’s the biggest goal.

We want to have another huge year of product growth, and improvement too, of course — in all areas: modeling, drawings, speed, applications, collaboration, data management, etc. And we are really looking forward to introducing our Enterprise product with a whole bunch of brand-new features, which have never been part of CAD before, for managing and analyzing and controlling teams of CAD users.

A big thanks to Jon for the interview, for some new thoughts on the future of CAD and the insight into how people are using Onshape. A happy birthday to the entire team as well. As always, we’re interested to see what Onshape is bringing to product development and we’re looking forward to what they do next year!

Take that last swig of cold coffee and check this out. Vectary, the online 3D modeling platform, is now out of beta. We took an early look at Vectary in September. Right after that, in October, they surprised us announcing a Seed round of $2.5 million, led by BlueYard Capital (here’s why), and a move of their HQ to Brooklyn, New York. To catch you up on the platform.

Vectary aims to combine mesh modeling, subdivision modeling and parametric design–all apparent from the interface layout and initial features and toolset. The Vectary UI is a beautiful, wide open environment with your modeling Tools to the left, your model Objects to the right, Snap and View setting at the bottom and Selection options up top.

Founder and CEO, Michael Koor, started as an industrial designer, eventually turning to develop his own software for faster design iteration. He and Pavol Sovis brought that to the web, growing a team focused on the same and developing it into what it is today with the goal of building a community for other designers to have the same access to creating and iterating 3D models quickly.

New and updated features alongside the public release of Vectary include:

• New parametric plugins (Mirroring, Array and Revolve)
• Help Center accessible directly from the editor
• Step-by-Step tutorials
• New Hand Draw tool
• Upgraded Cut tool
• Upgraded Weld tool (collapse/weld multiple connected selections separately)
• Newly designed Jog and new Jog for selections

The ‘parametric plugins’ sparks our interest the most. These are features under development that include some of the basic tools that are a must in any modeling tool and absolutely needed to make this app even better. Currently, they’re added as layers in your object tree on the right. Along with features like Revolve, Mirror, and Array (Pattern) there are also features for Wheels, Boolean Operations, 3D Printer Export and an interesting  ‘Joints and Wires’ feature that will map what look like pipes and fittings along the segments of the geometry you’ve created in your scene.

During the closed beta, only the first 10,000 beta testers had access, but now with the VECTARY platform open, beta testers can share their public models online. You can see the most popular models here. If you didn’t get on during the beta, now’s your chance to try it out. Very interested to know what you think.

Some needed features we’re thinking of off the top of our head are:

• Layer grouping
• Unmerge Layers
• Deeper undo stack
• Direct dimensioning
• More sketch tool types
• Movable/dockable toolbars
• Smoothing of selective faces
• Simultaneous viewing/editing

Any others?

Who needs a rocket engine? WHO DOESN’T?! And a 3D model of a rocket engine? Well, just think of the possibilities… You could place it randomly in the model of your new product and have a good laugh when everyone starts questioning it during a design review. You could 3D print it, set it on your desk and charge people to touch it. And YES, you could Photoshop your face and use it to give yourself JET ENGINE JOWLS.

Hans de Ridder created this model using SolidWorks, and although it’s mostly modeled up as a single part, it fun to play around with and get some ideas on modeling your own rocket engines or Sci-Fi 3D modely bits to use in a multitude of ways. From the looks of the 60+ pages of his other models he knows what he’s doing too, with all matter of ships, rockets, robots and vehicles.

The SolidWorks .sldasm and .sldprt files are available to download, but you may need to request a .step or .iges version if you use another 3D modeling software. You can download the files via GrabCAD! (Bonus! Check out all the sci-fi ships Hans has created on his project page!)

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!

On the ankle-veins of Autodesk announcing they are shuttering T-Splines, they’ve also announced that they’re bringing the family of 123D Apps to the end. Here’s what we know.

The 123D apps are being consolidated into other Autodesk products and 123Dapp.com is being shutdown. Outside of specifying “early 2017” and “access and download your content from 123Dapp.com in the coming months”, there’s no definite date for when the apps, site or your data will disappear forever.

From the 123D blog:

We are making some changes to simplify our Autodesk portfolio and workflows for people everywhere who love to make things. We are consolidating these tools and features into key apps such as Tinkercad, Fusion 360, and ReMake.

Today, we are sharing the news that in early 2017, after we complete this consolidation, we’ll be shutting down 123Dapp.com and turning off many of the apps to new download.

It’s not too clear what is happening with each of the 123D Apps, but there’s hope that many of them will be added to Fusion 360, especially with Fusion 360 coming to the browser next year.

Regarding 123D Make, Scott Moyse says, “it should be in Fusion 360 for sure! It will be a missed opportunity if it isn’t put into Fusion… it should be in Inventor as well!”

Regarding Circuits, Yuriy Sklyar with Autodesk says, “It’ll still be alive and will eventually be a part of Tinkercad”, and regarding 123D Catch, that it will belong to ReMake, and regarding 123D Make, that “It’s going into Fusion.”

Alternative to Autodesk 123D

While we have a general idea about where the features and capabilities will end up, it may very well be worth becoming more familiar with where they may end up. Here are the three apps to look into:

Tinkercad – A free, (Chrome) browser-based 3D design and modeling tool. Currently in beta.

Fusion 360 – All-in-one platform for solid and free-form modeling, analysis and more – Free for startups, hobbyists, enthusiasts and educators. $300/yr Standard, $1500/yr Professional.

ReMake – formerly known as Autodesk Memento, this is an end-to-end solution for converting reality captured with photos or scans into high-definition 3D meshes. – Free for students and educators. $30/mth or $300/yr.

Remember when life was nothing but eating large amounts of pasta and disassembling engines? Yeah, that was the best! Especially the time you shot noodles out your nose and into the crankcase – that squirrel didn’t even know what was coming. Ah, simpler times perhaps. Though some would question their ability to launch noodles from a nostril, there are plenty who could tear down and reassemble an engine. But what about 3D PRINTING THE ENGINE FIRST?

Yes, never mind the challenge of building an engine – let’s build a working one from layers of plastic that warp if you look at them wrong. Well, Eric Harrell from Santa Cruz is up for the challenge–and it’s not his first time either. His latest project is the model, print and assembly of a fully-functional Chevy Camaro LS3 V8 Engine. The build took over 200 hours of printing (72 for the engine block alone) and, though smaller, the final product assembles exactly like the real engine. Have a look:

Eric modeled the engine in SolidWorks and used a RepRap Prusa i3 to create the scale model that includes 64 unique parts. He has provided all of the .stl files (he’s not releasing the SolidWorks files yet), plus seven files that include assembly and placement instructions. He has also included a hardware list and a complete parts list that includes print and finishing instructions. If you’re ready to start assembling however, he has hardware kits available for $52, and all electronics, which includes the 500 rpm motor, speed controller and power supply, for $27.

He modeled the Chevy V8 from specs, pics, CAD files, and service diagrams of the engine. Three have already built the model and judging by Eric’s other builds, he knows his stuff. He has four other built-to-scale functioning, 3D printed engine builds along with various other detailed automotive projects. My favorite part is the engine stand. Though he doesn’t have parts and build instructions for that yet, he’s gathering supplier and part list to provide that as well. You can email him to be notified when it’s available.

Hop over to Thinngiverse to download the files! (Bonus! Check out Eric’s Subaru WRX EJ20 Boxer Engine here!)

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!

I don’t know when you last played Super Mario Bros. 3 for 87 hours straight… what’s that? Last week? Well, after that you probably had that nightmare where you’re running through Mushroom Kingdom being repeatedly pummeled by massive concrete THWOMP blocks, right? No? Ok, just me. Still, those were one of my favorite obstacles and if you liked them too, then you’ll LOVE this week’s model.

Wes Swain has created a super-size, little THWOMP game console to house a Raspberry Pi (although I’m thinking that sizing it up a little to house the innards of a Super NES with a spot in the mouth to shove the cartridge would be AWESOME.) Why did he do it?

The notion of permanently sealing a functioning computer in a chunk of cement is compelling to me for some reason. This flies in the face of the modern notion of upgradability, patches, updates, & the unspoken reverence for a computer (even this cheap one) and I love that about this project.

WHAT A REBEL. We love that about you Wes.

Not only does this kick practicality in the face, it’s a project that incorporates electronics, 3D modeling, 3D printing, mold-making, and playing awesome, old school video games until someone gets really irritated with you. He has laid out all the step as an Instructable where he takes you through the modeling using Fusion 360, the printing using a LulzBot TAZ 5 and casting using Smooth-on mold-making products.

One thing to note. This is a single part mold with the Raspberry Pi EMBEDDED inside the THWOMP. You won’t be getting this out again… unless you turn invincible or have a Hammer Suit. SUPER MAAAAAARIO!! So, make sure you have everything loaded and connected up right. To protect it, he suggests using a few coats of liquid electrical tape. I’m thinking a two-part mold here and a cavity for the Raspberry Pi – I’m just not as rebellious as Wes is I guess

Have a look at how it came together in the video below, then double-jump over to Instructables for the walkthrough and Thingiverse to download the model!

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!

You know when you’re comfy as a lark in your castle and all of a sudden AN ARMY OF THE UNDEAD ATTACK. I agree, kids in this generation just don’t know how to defend against an occurrence of that sort. Your not gonna text your way out of that one! Oh, yeah, get a selfie of that demusclized skeleton warrior as he cuts your face. Fortunately, there’s a modular castle playset that allows you to set up specific castle attack/defense scenarios AND have fun doing it.

The 3D printable Modular Castle Playset is large set of model files, designed by Tim Wahlström in cooperation with the fine team at CreativeTools.se, created for parents and children who want to become more familiar with 3D printing at home. With a castle model that is modular and many more accessories, there is a huge number of castle constructing possibilities and play.

The set contains walls, towers, houses, characters, animals, and a myriad of different props. All parts are small enough to be 3D-printed in a build volume of 140 x 140 x140 mm (5″ x 5″ x 5″). The walls and towers fit together easily using a simple 3D-printable butterfly joint. You can make as many parts as you want to create your original castle layout!

Oh, I will create an original castle layout. Now, go away or I shall taunt you second time!

They have release a LOAD of files, 84 in total (and they’re taking suggestions for others). You have the aforementioned items, along with canons, ladders, barrels and boxes. All the .stl files are provided and available on just about any 3D printing related website imaginable. PLA filament is recommends, along with a printer capable of using PLA – a Lulzbot, Ultimaker, Sigma, Prusa i3 MK2 or Rostock Max Delta printer are all good choices.

The only thing their missing is the Settlers of Catan version. Oooo!

Visit the project site for links to various places where the models or hosted or download from Thingivers where they have a load of other cool projects!

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!