Please list software you use for Modelling & Design (Page 4 of 6)

Except that when I do "Edit -> Fill Hole" I usually get a message like "No Holes"...  Then I bring it into Repetier and get a warning telling me that there are holes.  The one time I did actually get meshlab to detect holes and list them for correction, it would eventually find one that it couldn't fix and crash....hard.

Now, I pretty much ignore meshlab for fixing holes.

I think most of us model what we print.  Look in the STLs and showoff subforum and you'll see a lot of examples.

I still use openscad almost exclusively. the more you use it the easier it gets.

I will add my 2c to this discussion.
I have recently used Solid Edge, NX, Catia and Solidworks.

I found Solidworks the easiest to learn and the most straightforward to use. IMO, the interface is better designed and easiest to intuit.

Here are some more   http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/25-free-3d … -not-miss/

There are some that may already be listed.

Netfabb Studio Basic will cut with a plane and fill the holes.  It's free - http://www.netfabb.com/basic.php

I know I'm responding to an old post, but I have found a way to do text in Creo Elements.  It's not as quick and easy as in Sketchup, but it is possible.

1.  Under the "More..." button in the "2D profile" ribbon (Modeling tab), there's a "Text to Profile" command.  Lets you enter your text, size, and position, and pick a font, and puts it on the current workplane.
2.  Use the Modeling tab, "Draw" ribbon, "Equidistance" command to outline it and make it into a closed outline vs. just line text.  This is the part that sometimes takes a few steps for some letters, it gets confused at intersections sometimes.
3.  Now you can just drag the workplane to make it into a 3D, either out of or into an existing part, or make it a part of its own and then use Booleans to do what you want to the other parts.

Example image is a logo part I use for some underwater camera products I'm starting to make.  I hollowed out the insides of the "R"'s as that seemed to print a little cleaner - this plate is only about 20mm square.

I'm a complete noob here and to 3D modeling. I started with trying 3DTin and Tinkercad. I created about 50-60 parts towards a model and I also created a version of the complete model, which I had printed out with i.Materialize. Since my Tinkercad is now read-only, I have been trying: Cheetah3D (purchased $99), Bonzai3D (trial now expired), 123D Design, SketchUp and DAZ3D. I am not very pleased with the complexity or limitations of any of these really. I created a multi-object project in Bonzai3D and exported to STL. Cura was not able to open the file. I ran the STL file through a plug-in on MeshLab and saved the file again and Cura opened it fine - except that 20% of the model is missing, and not in very convenient areas of the model either. I should have tried a less complex model first I guess.
So, how can one go about fixing the missing "surface" areas?
I haven't tried Cura on the original STL downloads from Tinkercad yet, because I need to make those parts the accurate sizes that I am looking for. Hence my goal to recreate each of the parts in a better program. Cubify is PC only I think - but I do have Windows7 on my WMware Fusion instance. But it doesn't import STL files (right?).

I use Solid Edge (I actually work for the company that makes it). It is like SolidWorks, Pro/E(Creo), Autodesk Inventor which some of you listed.

One nice thing about it is that it is free to students and teachers:

http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/e … edge.shtml

Mark

I think they want you to be a part of an "accredited" school but that is about it.  I know it is allowed to be used in extracurricular activities.

Hi,

Gimp + Inkscape for processing image material for the object (texttures, stamps etc.)
Blender for 3D modelling
netfabb and MeshLab for postprocessing (make sure it's printable and has correct size etc.)

best regards, Hendrik

I've been using Autodesk Inventor Pro... it definitely gets the job done.