Computer-Aided Design

I unsure as to what the radius is for the iphone 15 pro max corner profile/ all sides profile. It has a center line starting at 0 and going in the (+) and (-) directions. It does not call out a actual radius(R).

The company I work for has different plot styles depending on the team we work for. Different drafting standards for different customers. I was assigned to help another team out a year ago and had their CAD settings and more importantly, their plot styles set up on my machine. We don't use templates at my company so there is not a base file to import the plot styles from. Everything I read up on says this is dependent drawing to drawing, yet it seems to default to the secondary teams plot styles randomly. I have reset my own default .ctb time and time again. I have uninstalled and reinstalled CAD fresh and that solved the issue for about 6 months. It is now starting to crop up again. I have gone as far as to delete the .ctb in question from my C drive just to give myself a buffer. ACAD can no longer find that plot style but it still attempts to default to it and i am kind of at a loss on how to get my plot style to come out. Has anyone here had any issues with this before?

I’m sure y’all have seen this post close to 1000 times but it’s my turn to ask it. So the quick and dirty timeline here is I work with a company who recently acquired a small manufacturing facility that makes some heavy equipment/construction industry products. When I say small I mean 10 employees in the heart of the ozarks small.

Now back in 2006-2008 an employee worked there who used Alibre to make some basic CAD designs of parts we manufacture. He no longer is with the company and the owner is wanting someone (myself) to start doing CAD designs and be able to access the old files. Long story short we have a flash drive that has all of these old CAD files but obviously cannot be opened as we don’t have any software.

My ultimate question is should I go ahead and purchase Alibre for $2000 which gives me a lifetime license to use it or consider other options? I’ve talked to Creo and SolidWorks but I felt like creo is way more than what I’m looking for at this moment in time and didn’t get a good impression from the SolidWorks rep. I’ve looked up AutoDesk but it seems awfully pricey for someone with no CAD experience. To add some context, we’re obviously not building rockets here so the designs are rather simple, mostly just welded metal, tanks, and some hydraulic or cylinders thrown in.

Is Alibre a good software for someone with no experience? Obviously it won’t be easy to just pick up and start designing but it’s landed in my lap and I’ll just have to buckle down and figure it out. Any and all comments, thoughts, and/or advice is welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

I think these libraries are great, but all I really need is to get a step into readable vertices (essentially an stl) and these are just too big to justify using, any c/c++ simple alternatives? I`ve been going insane looking for them because of SEO from model sharing websites

I am interested in a vendor-neutral parametric CAD file. Apparently, STEP-AP242 would be ideal for this, but no one had implemented it at the time of that post.

It looks like possibly Autodesk Inventor and Creo Parametric have. So perhaps one could export a STEP from either, import into the other, and parameters would be retained?

I only have Fusion360 so cannot test this (If I find the time I'm interested in writing a F360 script to export as STEP-AP242 with parameter info).

Can someone test this? Also if you've heard of other CAD programs implementing STEP-AP242 or have any news or takes on this in general I would love to hear. I simply want one universal parametric CAD file we can all share freely and it seems like STEP-AP242 is the move for that goal, but if you have other ideas please let me know.

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Update for posterity: It seems like STEP-AP242 can't be used for this / no one currently is; rip.

Hello, I'm getting back to work on a large assembly. Problem is now that I'm opening it, regeneration fails and every downloaded fastener is missing. These were all downloaded as solid works parts and assemblies to save time.

If I try to use "retrieve missing component" I can see the part in the working directory. If I click on it and select "open" the dialog box closes but there is no change.

This may be due to adding datums to the sld.prt file, so that I would have features to assemble with. This created files with the naming format "fastenerX.sldprt.creo". These files can not be opened.

This assembly worked fine and would open fine two months ago. What could have changed?

Been using Solidworks and CREO for years, but my team is now considering OnShape as well. How does SWX compare to OnShape in rebuild time and general modeling speed? We are going to be creating relatively low complexity engineering models based on simple ish industrial design surface models. Thanks all

So I have this mesh that I want to run a CFD analysis on but it does not let me close the enclosure, the green tick does not do anything when I click it and if I click off the text boxes for the dimensions I lose the entire enclosure and have to restart from scratch again. Any idea what the issue is? Had this issue in both Ansys 2021 and 2024...

https://imgur.com/a/VMaWf64

I want to take one apart, separate the heavy base, and make a lightweight travel version.

Hey guys, im currently trying to get somehow into CAD. I'm following some practices from "CAD-knowledge" and i'm stuck at one of the tasks. Maybe someone here can help me.

My task is to create this: Image

I get all the skateches and dimensions but all i can do is this: Image

I am searching for a way to connect both the upper edges with the lower edge-point. I'm using F360 and already tried to do it with "Plane through 3 points" and "Loft". Both ways didnt work out as intended.

Thanks very much for help in advance :)

Hi everyone-

I’ve seen a lot of Designers retire lately. These are the folks that used to use the drafting board, were lucky to be able to learn new skills and learn CAD when it first came out in 1980s, and are ready to call it a career. Many were not degreed engineers, but Mechanical Designers. Not drafters, but had enough knowledge in their field to become a Designer.

Which is making me wonder : Is the next generation pipeline for this field being filled? People on CAD or designing 40 hours a week, they love creating things, designing, and love CAD. Designers or degreed engineers…..

20 year - 40 year olds. Is this you? Or somebody you work with? Is the next generation coming up, LOVE to do this work. Or do you see a gap in industry like I’m starting to see?

Edit- please clarify if you are a Designer or Engineer.

I'm increasingly looking into doing freelance CAD work. I have a CSWA but I'm not a ME. Last few years I've been doing rapid protyoing - mostly 3d printing (FDM and sla) and thermoforming - and have a good grasp on the design limitations of these processes.

Recently an acquaintance from my time as a school teacher reached out because they're setting up a 3d printing farm and had some ideas for products, but no CAD knowledge. Trinkets and chachkis, no engineering needed outside of designing for 3d printing.

So my question would be, how do we approach this as far as the value of my work? Who owns the finished product? I feel like just charging by the hour and delivering a model is really leaving a lot on the table. I don't have any reason to distrust this person, just trying to avoid under (or over) valuing my work.

Hi

I'm trying to run a CFD Analysis on this Mercedes CLR 1999 model and need to find the surface area of this section however it is hollow. How could I find the surface area of this section? Should I fill it in? If so, how can I do that?

Image of my model as it is.

FYI, I purchased the model from a website online and only have a mesh of it. I use Fusion 360 to put it all together and Ansys to run the analysis on. This is for a university project.

Does anyone have recommendations for AI tools which would help review plan sets? Bluebeam has some decent search capabilities with finding certain door/window tags and such but it would be nice to dig deeper.

I got a frame work laptop on order (batch 8 Q1) (max spec) and plan on having it replaced my Alienware x51r2 and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for peripherals such as docks tablets mouses etc.

I was looking into the Huion tablets because my sibling has one and likes it but they don’t do any cad work so I wanted to get some input from people that do.

Psa I’m new to doing cad I used to play around in google sketch up but now I’m going to be making hand tools for myself

I could really use some help. I am working in fusion 360 free version and running into headaches of trying to design patters on unique forms. I am thinking that I am hitting limitations on either the free version or with the cad software itself for this specific function. I am creating a form then creating, sketches, projecting sketches, then using pipes in forms again to create patterns. I have also created "patterns" using similar instructions but instead of a pipe form I am doing a pattern on path. Basically all this to say that the process is very slow and I am finding a need to do more unique patterns rather than smooth pipes. Its for a fishing lure but as you can expect the industry is not really willing to share their secrets of design. I am a beginner and all of this is learned from use and some youtube. Also fusion 360 has some pretty good documentation online. Thanks for any advise you can provide!

So I've been using inventor for about 4 years now, and my college license is about to expire. Now I could easily get a copy of inventory from sailing the seas, but I've been wanting to move over to fusion for a while.

I downloaded fusion and I just can't seem to get it, it's so similar to inventor but yet so different. I've just become so comfortable with using inventor, fusion seems so alien. I've been doing more cad on my laptop on my lunch break at work, and not having the ability to seamlessly move between my home and remote setup is a bit annoying.

Have any of you made this switch? Any advice?

It appears now that there are many CAD software standards, which each company preferring the use of one over the other, and I was wondering if there was one CAD software that is the "most powerful". I am aware that certain softwares are better for certain tasks, whether it be due to the UI or simply how the tool is designed, but would there be one tool which stands out the most in terms of capabilities it can perform?

I did hear for example that NX Siemens and CATIA are much more powerful that Inventor or Solidworks, but I am wondering which of these are more powerful, and if there are any more powerful tools than even these two. Thanks!

I intended to attend Mohawk Valley Community college and take their CAD Associates program, but I just spoke to an advisor today that told me that the second year classes are often canceled due to low enrollment. I can’t find any other CAD programs within New York State that are under 3 hours away. I genuinely don’t know what to do now.

I need some career advice. There are legal issues (civil, not criminal) so I don't want to do it in writing. I'm willing to pay for a 15-30 min Zoom with the right person.

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Please provide general outline of work history and desired compensation if interested.

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Thanks so much in advance for any help

Joe

Hi, I’ve setup Vault basic to use as a basic distributed file management and version control server for my Inventor/AutoCAD CAD files (I am the only one using it) but I wanted to know what the correct safe backup configuration is.

Vault is currently running on a Server 2022 VM inside my main server (runs 24/7). Every night at 2am the server images and backs up the VM to my NAS, which then replicates that to my offsite Synology and the cloud.

However I was wondering, can I force the server to export and backup all versions of the CAD files to a directory? Say in the event something went horribly wrong the actual files would be backed up somewhere?

Alternatively, I was wondering if I could put my Vault Client $WorkingDirectory (on my workstation) on a OneDrive share to have the local files sync to the cloud, as well as the Vault server? (Could OneDrive sync cause problems with Vault?)

Im probably worrying about nothing, I have proper backups in place but I just wondered how safe Vault Backups should be done? What is the recommended setup? It’s a new workflow for me and I would rather not accidentally loose any files.

Thank you

Years ago there were Drafters, Designers, and Engineers.

3D modeling kind of removed the need of Drafters.

Designers were usually people with 2 year Community College degrees, who knew how to run CAD but more importantly knew all about and completed Designs. Very detailed, full time designing.

Engineers used to guide everybody, and write reports, etc.

In your company now: Who is doing CAD Design work? The person who does it 40 hours a week, knows deep CAD strategies, etc? Designers or degreed Engineers?

Edit: I’m particularly interested in who or what role is doing Tool Design or Product Design

Tl;dr: CAD support? Does it exist? How much?

I'm flairing this Microstation as it's the platform I use most, but I'd be curious to hear from other users/industries as well.

I work in civil engineering and our company of approximately 250 staff - of which 25 are regular and fifty are occasional Microstation users - has a few principals who have rightly, (imo) started to raise questions about our standardization and/or relative lack thereof.

(Drumroll please) BUT...there seems to be a vast gulf between what they believe the solution to be: e.g. A short list of Do's and Dont's and poof everyone knows how to produce a virtually identical product - and what I'm finding as necessary for a firm our size: a cad manager just to handle the billable work, and a separate kind of "systems admin" position devoted entirely to managing all the backend stuff, developing, maintaining, and deploying workspaces/toolsets/styles/preferences and all the other goodies that help to clarify and streamline workflows. You could even argue this person could rationally be supported by another person or two at least part time so you have some redundancy and aren't putting all your eggs in one basket knowledge-wise.

Further, in the Bentley training materials I believe they suggest this, that standardization should be an ongoing process led by one person but established across a support team meeting a few times a year that helps to ensure that everything is going as intended and adjusting processes as-needed. Of course, one could argue this helps Bentley sell more licenses, but I'd say anyone involved in this process is already using their products...anyway...

Does this exist at other companies? What percentage of staff are devoted to cad specifically, if any? Maybe I'm just dreaming and everyone is more-or-less winging it, but the only places I've worked have been this way so I'd like to adjust my barometer.

Tl;dr: CAD support? Does it exist? How much?

I can't for the life of me tell what "activates" it and what "deactivates" it.

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On win11 latest, bluebeam v 21.0.5

Does anyone use a spacemouse? I have a spacenavigator, and when I use it in creo, the rotation and zoom is terribly slow and choppy.

How easy is it for a newbie to start making cabinetry in inventor. Things like dado joins and other joints, a bill of materials/cut list of parts for hobby purposes mainly. Maybe one day move into making things to sell, just dunno how much I'd sell as I am disabled.

From what I understand, do I make a part to represent 1 sheet of wood cut to dimension, eg a shelf, or cabinet side? And a collection of those parts is an assembly? And can you flatten those parts for a cnc router to cut out of a sheet? Or I manually make it with my once in a lifetime sawstop I bought. I'm limited funds so just making the wooden furniture n cabinets will be a challenge but it helps with my depression. Some of the projects I have to build are a TV unit for my renovation that took aggges to do, say 1400mm wide 2 shelf plus a nicer looking top. Enclosed with 6mm ply I think. Stained very dark to match my near black grey (Dulux domino paint) wall. Others is we had flood damage so I have to replace a desk in the shed. Build a workbench for woodworking. Maybe build a chicken coop but I am limited with health and disability and funding. Wood prices went insane.

Are there any addons that would help? I know cad software is super expensive and im tempted to stick to traditional drawing things out but hoping there's a way to do things on my laptop in recliner to design when I'm fatigued n build when I feel better. Other options are fusion 360 and freecad, i dunno if solidworks has a startup or hobby licence. Fusion seemed to remove the flatten a 3d object down to flat surface objects for easy CAM operations. So far I've built a set of speakers in f3d on my cnc router that took ages to save for.

Thanks

My issue is the following. My assemblies are, and will be, in a cloud. When I load the assemblies, the load time will be longer, and showing millions of standard parts in a single window is unnecessary and would slow everything down significantly.

My question is - is there a way to tell CATIA to not load standard parts by default?

For example:

AssyA

• AssyB
  • PartA
  • PartB
  • rivet
  • rivet
  • rivet
  • ... (x100)
• AssyC
  • PartC
  • PartD
  • bolt+washer+washer+nut
  • bolt+washer+washer+nut
  • bolt+washer+washer+nut
  • ... (x100)

If I open AssyA, I want to load and see everything except standard parts. If I open AssyB or AssyC, I want to load and see everything, including standard parts.

My MAIN issue is long load times and screen overloaded with unnecessary components. I don't want to rotate AssyA with 2 frames per second.

Any ideas how I might solve this?

First off, my use case:

I'm a land surveyor, and I surveyed my rural property. I'm reasonably proficient with Civil3D and AutoCAD and I drafted a basic .dwg of my property.
However now that I've made a career change and switched industries, I no longer have access to Civil3D.
Does anyone have a suggestion for software to use that I may continue to work on my plan? (I intend to draft and plan a variety structures, water lines, etc). I mostly just need decent drawing commands, with splines, poly lines etc, and a few good measure tools. Being able to import .csv files and manipulate point groups would be a huge bonus.

I've exported both a few .dwg files and .dxf files to continue to work on. I tried LibreCAD but I just couldn't get into it.

I'm looking to get certified online and looking for a CAD program based in California (to avoid out of state tuition costs). I have experience with AutoCAD and LT. I'm looking to further develop my skill set and make myself a viable candidate for employment. Any help would be tremendous.

Hello all, having recently come off NX and now starting back at Solidworks, I've begun messing around with some of the assemblies settings to try to improve some stability. The things that caught my eye were being able to turn off "Drag to Move" and the mate option of "position only."

This is how I/we modeled in NX. I started in solidworks and have about 6 or 7 years experience with it. Now, coming back, I'm trying to see if I can help my workflow.

How robust would a no-mate solidworks assembly be? Seems like a potential win, it's just less user friendly up front?

(Advantage trying to gain - not having a bunch of mates need to be solved and SW freaking out over it, especially with fasteners or configs)