Archive for the ‘cnc design software’ tag
Learn how to make great CAD models for easy CNC machining
Right now we are going to discuss the initial element of computer numerical control. That element is CNC Design . Before you begin a CNC project, you need to have a plan of action. The design is like a blueprint, you know what you are going to build before you ever build it.
Here are some important elements of design that need to be answered:
What size will it be?
What material will the piece be constructed of?
Who is the customer?
What will it be used for?
Your design can be anything. It could be an industrial part or a work of art.You are only limited by your creative imagination. Many people use CNC every day to manufacture parts. Many hobbyists use CNC every day to create art and various home projects.
Before I design I like to sketch a few ideas out on paper. I like to toy with different ideas to spark my creativity.This is the same as brainstorming. When I really get my juices flowing, that is when my best designs rise to the top. I generally carry around a notebook with me to note designs that I think of during the day.
After I have a few likely suspects, I try to look through each of the ideas to see if I can merge them somehow. Some designs have different parts or components to them.Some components are better than other components. Can I take some of these parts and add them to another design to make it better?Just like editing your writing, looking over your designs and checking them is a very important step in the process.
When you are designing, you are really trying to describe what you are going to build. The more accurately you can do that, the better the whole process will go. Just like a house, if you have a strong foundation, you will have a good house. If you have a solid design, the rest of the process is easy.
Computer aided design
CAD stands for Computer Aided Design or Drafting.Computer aided design was developed in the early 60s. Today it is the premier way to design, develop and optimized products. People use Computer aided design every day to design virtually every product you see. Generally, designers use Computer aided design to design a product, and then produce prints to manufacture that product. A print is a picture of a part or assembly that is very exact. It includes the dimensions and a parts list used to manufacture a product.
Computer Aided Design software packages can generally be broken into two groups. The groups are 2-D drafting packages or 3-D drafting packages.Most every software manufacturing package is moving to 3-D design. 3-D design is really the next generation of Computer aided design. Utilizing 3-D design, engineers can make a model of their product.People can check over the model for any glaring defects before the part is ever produced.
3-D Design
Utilizing 3-D design, engineers can cut down on the number of manufacturing mistakes that occur due to fit up and tolerance issues. This translates into a more efficient operation with less waste for the manufacturer.
Here are some examples of 3-D drafting/design software:
Inventor
TopSolid
SolidWorks
Alibre Design
Rhino3D
2-D Design
2-D design can be very efficient if you need to make a quick part that is not very complex.You can quickly sketch out an outline of an object and convert it over to a computer aided manufacturing toolpath. This is an operation where 2-D will really shine.
Here are some examples of 2-D drafting/design software:
AutoComputer aided design
MicroStation
At some point you will need to use Computer aided design. You will need to take your design and translated it into a print. The best way to do that is to use CAD. You will need to purchase a CAD program of some sort if you are serious about CNC. Many Computer aided design programs have a free or trial period that you can use to evaluate the program. My suggestion is to try a few and then select one that fits the way you design.
CNC info community site:
do you want to know more about computer numerical control, head on over to http://www.cncinformation.com
Join today for free and get to CNC eBooks now. One is a GCode Quick Guide and the other is the CNC Info Site eBook. You also get access to the Free Video Series…Image to CNC Art when you join the community.
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Designing art work and CNC
Introduction to Design
Designing for CNC is arguably the most important step to the CAD Process.Why is that you might ask? Because it is at the beginning. This is the planning stage of the process. If you come up with a bad design, all of your work after this point is lost. I also think of designing as the planning process. You need an inventory of what you have to work with before you begin.
Every thing needs some planning to start with.Whether it is buying a home or a family vacation. CNCis no different. You need to think about what you want to accomplish before you ever invest any time or money. Now I am not saying you need to have a perfect plan. What I am saying is that you need to at least have a plan. Believe me I have had many plans and virtually none of them ended up perfect. What it did do was give me a guide to follow. A roadmap of sorts.
You also need to know your limitations. For example, don’t go designing a metal sign if you have a CNC Wood Router and nothing else. Or, you want to make a 2” thick wood routed sign, but your CNC Wood Router only has 1” clearance. You will need to know you own personal capabilities and your shop’s capabilities. Once you know that, you can improve your situation either through training or purchasing other tools.
Where do good design ideas come from?
First, look around. Take an interest in your environment and all the various objects around you. Look at how things are built. Generally, I don’t look at the overall design. I try to figure out how they build a specific part or area of the design. For example a unique latching mechanism.
A lot in getting a good design to come out is experience. Experience comes from failure as many people have said. The bottom line is you need to try stuff and experiment with ideas. Pick the ones that are useful and go with them. Leave the failures on the scrap pile and move on. Never marry yourself to an idea as being perfect. Virtually everything can be improved upon.
Know what you want before you build it
When designing it is very important that you know what you want to build. You don’t need to know every detail, but it helps if you have a general idea. For example, the item may need to fit inside a certain dimension. This dimension could be the size of the box used for shipping the item to the customer. This is a requirement of your design. Requirements can either be self-imposed or put upon you by someone else.
Another example may be building a piece of art. You may want to make the piece out of Stainless Steel because it would reflect the sun and hold up in the environment. Then you find out Stainless Steel is too expensive and that you don’t have the equipment to work with it. Stainless usually maxes out your equipment.
You need to have a project plan, or at least a pretty good idea of one.You will need to look at your skills and match your designs to them. You will also need to get all requirements for the project before you ever begin. If you do that, you will not waste extra time redesigning again and again.
What are the limits?
Really, you are the limit.Your brain and its thinking ability are the limit. If you can think of it, someone, somewhere can probably build it. The more you expose your brain to different things and ideas, the more connections it will draw.his is where your creativity will generally come from. You need to feed your brain interesting information and it will spit back some interesting designs.
Part vs. Art
In designing for computer numerical control, there are really two different paths to follow. Art or Part. By art, I mean a design that may have extra embellishments, curves, features, text, etc. By part, I mean a square with a hole in it. Or a triangular gusset.Art is generally a little more flowing or of an image of something. It could also be a sculpture for example.
When you are designing art, you normally keep a sketchbook with your ideas. You note them. They don’t have to be perfect, just roughed out. Sometimes I cut things out I find interesting and put them in my sketch book. Things like interesting shapes, interesting images or even a unique way to bolt things together.
When you are designing parts, you are dealing with deadlines and customer requirements. There are no extra things to personalize or stylize the part. The part is utilitarian and gets the job done.This is mainly what computer numerical control is used for. This is what various industries use CNC for.
Designing on Paper
Most people scratch out their initial ideas on paper to rough them out. I like to draw things out in a print, drafting or blueprint format. This style uses multiple looks and multiple angled drawings to convey what you mean to someone else. I picked up this style of drawing while working in a manufacturing environment. Some wood workers will also recognize this style. Think of a time when you bought “The Plans” to building a birdhouse.
Designing with a Computer
This is what I use next. Once I have something roughed out, I like to translate it into a computer. Things are more exact. You get a feel of the size or how parts fit together. You also get the benefit of saving your work and coming back to it later. You can even share your files with others when working on a project.
My Design Computer Setup
A few people have asked me about my design setup at home. Here is what I like to use. First a powerful computer with plenty of processing power.Be sure to get a lot of processing power, random access memory and a big hard drive. Don’t skimp here.CNC software will use a lot of system resources and you will save plenty of time by having a computer that can handle that extra load.
Next, buy a dual monitor setup. You will need a graphics card with a dual output head and two monitors to output to. Most home users can install this themselves. Dual monitors keep you focused. I really like being able to keep my computer screen clean of various design palates that seem to clutter it up. A dual monitor is perfect for this.
CNC Information Free Community Site:
If you would like to know more about CNC, head on over to http://www.cncinformation.com You can join for Free and you get two free CNC ebooks. One is a GCode Quick Guide and the other is the CNC Info Site eBook. You also get access to the Free Video Series…Image to CNC Art when you join the community.
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CNC Design
First we are going to talk about the initial element of CNC. That element is CNC Design . Before you begin a CNC project, you need to have a plan of action. The design is like a blueprint, you know what you are going to build before you ever build it.
Here are some important elements of design that need to be answered:
What size will it be?
What material will it be made of?
Who is the customer?
What will it be used for?
Your design can be anything. It could be an industrial part or a work of art. This is only really limited by your imagination. Many people use CNC every day to manufacture parts. Many hobbyists use CNC every day to create art and various home projects.
Before I design I like to sketch a few ideas out on paper. I like to toy with different ideas to spark my creativity. This is the equivalent of brainstorming. When I really get my juices flowing, that is when my best designs rise to the top. I generally carry around a notebook with me to note designs that I think of during the day.
After I have a few likely suspects, I try to look through each of the ideas to see if I can merge them somehow. Some designs have different parts or components to them. Some of these components are better than others. Can I take some of these parts and add them to another design to make it better? Just like writing, editing your designs is a critical step in the process.
When you are designing, you are really trying to describe what you are going to build. The more accurately you can do that, the better the whole process will go. Just like a house, if you have a strong foundation, you will have a good house. If you have a solid design, the rest of the process is easy.
CAD
CAD stands for Computer Aided Design or Drafting. CAD was developed in the early 60s. Today it is the premier way to design, develop and optimized products. People use CAD every day to design virtually every product you see. Generally, designers use CAD to design a product, and then produce prints to manufacture that product. A print is a picture of a part or assembly that is very exact. It includes the dimensions and a parts list used to manufacture a product.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) software packages can generally be broken into two groups. The groups are 2-D drafting packages or 3-D drafting packages. Most all software packages are moving to 3-D design. 3-D design is really the next generation of CAD. Utilizing 3-D design, engineers can make a model of their product. They can then look over this model for any apparent defects before it is ever made.
3-D Design
Utilizing 3-D design, engineers can cut down on the number of manufacturing mistakes that occur due to fit up and tolerance issues. This translates into a more efficient operation with less waste for the manufacturer.
Here are some examples of 3-D drafting/design software:
Inventor
TopSolid
SolidWorks
Alibre Design
Rhino3D
2-D Design
2-D design can be very efficient if you need to make a quick part that is not very complex. You could quickly sketch out a silhouette of an object and convert it into a CAM tool path. This is an operation where 2-D will really shine.
Here are some examples of 2-D drafting/design software:
AutoCAD
MicroStation
At some point you will need to use CAD. You will need to take your design and translated it into a print. The best way to do that is to use CAD. You will need to purchase a CAD program of some sort if you are serious about CNC. Many CAD programs have a free or trial period that you can use to evaluate the program. My suggestion is to try a few and then select one that fits the way you design.
CNC Information Free Community Site:
If you would like to know more about CNC, head on over to http://www.cncinformation.com
You can join for Free and you get two free CNC ebooks. One is a GCode Quick Guide and the other is the CNC Info Site eBook. You also get access to the Free Video Series…Image to CNC Art when you join the community.
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Creative software helps you design CNC art
What I used to do…
I was living in the past before I found design software. I would actually hand lay out a template on a piece of paper. Then cut it out. Next, I would tape the design onto a piece of steel and trace around it with a Sharpe Marker. Finally, I would cut out the piece I wanted.
No matter what, it was never exact.There was always something wrong. Things like wavy lines, gouges and “unique parts” were the norm. Measurements were never as exact as I would have liked either. That usually caused some fit-up issues, followed by some grinding. If you know anything about fabrication, grinding is the enemy of your time.
Why use CNC art design software?
I knew there had to be a better way so I found some design software to try out. Yes, it does take some time to learn. Think about it, like anything else in life, something that is worth it takes some time. This is also the situation of taking one step backwards to move ten steps forward.
Advantages of using CNC design software:
Saved file you can use over and over
Transferred the unique design to other people
Can use exact measurements
Repeatability in design
Here are disadvantages of using creative design software:
Cost money
Takes time to learn
May not be the quickest way of making something if it is a “One Off”
My Definition of Design Software
If you are an engineer, you will probably consider CAD Software as design software. That is true. But what I am talking about here is “Creative” Design Software. These software packages are used by creative types for print, web design and logo design.This software is great for creating CNC artistic designs that flow in some way.
Design software can be boiled down to what it is good at. If you want to make a square with a hole in it or a triangular gusset, then CAD type design software works great. If you want to cut out a Cowboy on a Horse, then “Creative” Design Software is the only way to go.
Here are some examples of work for “Creative” Design Software:
CNC plasma art
CNC Machine Art
Signs
Engraving
CNC Information Free Community Site:
If you would like to know more about CNC, head on over to http://www.cncinformation.com
Join today and get two free CNC eBooks. One is a GCode Quick Guide and the other is the CNC Info Site eBook. You also get access to the Free Video Series…Image to CNC art work when you join the free CNC community.
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CAD software programs and you
There are multiple Computer Aided Design Softwares available for design. Generally people become familiar with one and stick with it. As far as selecting the right one, my advice is this. Most software companies have a free trial.30 day software trials are the standard. Take advantage of these trial periods and test the software out. Then at the end, decide if you want to try another software or stick with your best one. I would advise you try out at least three different packages.
The one you select will probably have to do with you liking the interface or finding it intuitive. Keep in mind it may work for you now. A simple to use and understand interface probably has some limitations for your designs. The very best programs are complex with many tools that give you the most control.I found out that when I start with a simple CAD program I quickly outgrow it. At some point I move up to the next level of software.This means a higher price as well.
Tools in CAD
Inside of your CAD program, you will have various tools that you can work with. Many of these tools speed up your design times and make you more efficient.Each computer-aided design program will have tools, and then some unique tools that are only available with their specific software package. These specialty tools are one of the ways software manufacturers differentiate themselves in the marketplace.
Versions of computer aided design
There are different types of CAD out there. These are the ones I deal with from time to time. 2D CAD, 2.5D CAD, and Three Dimensional CAD.Here are some fast explanations of each computer aided design type.
2D CAD
2D CAD is generally on the low end of CAD software packages. 2D CAD is most often vector based. The design consists on the X and Y-axis only. The designs are made up of lines, circles, ovals, slots, curves, etc. There is no “depth” to the design. Only the outline of the part is visible, to put it in a different way.
2.5D CAD
All of the same descriptions above apply, but the design is prismatic. By that I mean it has the depth of the material. There are Z levels, but they are on singular planes.
3D CAD
3D CAD is on the high end of CAD software packages. 3D CAD can be solid based, wire frame based or nurbs based. The design consists on the X, Y and Z-axis. The designs are made up of lines, circles, ovals, slots, curves, etc, but can also include Spheres, Pyramids, Torrids, Cubes, etc.There is a depth to the CNC design. The design can be rotated around 360 degrees. The design is an accurate description of what the part would look like if produced in the real world.
CNC Information Free Community Site:
If you would like to know more about CNC, head on over to http://www.cncinformation.com
You can join for Free and you get two free CNC ebooks. One is a GCode Quick Guide and the other is the CNC Info Site eBook. You also get access to the Free Video Series…Image to CNC Art when you join the community.
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