CAD for simple 3-D metal & wood projects?

You are demonstrating my point that petulant misfits will snatch at any excuse to belittle capable people.

I'm sorry, Jim, but this sounds like arguing just for the sake of arguing.

Drafting (or modeling) and machining are two distinctly different disciplines and outside of a few hobbyist, damned few people do both.

A fiberglass boat's hull is seldom held to anywhere near that accuracy. If you check carefully you will usually find all manner of inaccuracy in construction. Missed dimensions (by INCHES some times), asymmetry, misalignment, etc, that the eye simply does not catch.

On the other hand, large steel ships MUST hold that kind of accuracy. Those ships are built in smaller sections called "lifts", which are then stacked together to form the finished structure. They HAVE to be built that accurately just to fit together.

For what it's worth...

Leon fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

If I were using it for woodworking, I assume those accuracies would be adequate, if a little gross for a CNC router...

But I work daily with sub-thousandth measurements. Do you really understand how funny dealing with "thirty-secondths" sounds to a metalworker? Today, I had to lay out a complex, multi-curved cam slot a half-thousanth wider than a bearing, because the bearings that ride in it work the plus side of their tolerances -- and the bearings are spec'd by the customer. Even two thousanths of an inch would cause them to track wrong.

I also am not belittling what you do. I've done it (in a prior life) with very nice results on some 'fine' reproduction furniture. They're just not the same games, that's all.

I have -eh- maybe 250-300 hours building large-scale models in Sketchup;

100 meter scale. Maybe I could finesse it into doing 1/4" stuff to tenths of a thou.; but why, when there are CAMs out there well-adapted to what machinists do? Why use an axe where a scalpel is called for?

Lloyd

You powers of perception is great, you can and do read way more than is said.

I didn't mean you, but if the shoe fits...

I have noted that some in rec metal are a bit on the brainy side eh? At least in they're attempts at insults.

Not in the slightest for a CNC. Why would one choose odd ball tolerances, tiny fractions, when working with wood? Sketch up is being used for CNC machines and 3D printers.

Metal working in some cases would be another matter.

And given the OP's original post to this thread do you realize how funny it sounds to use a program that uses the resolutions that you are speaking about when Sketchup is more than capable of satisfying his needs for free?

I realize you work with high resolutions, that is the requirement of metal working. But Sketchup is far more of a program than to simply sketch out pencil type drawings.

And Sketchup would be more than fine for reproduction furniture drawings.

So with that kind of time put in with Sketchup you are just getting started. I have many more drawings than you have in hours and most of the drawings require 10~20 hours of design.

If you need that higher resolution use the program that works but your descriptions of the capabilities of Sketchup makes one wonder if you really know what it can do.

I think the biggest problem with this whole thread is that the OP posted to wood working and metal working. His first item on his wish list was for wood boards and followed by stuff you make at home. He had the knowledge of 2D CAD programs so he was not totally ignorant of what to use but IMHO he wanted to do 3D for, most likely, less than extreme resolution drawings.

Understood, I was talking more about the actual drawn dimension having limitations to their resolution.

My bet is that the OP would be much more than perfectly happy with this for his simple "3-D metal" drawings:

:)

Like this:

;)

Much like electronics. Early resistors were +/- 50%. Over time they went through improvements in manufacturing to where 0.01% tolerance resistors are available off the shelf. At first them simply made the parts, measured them and tossed them into the bin closest to the measured value. This method continued, even though the manufacturing improved as they moved from E3 all the way to E192 standard values. An elderly woman I worked with at Microdyne told me one of her first jobs was making resistors, and hand painting the color coding bands.

Snip

What gives you that thought. I mostly use the mouse simply to start a line and to give that line a direction to move relative to the starting point. It is keyboard input from there. For that matter you can mostly use a mouse with AutoCAD.

And, if one prefers to use a mouse or a mouse and a 3D input device what difference does it make which program you use as long as the program is capable of getting the job done.

Am I detecting a bit of snobbery here? ;~)

I thought the same about Sketchup when I was using AutoCAD, In fact I had installed and uninstalled 3 different versions of Sketchup before it dawned on me that Sketchup was way better for woodworking than AutoCAD.

That is correct. I tend to input/draw in decimals, much faster than inputting fractions, but work in fractions in the shop so the drawings are also in fractions.

And for the most part a majority in this thread! LOL. There are a few that may not be and rightfully so but just because I drive a Maserati does not mean I use it to it's limits. The Camry works just fine and in many practical ways out performs the Maserati.

LOL ... just ragging on you a bit, Bubba. ;)

No, can you think/tell me what that converts to as a fraction off the top of your head? LOL My calculated industries calculator can't either. ;~)

I like to see fractions, on my drawings, that I can actually come close to reproducing. ;~)

A bit off topic, I checked the outside temp a few minutes ago,

42.51232367 degrees F.

No, can you think/tell me what that converts to as a fraction off the top of your head? LOL My calculated industries calculator can't either. ;~)

I like to see fractions, on my drawings, that I can actually come close to reproducing. ;~)

A bit off topic, I checked the outside temp a few minutes ago,

42.51232367 degrees F.

I know! LOL Idle hands. Too friggen cold in the shop.

I looked at their promotional videos. I didn't see anything showing off its abilities to make numerically driven models. It looks like it may be okay for cabinet work, but what about something like making the scroll on a violin?

ROTFLMAO