A solid modeling software uses primitive shapes and lines to build up 3D models using extrusion, rotation, lofting, etc.\u00a0 Solid modeling by definition only yields solid models (more about that in a minute).\u00a0 Mesh modeling software uses many of the same methods to create models, but mesh models are fundamentally hollow.\u00a0 This isn’t a big deal for rendering because the outside surface is the most important feature for rendering in most cases, but for 3D printing, a hollow object can’t be printed.\u00a0 It isn’t that the object will print poorly.\u00a0 It won’t print AT ALL!\u00a0 The reason is that in 3D printing the outside wall of the object must have at least a little thickness or it stands a good chance of being ignored or printed incorrectly.\u00a0 The solution to this problem is to make “water tight” models.\u00a0 That means that the mesh model doesn’t have any holes from the inside of the mesh to the outside–not even one!\u00a0 This allows the software to pretend that the mesh model is actually solid and will treat everything inside accordingly.<\/p>\n
With those distinctions, how do you choose between solid modeling and mesh modeling?\u00a0 There are no hard and fast rules on this, but a good rule of thumb is that if you are making organic sorts of models (people, animals, creatures, plants, art, etc.) you should use mesh modeling.\u00a0 On the flip side, if you are wanting to make engineering designs such as planes, boats, cars, gears, and other techno gizmos you will probably want to use a solid modeling program.\u00a0 Unfortunately, here is where things get a little weird.\u00a0 If you want to make things that look organic on the outside but are gizmos and mechanical engineering wonders on the inside, you may need both a solid modeling and a mesh modeling software.<\/p>\n
What about learning curves?\u00a0 Well, bad news first:\u00a0 some of these programs have very steep learning curves.\u00a0 Now the good news:\u00a0 most of them also have very good support communities online for newbies trying to learn the ropes.\u00a0 As an example, Blender can easily someone a week or two just to be able to start modeling simple things like a snowman.\u00a0 SketchUp\u2122 on the other hand only takes the average 10 year old a few minutes to start making simple things like houses–the snowman may take up to an hour or two but can be learned quickly.\u00a0 The learning curves of the other programs fall somewhere along this spectrum, and most of them take between a couple of months to a couple of years to achieve real proficiency.<\/p>\n
What about price?\u00a0 I knew you would ask that eventually.\u00a0 Here is where some careful consideration will be needed from that remaining 10% of the time you will need to take in choosing a 3D modeling platform.\u00a0 The reason is that while some of these programs can be had for free, they may have limited feature sets or precipitous learning curves.\u00a0 For instance, SketchUp\u2122 has a free version that is quite good for architectural drawings requiring mostly straight edges but has significant limitations with respect to organic and mechanical engineering type shapes.\u00a0 Blender on the other hand is amazing for organic shapes but can be positively nightmarish to learn (although to be fair, those who use it typically come to absolutely love it).\u00a0 On the other end of the spectrum, programs like SolidWorks, AutoCAD, and GeoMagic FreeForm\u00ae can be thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n
So how should you choose?\u00a0 If you are just beginning to use 3D software, I recommend that everyone download and try Google SketchUp\u2122<\/a>.\u00a0 It’s free and easy, so you won’t lose much time or money to give it a try.\u00a0 Once you have some time in on SketchUp\u2122, you’ll be better able to know what type of program you need first, and you may even want to spend time using it during that 90% when you are trying to decide what kinds of things you’ll want to make.\u00a0 If you decide that you want to do mesh modeling after you experience SktechUp\u2122, I suggest you try Blender<\/a> because it’s free.\u00a0 I know that it has a steep learning curve, but there lots of good tutorials (maybe I’ll write one here on our site as well).\u00a0 The price of learning Blender is mostly in the time spent.\u00a0 If after you use SktechUp\u2122 you decide you need a solid modeler, I suggest you continue to use SketchUp\u2122 for a little while to discover the features that you would most like to have in a solid modeling program.\u00a0 That knowledge will be invaluable in your choice of a solid modeling program to buy, but for most people, the Cubify Invent\u00ae or the ViaCAD\u2122 2D\/3D software which both sell for less than $100 will be good for most mechanical engineering designs.<\/p>\n In any case, I think that you will absolutely have a blast designing things in 3D.\u00a0 In fact, I should warn you that it can be absolutely addictive to certain individuals–like me for instance!<\/p>\n After you get tired of downloading “things” from “Thingiverse” or when you find that noone has just the right 3D model for what you need, you will need to consider getting some 3D software to do your own modeling.\u00a0 This …<\/p>\n![\"gabe_3395x2301\"](\"http:\/\/wri3d.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/gabe_3395x2301-500x338.jpg\")
Gabe is designing an axel mount in Google Sketch-up.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"