Well, I have done it. I have committed to purchasing some 3D CAD software, and it is NOT Solid Works or Solid Edge which are way over my price range. Even what I am getting is a bit on the expensive side, but they have a great deal going until the end of this month.
The software is Alibre Design which comes in three different levels starting at $995.00 on up to the Expert package which is $1995.00. The deal comes in now where you can get $300.00 off the Standard package ($695.00 instead of 995.00) and $500.00 of the Expert paackage ($1495.00 instead of $1995.00) with two years of paid support instead of just one year as part of the package. I am sure there is a discount for the middle Professional Package also but do not know what it is.
I am getting the Expert Package. Alibre is willing to work with small companies and idividuals (including those like me on a fixed income) to help you get the software. They also have the free Alibre Express version, but it limits you to 10 unique parts per assemby - but does let you get a really good feel for what you can do. There are great tutorials.
You can also get a 30 free trial of the base Alibre Design package which allows you to do more, like sheet metal design and use up to 1000 parts per assembly. I just completed an online demo which is about 35 minutes long and this looks very nice - such that I am going to jump in with both feet getting the Expert Package on the monthy payment plan. Alibre just divides the total cost of the package by 12 and your credit or debit card is charged 1/12th the total prive each month for 12 months until the software is paid for. You also have a complete 30 day money back guarantee if you do not like the software.
REAL PEOPLE are they to help you over the phone AND online when you need assistance - they can even plug right into your current drawing (with your permission) and show you right there what you need to do if you are having problems with something.
Well, I thought this was worth letting everyone here know about as I know a good 3D CAD package can aid greatly in robotics design. I hope this information helps somebody.
Alibre can export to ACIS, IGES, STEP, STL, and several image formats. I was really hoping for DXF/DWG also but it does not seem to do that.
Well, my total experience with 3D Modeling is what you have seen me do here in a few short weeks time. I’ve had a few terns if Autocad classes, but this was way back in 1985. I just happen to have a very high aptitude for technical things and can learn this type of stuff and apply it very fast.
Go go Gadget!
Keep in mind that I am on a low fixed income, so to make a committment to purchase a software package like this is a very major thing for me. I do not do it lightly, by any means.
Here is another cool trick Alibre Design can do - it can publish to a 3D PDF file. Until now, I did not even know there was such a thing as a 3D PDF, but there is and it seems it is something Alibre and Adobe colaborated on to do.
Anyway, here is an example 3D PDF file I created from one of my subassemblies.
Click the picture and you will see a new toolbar at the top where you can select to rotate or move the assembly around to any view you want. Using a 3D PDF, you can let anyone look at your designs and it appears that even motion is included. Try to rotate the servo horn on my assembly.
That is truly cool! The only downside is the OSS .pdf apps can’t do it. Ghostview goes blank, the Qt .pdf library only gives a still image in things like Kpdf. However, the proprietary Acrobat 7 for Linux does works. It even gets hardware acceleration and FSAA on my setup.
The website seems to suggest Windows only… tsk tsk. Just kidding. Does it happen to run under Wine then? Also, do you have any experience with OpenInventor (.iv file format) and possibly converting to 3D .pdf?
Well, as long as we can get the results under Linux, it’s OK. It is too bad the Open Source PDF viewers won’t display the 3D PDF though. Alibre worked with with Adobe to get this functionality.
Yes, Alibre Design is Windows only, but the company is very open and forward looking/thinking. As I do with all Windows software I use regularly, I will lobby for a Linux port. I’ve been bugging Macromedia for years about this.
I had not heard of OpenInventor until now, so am starting to look at it.
I’ve already completed the designs for my robot legs, wheel towers, and several smaller subassemblies using Alibre Design. I had not gotten results this good this fast with Solid Edge and have still just been dinking around with the software.
Just to clarify, OpenInventor is a file format and not associated with a CAD program. It was based off of the IRIS and OpenGL work SGI did way back in the early days of 3D. Its come a long way from there, and one of the major 3D toolkits. Maya and 3D Studio Max use it extensively. I program using the direct C++ interface. I really our lab’s web page was up (I really should stop posting here and get back to upgrading our machines ) so I could show pics. Anyway…The closed source variant is called COIN, though part of that is open source also.
Unfortunately while the .iv files work fine under Linux, the BSDs, Irix, OSX (with a lot of work) etc. they don’t really work on Windows. Since you do linux and 3D I was wondering if you knew a way to convert since I assume the Windows acrobat plugin can do 3D at least equal to the linux plugin. We have actually been looking for a good cross-platform 3D format since we do have to share data with people who don’t use linux, this would be a big plus for the lab. If Alibre did that (and no other program could) I probably would get a copy for the lab and be able to justify the expense solely for that purpose. Getting an easy to use CAD program would be a nice bonus, but the lab doesn’t do much CAD work. I believe the University has a site licence of AutoCAD but when I was using it for the basic stuff we needed I more or less gave up since the learning curve was too steep and switched to the early free version of Q-CAD.
Just kidding. Does it happen to run under Wine then? Also, do you have any experience with OpenInventor (.iv file format) and possibly converting to 3D .pdf?
) so I could show pics. Anyway…The closed source variant is called COIN, though part of that is open source also.