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Which 3D software?

Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 9:31 am
by AJUK
HD pretty much has all the bases covered for 2D production drawings, as a structural engineer that is mainly what I produce anyway. However, I do have a need for the occasional 3D drawing, mainly frames and complex geometry (working out levels for retaining walls etc.)

I get the impression from reading other posts that SketchUp is the favourite partner to HD for this task. What are you guys using and if SU is the software of choice, does it provide the accuracy?

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:17 am
by TrevorML
definitely SU... cross platform... free version to try out forever :-) and it is VERY accurate... altho does not go down to the micron level... so jewellers and the like have to scale up to work but for the tolerances that civil engineering and architecture work at it is fine... you work at 1:1... brilliant for retrofits where you know the exact measurements and have to design something to go into the space

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:49 pm
by AJUK
Thanks for the feedback. I have been trying it out and it seems to be just what I needed. The other software I was considering was Cheetah3D but that looks a little more for animators.

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 4:03 pm
by macitect
CHEETAH 3D?! I have a little experience with nurbs, solids and polygonal modeling and I have never been able to get my head around Cheetah3D...
FormZ was a great learning tool, but too much and therefore too cumbersome for what most architects need/want. It is also WAY WAY too expensive.

I agree totally with TrevorML about SU. Definitely go with that. However if ever you are looking for something that allows more organic modeling check out MODO and Rhino3D (in development for OSX as we speak - you can even sign up to be a beta tester).

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:13 pm
by alexwhite
SU all the way... nice price point, plays well with others, intuitive application, solid community, local training and ready support... I must say the Google transition has been a positive.

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 10:46 pm
by TrevorML
Cheetah3D is a very good 3D app but for speed and accuracy SU is much easier to use... but C3D is great for rendering SU models and has a great price and a great developer who listens to what users are saying... to see what it can do in terms of rendering ability search the C3D forum for posts by Jake (altho he now uses Modo), Luke Bocchinelli, and Tim Danaher