What 3D PROGRAM (S) do YOU use/ How You use it/ What can be done with it?

Hello ALL,
Inspired by many other Forums and Sites and by courtesy and effort of @ RICHARD  I added this section the Forum.

I am asking anyone who has knowledge of using design programs such as CAD / CAM to share with us their experience.

Often I found on the INTERNET plans for submarines but are too small to be enlarged for.

Since then I keep thinking if such programs can be used for solving this drawback and to assist those who want to increase those plans for them to be useful.

THANK YOU very much.

     MARIUS

To be more easy to start a discussion let's take these Drawing as an example.



Starting from here,those are couple questions:
- How can be added/imported to a program (like Turbo CAD let's say);
- how can be enlarged?;
- how can be made ​​transversal and longitudinal sections at a certain scale?;
- or if we have a simple picture of a real sub can be made be the a Drawing/plan?.



Thank You and looking forward to see what are the possibility's.

MARIUS

I am a little ashamed to say that I just use a very old version of Paint Shop Pro.

I photograph drawings/photos etc and then work on them using the drawing part of the program.

I calibrate dimesions in terms of Pixels.

I then print out frames etc. using a lot of trial and error(and paper!)

Crude but works for me.

David

I allways redraw the pixel pin vector file so i can chnage later to any scale.

HI,
Thank You both for the answers.

@david f - There is NO shame at all.No matter what program we use as long is doing what we want and the result are satisfactory.

I should be ashamed because I DON'T KNOW even how to use any of these programs but I intended to learn!.

Can You add a small example of what You accomplish to do?,PLEASE.
I am NOT at all familiarized with ANY program such these so if You can give me more details about how You do it and what is: "I calibrate dimensions in terms of Pixels" it wheel be great!.

@gantu - what program You use and the same question regarding how you did what you said.

I guest ask because if there are more people "like me"(with no knowledge about design programs and they are to shay to ask for advices!)

MARIUS

Hi i try to show how i do it.
This from what i start

Then i use Adobe Illustrator an vectorien software like Corel Draw ...after that it looks like that

YES,EXACTLY,These is what I meant to say.

You made them from scratch - from your mind?.

But I am a bit slowly and I don't understand HOW you did it?.

MARIUS

Dear Marius send me your phone number via Personal Mail i call you later when i am back home. Freetowns Gantu

OK.I wheel.But I must warn You:my spoken English is not so good.

MARIUS

I use ViaCad Pro to create my boats in full 3D prior to building them. My current project is the S.M. U-1, germanies first submarine from 1906.

I started with a 3D model:



I also used the program to design the interior:



I also use the programm to generate 3D models of detail parts, that I then get fabricated via rapid prototyping.

So CAD is a key part of my builds.

Cheers Andreas

HI ANDREAS,

THANK YOU for the answer.

Can You give as more details regarding how You do it?...PLEASE!.
Starting from my picture posted before can you do the same thing like You did in Your First PICTURE
posted here?.
Couple Basics Comands...stuff like these.

MARIUS

Basically yes, I started also from a simple sketch:



From that I drew about 50-70 cross sections (frames), positioned them in 3D and created an interpolation body out of them - the fuselage. That's very simplified, but the basic approach is to get the frames and then to create an interpolation body.

Here's an example:

Another CAD project: British E Class - based on a simple overview drawing and some photos

HI,

Looks Great.
- how did you knew what is the shape for each section and the scale for it?.
- how did you start creating those shapes?,
- how did You succeed to aligning all those sections?,

THANK YOU ,
MARIUS

Well I have a top view and a side view. This gives you the basic contours and helps you align everything. In addition I have a few cross sections. These cross sections helped my to understand how the boat was designed. Single hull, circular pressure hull with saddle tanks, that also have a circular cross sections, with the centers of the pressure hull and the saddle tanks being on one line. With that knowledge I can draw a complete set of cross sections and then create an interpolation body. The rest is guesswork from photos and some creativity.

I just started a model of the first boat I served on. I don't have a CAM program, but have become adept at writing G-Code for my CNC wood mill.

I started with the fact that most US submarines are cylindrical in shape with a hemispherical bow and a pointed stern. This allowed me to form the basic shape on my 5th axis - I just turned a long cylinder with the desired diameter.

I then found a picture of a scale model on the internet. I imported the picture into a drawing program and drew horizontal and vertical lines at key points on the picture - locations of screw, rudder, stern planes, taper sections, sail (fin), and bow. Then I printed the picture on my ink-jet printer.

The next step was to measure the lengths from the stern and radii from the center line. I measured in millimeters and entered all the data into a spreadsheet (I use Microsoft Excel, but any spreadsheet will do). Knowing the dimensions of the model and the dimensions of the full-sized submarine (length and beam), I was able to scale my measurements to the size I wanted. After scaling, I converted measurements to fractional inches because my CNC machine is calibrated in English units (if I can figure out how to switch it to metric, I will - English units are a pain to use).

With my dimensions entered into Excel, I used the modeling capabilities of the program to create equations for the curved sections of the hull. I used the equations to generate X & Z coordinates which I then converted to G-Code for my mill and ran the program. I am still in the initial process of this design, and have several more steps to complete.

This is going to be a modular build, since the boat I'm modeling was an SSBN with a flat missile deck mounted above the cylindrical hull. This makes the radii of the top and bottom of the hull (in the center and forward sections) different. If I mill the smaller radius section first, then prep and attach another piece of wood to the "top" of the cylinder, I can turn the larger radius section without touching the smaller section.

I suppose I could do a variable radius turning, but I'm still learning my machine and different techniques. Even if I could do that, I'd still have to make the sail, rudder, diving planes, and screw separately, so for this go around I'll just do my modeling in Excel.

Gary

It sounds like an improvement over the "conventional" method of cutting out flat sections and then filling the space between with foam etc.

How long could the sections be made with your Mill? (Presumably you couldn't do a half hull section?)

David

I have approximately 50" length capacity. I could do a 1/10" to 1' of almost any current (or past) submarine. I'd probably be pushing it with a Trident, but I can also mill sections. Using the Trident as an example, I could make an Engine Room section, a Missile Compartment section, and a Forward Compartment section, then glue them together off the mill.

What I'm doing now is all exterior turning/shaping. I haven't even considered interior. I can do hollowing and relief carving with the right software and router bits.

Photos of completed project (and in-progress stages) can be viewed at www.bubblehead3d.com

Slow progress, but progress.....

I was tray-ed MANY Programs but NO success so far.I don't have skills to do such complex shapes,and I don't have enough English knowledge to understand how to do it by following the video tutorials.
May be in time You give as a hand of help with these!.
For ME is Guest to much for the moment!.
But I always watching what You show as and teach as.
THANK YOU for THAT.

REGARDS ,

MARIUS

Recently I found BLEND program FRE - Open Source for 3D design.
I have a few questions:

- where are the "undo"/"redu" comands?! ,
- how can I import a PICTURE (BMP;Jpeg;Png;GIF) with a Drowing/Plans etc or a SIMPLE PICTURE WTH the REAL SUBMARIN (or any other object),
- it's POSSIBLE to IMPORT SUCH FILE? ,
- what type of files can be imported on BLENDER ? ,
- if I made a wrong command how can I cancel it?

PLEASE ADVICE.

Hmmm, NOBODY?!

Not one I can help with,I have trouble getting my pencil to work let alone cad programs.

What CAD program do You use?.