How did you make plans for your leather bag for your iPad? Any specific software you used for that, since it’s more complicated I think? I’m really interested in doing something like that 
Would be cool if you could give some pointers so I don’t screw up and end up with a fanny pack when making my own design 
I’ve been learning my way around inkscape, but am also looking at both Onshape and Fusion 360. Onshape is cloud based and “free” in the sense that you can mark up to 10 designs as private and everything else is public unless you pay a monthly fee. I stopped exploring Sketchup because I’m an exact dimensions kinda guy and it seemed a relative dimensions kinda tool. Maybe that’s just what happens when you learned drafting with a t-square, two triangles, a compass and some vellum.
Quick question about Illustrator. Is there a plugin that works with-in AI that will allow it to talk ‘directly’ (client > cloud > GF) to the GF family devices? Or do you have to export from AI then import into the GF app?
If there is a plug-in, Is there a demo of it running somewhere? And will that plugin interfere with other plugins like what’s used for the silhouette cutters?
@karaelena - I’m pretty sure that you would work in AI then save it as a SVG or DXF, upload it to the Glowforge app then send it to the Glowforge. I think that may be the workflow for all of the apps in some way.
Although I do know work there so I don’t really know.
@briski - I would love to know how he did this too!
@briski: the leather bag story is so good I’m going to make it its own post.
@caribis: you can be precise in sketchup but it takes some keyboard shortcuts and fussing. You’re right it’s not optimized for that.
@koos42: thank you!
@karaelena: Yes. And you’ll get to see it shortly. Tested.com was in town yesterday and they dropped in to shoot some video…
EPIC!. This means my current workflow will not change. So, So cool.
Will there be a plugin similar to the AI one for use with CorelDraw? I think I saw that somewhere but now I can’t find what I saw. Thanks!
For the Glowforge violin I’m attempting, I needed something a little more than inkscape for visualizing and a little better than Sketchup for parametric parts. I’ve now been trying Onshape as an alternative. The free version lets you have up to 10 private documents and I’ve found I can keep all interlocking parts in 1 document and keep them separated while still visualizing each relationship on each part. the version history on parts is nice as well since you can roll back edits to any point in history. it’s browser based so I can log in from tablet/pc also.
Antimony is a pretty rad graph-based CAD solution. The approach should feel familiar to anyone who has used Rhino+Grasshopper or similar parametric design tools.
I’ve heard great things about OpenSCAD if you’re a programmer.
I’ll second @Joshua with the Onshape suggestion. As someone who used to model stuff in SolidWorks, I’ve found Onshape really easy to transition to–it’s a very different approach to CAD (given that it’s cloud/browser based and all) but it seems like a great idea for a lot of use cases. I guess the only trick will be in figuring out a workflow for using the Glowforge to produce parts designed in Onshape… My current thought involves using the technical drawing environment (Onshape’s version of like DWG Editor) to spit out DXFs of the individual parts? Depends on how DXF support works out with the Glowforge, though.
I’m really excited about Onshape, as I works on my Mac (unlike SolidWorks) and has all the assembly and constraint functionality SketchUp (my current CAD platform of choice) lacks.
I’ve played around a bit with Onshape recently, and I have to say I’m extremely impressed. It’s a totally different way to design parts than I’m used to, so the learning curve is a bit steep, but its worth the time investment.
I also like that it runs on iOS devices as well, so if I’m on location I can pull up a part and demo it.
@chris Part creation in Onshape is pretty much the same as SolidWorks, Geomagic Design, and other parametric CAD packages and that’s largely why the transition has been so easy for me. Funny that you mention SketchUp, though, because I find that program to be infuriating to work with… but that’s probably because I started with SolidWorks.
@PTPetra I’ve been using SketchUp for around 15 years now, so I’m super efficient in it, and push it close to the breaking point with how complex some of my assemblies get. Because I know every inch of it, I can crank stuff out super fast, but it does not hold a candle to proper CAD applications like SolidWorks when it comes to DFM, making precision assemblies, etc.
I’ve been wanting to get SolidWorks for years, but their lack of support for Mac and super expensive licensing (no tier for makers or small businesses) have been deal breakers. But Onshape has everything I need.
The only drawback is their current limitation of only 100mb storage for private documents. They say “10 free private documents” on the free plan, but there is an account-wide total data storage limit for private documents of only 100mb, which I would easily use up in a single document given the type of assemblies I build.
Their pro licensing of $100 a month is super reasonable, but it’s a bit too much for me to justify when I’m not generating a lot of revenue purely from CAD projects. Maybe they’ll add an additional licensing tier for folks like myself that are somewhere between the free plan for makers/students and folks who do CAD for a living. fingers crossed
Though this topic, I found out about @polarbrainfreeze’s videos on SketchUp. While we’ve been giving SketchUp some grief about the UI specifically and its ability to be precise, it may be worth another try after watching some of his videos.
Every Fab Lab has a Solidworks license that you should be able to use for very cheap or possibly even free. Look around to see if there is one near you.
Yes, I have to give SketchUp a good mention. I’ve been using it for years for different applications. It does not have all the features of a full-fledged 3D cad software. But it’s free, and I do not feel I’ve been limited by it at all. I love how quickly I can do something with it.
I also love that there are TONS of online tutorials. I had no 3D modeling experience, and through watching the videos, and by playing with it, I’ve become quite good at modeling things very quickly. My blog has some good screenshots of what I’ve designed with SketchUp. (http://polarbrainfreezethecut.blogspot.ca/). Anything that looks like a “3D model” was done with SketchUp.
Sketchup does have some problems, but you learn to live with them. I think the thing I find the most difficult is making adjustments to my models after the fact. For example, if I modeled something for 1/8 width and then decide to cut it in 3mm width, but I don’t want to change the overall dimensions, then it takes some time to make adjustments. I’ve been told that other CAD software makes this easier. But I don’t do this very often.
I recommend you at least give SketchUp a try.