extreme frustration >:( #rant

Have questions or comments about Simplify3D, Slic3r, Cura, Reptier, etc? Or wondering about which CAD software to use...discuss it here...
NavyDT
Posts: 33
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2016 6:12 pm

extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by NavyDT » Fri Jan 13, 2017 12:22 am

Hey all.

The makergear is plugging along awesome i couldn't be happier with my purchase.

Its sad when the weakest link in the chain is yourself. i am frustrated to my whits end with fusion 360, and im sure its not the program its just so damn irritating when you have an idea an no mater what you do, you cant get it to work out. "cant convert, body has self intersecting points" "object contains too many triangles" the list goes on and on. trying to take a mesh and then cut it to fit a sketch you made its nigh impossible. 3 or 4 hours later you've messed so many things up you cant undo anything with out the whole thing taking a dump on you.

Im sure this is growing pains of the process but im just wondering if anyone has some advice on how to get your ideas from your head into the computer in some kind of organized process. Im pretty sure my work flow is the problem.

Or who knows maybe its time to just try solidworks already.

Thanks again for reading the rant!

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Matt_Sharkey
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Re: extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by Matt_Sharkey » Fri Jan 13, 2017 2:09 am

Help us understand here. What sort of project are you doing?

my first impression is that maybe fusion 360 is not best program for your job. I use fusion 360 for creating parametric models or engineered solutions. I never get into meshes. maybe another 3d modeling program is better suited for your needs.

NavyDT
Posts: 33
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2016 6:12 pm

Re: extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by NavyDT » Fri Jan 13, 2017 2:26 am

what i am trying to do is create a hide for my scorpion where i cut the back part of this model

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:441087

to fit the odd angle of his cage. i measured and then designed the basic shape

http://a360.co/2iN6Gji

and then was going to extrude the top upward through the model to cut it into the right shape... well as you could imagine that didnt work well. after a long time i did get the .stl file from thingiverse to import into fusion 360 but i had to convert it into a quad mesh in remake and then export it. and as you could imagine that took hours for me to get to that point, after i had it in there, there was no good way to cut the mesh into the shape i needed. i ended up just giving up and printing the original i had.

Then i tired to make a cave starting out with a mesh, after i had it made, i cant figure out how to add thickness to it so i can print it, every time i do it gives me all sorts of errors.
here is the cave

http://a360.co/2j6geXL

thunderbt3
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Re: extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by thunderbt3 » Fri Jan 13, 2017 1:53 pm

Working with surfaces is tricky. Its almost a black art. If you're new to 3d modeling, I would recommend learning the basics with solid models first (extrude, cut, revolve, sweep..etc) before venturing into surfaces.

NavyDT
Posts: 33
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2016 6:12 pm

Re: extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by NavyDT » Fri Jan 13, 2017 2:14 pm

here are some of the examples of stuff ive already made

http://a360.co/2iP4bx2 - adapter to connect your logitec camera to a loctite connector

http://a360.co/2j7E7ho - Wall mount for the Makergear M2 Power Supply

http://a360.co/2jEapQ4 - Large Hexagon Candle Mold

http://a360.co/2jM1Abd - Soap Dish

http://a360.co/2j7OhP5 - a Wrench

I figured i had the basics down. oh well i guess its back to the drawing board :D

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zemlin
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Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

Re: extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by zemlin » Fri Jan 13, 2017 2:37 pm

On that cave, there are some pretty tight radii on that surface. Attempting to offset the surface could result in self-intersecting surfaces. It looks like it might work better to add material to the outside rather than the inside.

Don't know what kind of surfacing tools you have to work with, but consider different ways to achieve your desired result - perhaps an offset surface rather than a thicken operation - so you end up with an inside surface and an outside surface, then close up the volume and convert it to a solid. If the errors are due to self-intersecting surfaces, that could still be an issue with the offset. Perhaps copy and scale the mesh, and if you are wanting to add material to the inside you could pull some of the points in so the internal geometry is not as severe as the outer geometry.

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willnewton
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Re: extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by willnewton » Fri Jan 13, 2017 4:16 pm

Yes, it is hard. You have to keep ramming your head against it. It took months and months and months for me to get my head around modeling correctly for watertightness in complex objects. Chamfers, fillets, offset surfaces, organic shapes can all lead to leaky objects, so start blocky and simple when building. When you have a valid object, start adding complications to it.

Good workflow- Construct a cube, offset the surface inward, boolean it out to make a shell, chamfer the interior and exterior edges.

Bad workflow- Construct a cube, chamfer the edges, offset the surface inward, and watch your model fall to pieces as the computer tries to build an offset from surfaces that self intersect as it tries to make the chamfer surface offsets intersect the cube surface offsets.
--- OK, in reality this will probably work because it is straight lines, but it is a simplified explanation of what is happening in your model. Offsetting a sphere 2mm is a piece of cake for the computer. Offsetting 300 lumpy, bumpy surfaces is going to make the computer vomit as it tries to build corners from all the surfaces.

Zemlin has the answer for self intersecting. Something in the way you are building thickness in your models is not correct.

I am going to make assumptions based on a quick look at your link and no measurements. Your model looks thin and the edges are super thin looking. If you are learning the software, then work in simpler, thicker forms until you learn to get small.

One way to move forward would be to not offset the outer surface, just make your interior a simple geometric shape. I also had a pet scorpion (Emperor scorpion, his name was Spot) and they don't care much about interior design. ;) As an example, make your lumpy shape a solid, then draw a simple interior as a solid. Boolean difference the interior from the exterior and you are done without the agony of offsetting complex surfaces.

You probably need to learn some Meshmixer for repairs and mods to meshes. Sometimes, even the best model will generate a leak when converted to meshes.

Also, you are not modeling for Star Wars movie renderings, you are modeling for a 3d printer that can't print anything smaller than a .1mmx.1mmx.4mm size, so when creating a mesh, you don't need to go crazy with the polygons. The slicing software is going to toss out all that extra info anyway, so don't build a billion polygon model. ;)
I'm finally back to where I started two days ago!

A thread with some stuff in it I update every once in a while. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9
See some of my stuff http://www.thingiverse.com/willnewton/favorites

NavyDT
Posts: 33
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2016 6:12 pm

Re: extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by NavyDT » Fri Jan 13, 2017 8:39 pm

Thanks for the feedback guys, i can now see where i might have gone wrong with the cave. build a offset dome and then change the outside geometry instead of taking a sphere like i did and cut it open... not sure why that wasn't obvious to me before.

I will work some more on this project on the upcoming weekend and let you know how it goes

Really really, thanks again gents!

Lateralg
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Re: extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by Lateralg » Mon Jan 23, 2017 9:07 pm

Your experience with Fusion360 parallels mine.

I learned that Autodesk has excellent, free, tutorials. Also, I was looking for solutions that were more complex than those available.

I suggest Investing time with the tutorials ... I predict that you'll find Fusion360 to be very powerful & user-friendly.
Gary
Make Better Things
Make Things Better

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Kat24
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Re: extreme frustration >:( #rant

Post by Kat24 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 5:00 am

Lateralg wrote:Your experience with Fusion360 parallels mine.

I learned that Autodesk has excellent, free, tutorials. Also, I was looking for solutions that were more complex than those available.

I suggest Investing time with the tutorials ... I predict that you'll find Fusion360 to be very powerful & user-friendly.
Are there any great tutorials I can have for fusion 360? I just bought makergear yesterday and I have been doing tutorials on youtube. Is there some free tutorials I can find that would teach me about the basic and advance usage of fusion 360.
A nerdy type of person who loves going out with friends, loves to study and improving my skills by attending trainings, seminars and school. Because for me new information is a good way to show you’re updated of everything around you.

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