what is usually used to turn the robot into a 3d model.
some recommends fusion360 and inventor. whats the difference
and are there related tutorials and good resouces recommended?
Inventor is industry standard and has been for quite some years: If you are looking for an application that is high skill floor & high skill ceiling then Inventor is the Go-To. Inventor is also meant to work with parts instead of bodies/components like Fusion, so it might be better in the long run compared to fusion? (controversial take)
Fusion is the new kid on the block designed less for “professionals” but for hobbyists. It’s significantly easier to learn as there are millions of tutorials on everything, but it is also quite limited once you get to a really high level. However, fusion isn’t meant to be as much of a parts assembler as Inventor, so if you’re going to design a super complex (like 100 parts all modeled out) bot then maybe inventor is the move.
You might not have to worry about this but Fusion is cloud-based meaning you can run it on basically any computer while you need quite a bit of power for inventor.
Based on how you’re asking this I’m assuming you don’t have experience in either, so I would learn Fusion first, and depending on if you want to seek a professional career with 3D Design involved, then learn Inventor as many skills (and bad habits unfortunately) transfer.
I’m sure others will have different opinions about this though. The file type for the CAD catalog is transferrable between the two apps so don’t worry about it.
1 Like
Onshape is really good for cad and it has a very quick learning curve. It can run off the cloud so you can use it on prettt much anything with chrome.
1 Like
“Industry Standard” for, well, maybe for about 30% of the industry.
Here in Michigan (automotive country), virtually nobody uses Inventor and the leading software is SolidWorks or Catia. Want to work for SpaceX? then it’s NX and Catia. OnShape (developed by the same guys who started SolidWorks) is gaining popularity as it is as powerful a CAD package as SolidWorks but doesn’t require a high-end workstation.
Due to a huge marketing campaign, Autodesk software is quite popular in the robotics community, with some people thinking it’s the only choice that has an education license. Fusion is more entry-level than Inventor. Inventor has many limitations, too (why my company switched to SolidWorks), but some of these won’t be apparent to beginning users (mostly issues with multi-body solids, weldments, and Bill-Of-Materials features that make SolidWorks superior in these areas for a welding fabrication company like mine).
Here’s a paper to provide additional information about some of the CAD options that are available. As a student, you have a unique opportunity to use nearly all the industry-standard CAD software on “free” education licenses…the same software that costs business $10,000-20,000 per license! CAD for VEX Robotics.pdf - Google Drive
5 Likes
I will build on this - if you are looking for an “industry standard” there are vendor independent organizations which will specify industry standards. For example, Motion Picture Expert Group - MPEG, and many others. These groups industry standards and FRAND agreements (intellectual property agreements that allow fair access to IPR for all (-ish). )… So for 3D there are many interchange file formats that allow 3D models to be exchanged that are independent of the final printer file format used…
Back to topic, @kmmohn is correct - don’t focus on the modeling application, but rather be sure whatever application you use can be shared to your partners and printed on their hardware.
Finally, I would recommend that MS/HS students refrain on declaring what “Industry standard” are, trust me, you ain’t seen it yet …
5 Likes
I get your point, but I thought we were just comparing Inventor and Fusion because the Autodesk suite is free.
1 Like
One thing to consider is “free” - typically there are strings are attached - are you free to use for commercial purposes? This is something to consider for all applications you can use, but with restrictions.
2 Likes
Most of the leading CAD packages offer “free” educational licenses. If you check out the paper I attached earlier, there are links to licensing for each. There is no need to limit yourself to one CAD package based on an incorrect assumption that only Autodesk offers educational licenses, but rather you have the opportunity to expand your educational experience by learning several CAD packages.
3 Likes
Is he going to use it for commercial purposes? I doubt any first-time cad user is selling models?
If you would take the time to look at the document I posted previously, you would have seen the link to apply for a student sponsorship. Our organization has received 60 licenses for SolidWorks every year for the past 10 years . Since you have not bothered to looked at the paper or the link, here is a copy to the page on the SolidWorks website:
Perhaps you are just confused because your team’s mentor or coach needs to apply for a sponsorship to get the license, rather than simply downloading an educational license.
Dude - if I got you at “free” with no strings attached to use my commercial tools for “education” without question, I have you hooked for life. This has been a proven business model over and over…
Let’s think about what “free” means in this context, the user will spend a lot of their time learning the tool - it works! then the user will teach others or will encourage future employers to use said “free” tool, but will learn to use the “free” tool costs $$$$
I am not saying tool is bad, but end of day what you are working with can be manage by many tools… for example, wood is wood, the tools are many and, most, are not proprietary.
2 Likes
This depends on institution. For example, at Texas A&M:
You would need to check if your school or institution offers solidworks for free. As for Fusion 360, you just need to use your school’s .edu email for a free student license. Applies similarly to JetBrains (for programmers).
3 Likes
actually cuz i am studying in China , its always not easy for me to get a education liscence. so i was always searching for a “free” one.
and from this perspective, the cloud-based one like Onshape is usually not in my choice cuz its not easy for me to sign up for free.
You should see what your educational institution offers. I would be doubtful to think that China doesn’t have their own alternatives.
The only last resort I can think of is to use open source or freeware alternatives, which may not be as adequate.
@kmmohn you’ve stated on a number of occasions that Fusion is entry level. That’s not my recent experience. What issues have you had with multi-body solids?
maybe it just because i was still in senior high and most of students do not have such demand and it do have ways
I finally decided to start with fusion360. tks for all suggestions. maybe i’ll try other alternatives after i was familiar with basic operations.
and after watching some tutorials, i came up with some new questions.
1）is adding screws and nuts are optional?
2) if i’d like to add screws and nuts or sth like axis, how should i do that. shall i just do this like join other parts together through assemble tool joint or something else?
How you CAD your robot is entirely up to your own discretion. For me, I like to add screws and nuts for to most of the components of my robot, and sometimes leave unnecessary CADding away.
For adding components, the align tool is the best, or point-to-point.
Hi, Ewewee -
It’s optional, if you design your bot well within the bounding box (18” x 18” x 18”). My advice is to include screws, since it will help you construct your BOM.
Cheers,
8113C
P.S. Notes on suggested CAD programs to follow. TL;DR it won’t hurt you to use Fusion, especially if you’re on a Mac.