Update on Opinions of Software for Pattern/Project Making--What Do You Recommend?

[mazing]

Hi Everyone, this topic has been discussed before but knowing that software can change significantly with each update, and it seems like the past discussions are at least a couple years old, I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on, and suggestions for, pattern making software.

I'm a graphic designer that works primarily in 2D; being proficient with Adobe products such as Illustrator and Photoshop. I've played around with some 3D programs (Zbrush, SolidWorks) in the past just for the heck of it but never had cause to really delve into it until now.

Being an avid woodworking hobbyist, I'm extremely interested in combining my 2 passions: woodworking and design. I foresee creating a full gamut of patterns/projects ranging from utilitarian objects such as jigs and furniture to signs to decorative items and reliefs. I'm usually pretty swift and dedicated when learning applications but that doesn't mean I want to get into something with an extreme learning curve--at least not at this point. However, I don't want to learn something that is lacking or something that I will outgrow quickly.

I know it is a tall order, but I'm looking for something that produces professional quality output but is on the "easier to learn" side of the spectrum. So as you may have guessed, my question is "which programs do you use and/or which do you recommend"? Are any considered an industry standard in the cnc field?

Thanks in advance for your knowledge and input,
Mike

[SteveNelson46]

Hi Everyone, this topic has been discussed before but knowing that software can change significantly with each update, and it seems like the past discussions are at least a couple years old, I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on, and suggestions for, pattern making software.

I'm a graphic designer that works primarily in 2D; being proficient with Adobe products such as Illustrator and Photoshop. I've played around with some 3D programs (Zbrush, SolidWorks) in the past just for the heck of it but never had cause to really delve into it until now.

Being an avid woodworking hobbyist, I'm extremely interested in combining my 2 passions: woodworking and design. I foresee creating a full gamut of patterns/projects ranging from utilitarian objects such as jigs and furniture to signs to decorative items and reliefs. I'm usually pretty swift and dedicated when learning applications but that doesn't mean I want to get into something with an extreme learning curve--at least not at this point. However, I don't want to learn something that is lacking or something that I will outgrow quickly.

I know it is a tall order, but I'm looking for something that produces professional quality output but is on the "easier to learn" side of the spectrum. So as you may have guessed, my question is "which programs do you use and/or which do you recommend"? Are any considered an industry standard in the cnc field?

Thanks in advance for your knowledge and input,
Mike

If you can afford the $2000.00 price tag, Aspire by Vectric is the best IMHO.

[zan29]

He's right Aspire is the best but if your budget doesn't allow it, Artcam Express (around 129$) and Moi3d (295$) very efficient.
Free software : Sketchup (3d/stl), Blender (3d/stl), Inkscape (2d/dfx) and Gimp for photo editing. Plenty of tutorials on youtube for all of them and some that comes with the software.

[mazing]

Thanks guys. Now that you mention it, I have heard of Aspire before. The 2K price tag is well out of my range but I'm going to see if they offer an academic discount--I guess that's one of the perks of being a 40-something-year-old student. Even if they don't, I see that their free trial software is fully functional (other than not being able to actually output your work) and it actually doesn't have a time limit. That's something I haven't run into before and I've tried out (and purchased) a good amount of applications in the past few years. I like that business model. With no trial time limit, I'll be able to test out and learn the interface at my own rate without worrying that the software will soon stop working.

Mike

[SteveNelson46]

Thanks guys. Now that you mention it, I have heard of Aspire before. The 2K price tag is well out of my range but I'm going to see if they offer an academic discount--I guess that's one of the perks of being a 40-something-year-old student. Even if they don't, I see that their free trial software is fully functional (other than not being able to actually output your work) and it actually doesn't have a time limit. That's something I haven't run into before and I've tried out (and purchased) a good amount of applications in the past few years. I like that business model. With no trial time limit, I'll be able to test out and learn the interface at my own rate without worrying that the software will soon stop working.

Mike

I ask the purchasing dept. at the University of Arizona here in Tucson to check for academic pricing with them. It is still $2000.00 but, you get 2 licenses.

[Alan Malmstrom]

I've been playing around with a program called Curvy 3D: http://www.curvy3d.com/

It's a pretty easy program to draw out fast shapes. You can have a reference image to work with and two panes for drawing and viewing. The real hard part would be adding texture to a shape. I'm doing the 30 day trial but I just might get it afterwards.

[jpaluck]

Modo 3DSmax and zbrush

[cestout]

Alan,
curvy3d looks like fuyn. Do you know if you can out-put as height-map or .stl?
Clint

[Alan Malmstrom]

Alan,
curvy3d looks like fuyn. Do you know if you can out-put as height-map or .stl?
Clint
Hi Clint

You can only export as obj. To create a stl you would have to do it in another program. I did it in blender and then imported an image using the stl importer and it works. While curvy 3D makes fast shapes it still takes imagination and know how to make things fit and create bas-relief. And it seems to crash now and then. But personally I'm having fun with it. It doesn't do text. The lines that you create shapes with aren't that easy to adjust. Paths with handles are better but I've not seen that in 3D software anyway. When you draw out a shape and try to puff it just right, it moves the outline. So all in all it might be good for some kinds of designs but not others. It's especially hard to make flat circle outlines.

[Alan Malmstrom]

Modo 3DSmax and zbrush

Hi John

Yes those are the best 3D programs to use. Modo, 3DSMax and Zbrush.

[mcQ]

If your a student Autodesk has several programs that can be downloaded free with a 3 year licence. These are full version professional programs. I would recommend downloading Inventor Professional which I have, this is a $6,000 program. The only thing different on the student versions is that any drawings you print will have "this drawing was created with a academic version of Inventor". The text is outside the border of the title block / drawing sheet where it could be trimmed off. This program will read and write .stl 3d files as well as .dxf for 2d files and would work perfect with both the Stl Importer and Dxf Importer.
Here is a link to the Autodesk download site:
http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software

[mazing]

Thanks mcQ. Being that there seems to be so many software options out there, and many have a hefty price tag, I'm a big fan of "try before you buy". But with extensive programs such as these, any trial period less than a few months isn't adequate unless you have a lot of extra time to devote to learning the program. So I love when software offers unlimited time or even a 3-year license such as Autodesk is doing here.

It is most likely going to take some while for me to try out and make a choice on which 3D modeling/AutoCad application to go with. It was a lot easier in my Web & Graphic Design field in which the Adobe products are pretty much the industry standard--therefore not only excellent software but the software knowledge/skills that are most sort after by potential employers. That's what I'm pretty much going for: software that does everything I need it to, does it well, doesn't have too steep a learning curve (or at least "feels right" to me), and the working knowledge of is very marketable...and I know, that's a tall order. That's why I am so appreciative of everyone's input, suggestions, and feedback.

Thanks again.

Mike