What easy software are you using to do sketches...

[Bob Carriere]

I am curious to find out what soft ware program MLU members are usuing to do nice clean mechanical drawings for eventual use by the metal fabricator who will cut and bend to size and let me do the assembly / welding.

After searching the web it seems that Fusion 360 ( a spin off of AUTODESK) is free for one year to hobbyist and it has a very complete and complex sketching section........

I wanted to school myself during the Covid months using U tube tutorials as a guide!!!!!!!

Took me 3 days to figure out how to open the sketch section only... the hell with 3 D.

It is way tooooooo complicated................ all I need is line drawings with angles, dimension, folding dotted lines, etc in 2 D.....would be so much neater than the hand drawn sketches I have sued in the past

My 2B1 boxed is currently being rebuilt and would love to capture all the dimensions and post them on MLU.... maybe create a sticky for all the drawings we can accumulate for future reference..... I now realize that 2B1 fabrication dimensions are not very precise...... comparing three boxes I find at least 1/8 more or less and as much as 1/4 inch variation between the boxes.

Is there a vaccine for computer stupidity????

Cheers

[Owen Evans]

Hi Bob,

I use AutoCAD, but only because that's what I have at work!

A friend has been using FreeCAD, (https://www.freecadweb.org/) which he says is easy to use. And like the name suggests, it's free! Attached a couple of snapshots of some hand pump valve parts off his Bedford MWC that he sketched up. Certainly looks impressive; I probably need to spend some time having a proper look at this software.

Owen.

[Tony Smith]

Hey, can I butt in here and ask another software question?

What software would I use to design a drawing with text within a donut-shaped circle, by specifying the ID and OD of the donut, and the text and height of the letters? I must be able to specify the height of the letters as a measurement (eg 5/16", 0.750", or 10mm, etc), not at say a font size of 24, or 36.

I need to produce a scaled image, then print it for photo-etching brass plaques.

[Jonathan Moore]

I use QCad, it takes a little bit of time to get used to but in reality it's very easy to use. As I produce the components myself I have never needed the 3D side of things.

Jon

[Owen Evans]

Originally Posted by Tony Smith

Hey, can I butt in here and ask another software question?

What software would I use to design a drawing with text within a donut-shaped circle, by specifying the ID and OD of the donut, and the text and height of the letters? I must be able to specify the height of the letters as a measurement (eg 5/16", 0.750", or 10mm, etc), not at say a font size of 24, or 36.

I need to produce a scaled image, then print it for photo-etching brass plaques.

Not sure. AutoCAD has a tool that lets you align text across a curve. The problem is you are limited to specific font styles, so it depends what you're trying to achieve/replicate. Although it's not on a curve, I wanted to do something similar for my C15 water bowser. Not happy with the available fonts, I ended up drawing each letter out individually. Time consuming, but I'm pleased with the end product.

I suppose with time (and patience!) something similar could be done following a curve?

Owen.

[gjamo]

You can wrap text around a surface with KeyCreator.

[Jonathan Moore]

You can also do that in Qcad