ZW3D vs Fusion 360 Lesson 2 3D Modeling Techniques Defined Streamlined Sketching/Feature Based Modeling
I am not sure if it is due to these
exercises but I have replaced a few Fusion 360 with ZW3D. Listen to
what one of the fellows said.
"We spoke a year and a
half or so ago about ZW3D. I took the Autodesk Fusion
360 but am becoming increasingly unhappy with it… It’s not very
productive for me, just too slow and cumbersome to get things done
quickly. On on the strength of your recommendations I am ready to
give ZW3D Standard a shot, probably as a rental for the first year.
Bottom line is,
Fusion 360 is “free” but not really free… I am finding that the
slow, clumsy pace of design with it is counterproductive… time is
money."
Thanks much, Brian Again I
follow up my IronCAD lesson with a ZW3D lesson. This is a bit different and quite
simple. ZW3D has Boolean primitive shapes you can use, nothing like IronCAD
but offers an added flexibility.
I saw the
following video challenges on LinkedIn and thought I would give them a
try on IronCAD. I got a great response and decided to do it in ZW3D.
I was very familiar with the parts and did it a bit easier. It shows
more the difference in the level of the 3D CAD experience than the
CAD system itself. You can
Download ZW3D and give it a try.
ZW3D is very similar to Fusion 360 and the
Pro/e clones with differences that make it much more streamlined. It
is very easy for those users to get up and running with ZW3D. The
unique benefits over the other systems is the multi-object
environment, for easy top down design and the the integrated
drawing. You can do complete projects (parts, assemblies and
drawings) in one file. Imagine how much this would simplify PDM?
I would do a
video, but I really am not good at it. So I will show you step by
step. I will try and get ZW3D support to create one. They are
very good.
The modeling technique is
hugely responsible for the level of productivity. Those of you that
are only trained in the sketch, sketch, constrain, constrain world
are truly limited by not using the freedom of feature based design,
that is available in even the most Pro/e-ish of CAD systems. If your
designers are designing in these very unproductive and time
consuming processes it might be time to review your standard design
processes. Don't have any do you?
These have actually turned
these into exercises in
modeling techniques as compared to showing a more productive CAD
systems. Again, I say there are many different ways to model a part.
I see with my exposure to direct edit modelers like CADKEY, I
rarely sketch like you see the Fusion 360 fellow doing. I have always
created my basic sketches by mostly creating offsets and extending
and trimming or. It seems to be much easier. I never put in a fillet that
can be created later. What do you think? Of course, this take a good
understanding of descriptive geometry.
Here is ZW3D. We set the units to
inches.
The first thing we
will do is insert a block from a Shape>Block Shape at X0Y0Z0 and set
the size at 4.00x2.50x2.60. ZW3D has 5 primitive shapes available.
We create the sketch to make the angled cut
We extrude the profile.
I
create two lines to establish the two points of my datum with the
lower front right corner being the third
I drop another block shape on the
datum and define the size and create the cut face.
I just blank the two line
and the datum and we are done
with the basic part
We
drop a hole located mid point and define the type, size and depth.
Complete the command and we are done with the part.
Look the speed of modeling this part all of a couple of minutes. You
truly need to step out of the constrained sketching box and even
consider moving to a more productive CAD system.
It is very important that you look into
how you or your engineers are creating the parts. Streamline
Sketching and Feature Based Modeling is easy to learn and implement.
It, alone, can increase productivity 10X. Now, ZW3D with its unique
history and robust direct edit functionality can increase your
productivity another 5X or more with changes! Again, time is money
in engineering.
More on Streamline Sketching and Feature Based Modeling.
To experience this increased level of
productivity, please download ZW3D for a 30 day evaluation. Legacy
data is no problem, ZW3D can read the native files of all of the
popular programs including the PMI data of NX, Solidworks, Catia and
Creo. ZW3D is a great replacement for the subscription only Autodesk
and PTC products.
Give me a call if you have any
questions. I can set up a skype or go to meeting to show this part
or answer any of your questions on the operation of ZW3D. It
truly is the Ultimate CAD/CAM System.
If you are interested in adding professional
hybrid modeling capabilities or looking for a new solution to
increase your productivity, take some time to download a fully
functional 30 day evaluation and play with these packages. Feel free
to give me a call if you have any questions or would like an on-line
presentation.
