geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: awhitedev on Wed, 25 November 2015, 08:57:32
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Hello fellow Geekhackers...
As the title suggests... I'm looking to have a keyboard case made for a custom project I'm working on. I'm thinking a sandwich style case with m.2 screws would be the easiest. However, I'd like to have a top layer cut specifically for the layout I'm working on. Using swill's tool I have created a baseline for the different case pieces... but I need to make some adjustments to it and create the top layer (which the tool does not provide)
In the end I need to have some DXF files for the different pieces.
Can anyone here suggest a good, user-friendly, CAD tool for making these adjustments to swill's auto-generated case? I'm not a CAD guy... so the easier the tool is to use the better. I don't mind spending a little bit of money on the software but obviously free is better.
Thanks for your help!
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For 2D CAD drawing, I really like QCAD.
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FreeCAD is a nice, free, cross-platform and easy tool.
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AutoCAD for 2D, Autodesk Inventor or Solidworks for 3D
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I've used Blender before and it's quite nice, but I've usually had to make a few revisions, so if you're not making it with a home 3D printer, and it would be much more expensive to make, I would advise against it (So you don't spend a ton of money on revisions) :p
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I've used Blender before and it's quite nice, but I've usually had to make a few revisions, so if you're not making it with a home 3D printer, and it would be much more expensive to make, I would advise against it (So you don't spend a ton of money on revisions) :p
Blender is definitely not recommended for this kind of application :))
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Blender is definitely not recommended for this kind of application :))
Well, it's a bit like bringing a gatling gun to a knife fight, loaded up with 10K of white phosphorous tracer rounds :D
My recommendation:
- if you want to learn software just to make a single project and forget everything afterwards - get someone else do it. You'll save a lot of time and get a reliable result you wouldn't be able to produce anyway.
- if you never want to have anything to do with 3d graphics, and just want to make a few designs and learn a piece of software to be comfortable with, try this one: http://solvespace.com/
for 2d stuff you can try LibreCad, it has good tutorials on yt.
If you want to step up, try FreeCad.
OpenScad if you're adventurous. There is a corresponding Python library if that Fortran-chair-wienerdog crossbreed of a language OpenScad uses drives you nuts.
- have 3 free days to get productive? Want to make fancy models with bells and whistles? Want to laugh at your CAD friends who can't get stuff 3d printed due to outrageous topology created by their tool? Python scripting - sounds cool? Like women who play Starcraft and can dress adequately? (https://imgur.com/gallery/9KiYB/new)
Well, here's where Blender comes in.
Personally, I'm a blenderhead. Blender takes a lot of time and effort investment to get it running, but the return is incredible.
It's an awesomely maintained project, with lots of great and knowledgable devs, great documentation, code quality, plenty of features, unmoderated and sh*tty user communities...
And it's blazingly fast. It's the Vim/Emacs of 3d modelling software, and comes with all the luggage of both (lots of sweet keyboard action, modes, obscure awesome functionality, custom stuff, addons, halfbaked things you can't live without... there's even Blender vs Blender battles! :P)
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If you have no experience with any CAD tool, take a look at DeltaCAD (full functioning 90 day free trial).
Windows and Mac only. Clean install/uninstall. It only does 2D, but your OP suggests that is all you need.