Free CAD

[Retired]

Hi,

I'm still experiencing computer problems especially regarding graphics. Videos are also extremely poor with audio breaking up.

emachineshop still won't save the 3D to bitmap and I'm now trying to send the 2D EMS drawing by zip file. If it does work then once the drawing loads by selecting the "pyramid" icon the drawing can be viewed fully in 3D allowing it to be rotated etc.

I'm making lots of progress with CAD though and am enjoying myself. once the weather improves I should be able to resume my projects.

The zip file below contains a simple exercise I've just completed. David is making a "retro" digital clock and is installing the clock into a home made wooden enclosure using his excellent router jig to cut the comb joints. I've been practicing "repeats" on the drawing in the form of the fingers. Although I drew the fingers at 1/4" square my computer graphics reproduction is poor; the fault is definitely in my computer and not EMS CAD. I've also found a another drawing program on the EMS website and this covers electronics in 2D & 3D so I'll add the link in another thread.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

I've just spent a while on another forum and rather than update my notes I'll simply add them in full here and hope the story is useful to other CAD novices.

CAD is extremely difficult to learn from scratch without a tutor; CAD programs can even put a novice off right from the start as it takes a degree just to size the paper. EMS CAD fortunately is automatically sized at A4 at least it is on my computer allowing me to go directly to drawing. The following story relates to EMS CAD and I sincerely hope it encourages others to stick with it.

I could have easily gone into the garage and fabricated the welding jig shown in the pictures below; in fact I didn't even want such a jig. A friend mentioned he was planning on making a new wrought iron fence of a very simple design so I thought I would try to design and then draw a welding jig just for the CAD practice. The fence was simply two rails; one top; one bottom with either square or round section uprights. These uprights would require accurate positioning abutting the rails whilst allowing access for arc welding.

The jig design is very basic and the jig would cost extremely little to make it being nothing more than short lengths of the wrought iron rail section and a short length of 1" angle iron welded together.

I added a "dogs leg" which would allow full welding access. The jig would be secured in position using two clamps; one to secure it to the rail the other to secure the upright. Not too taxing a design but it took a bit of thought and drawing it using EMS CAD would give me much needed practice.

I then spent a day and a half of total frustration whilst I tried everything I could possibly think of in trying to convert my thoughts into a drawing. Eventually I succeeded in drawing the angle iron and backing support as a drawing and also the dogs leg section in another drawing; both looked excellent in 3D. The biggest problem though was in trying to join the two parts together. I simply could not do it and although I know my computer graphics are old fashioned my ignorance of all things CAD wasn't helping. I could have walked away from CAD forever at this point but unlike the other CAD programs I have used I was actually making slow progress with EMS; I had the two drawings and could even view them in 3D.

In EMS CAD material and machine has to be selected which is very easy; the problem I faced was in choosing the correct machine? I tried "Weld" I tried "bend" and I tried "Auto". I struggled for hours using each and found my lack of progress to be most frustrating; messages kept popping up saying lines must not overlap each other; nudge the offending highlighted line away. I tried this and each time another message followed and if I did as instructed the drawing fell apart; it is extremely important to keep "Saving" allowing the last saved stage of the drawing to be displayed so everything is not lost; selecting on the keyboard Ctrl and "Z" together will step back each time if a mistake or change needs to be made to the drawing.

I was trying to draw as I would make; this is how I always did technical drawing using drawing instruments on a drawing board. I was drawing each separate section of the jig then trying to join them together using "Intersect" and "Group". This worked OK but I could not align the two drawn sections in order to join them together. Other than the "Top" view all I could see in the other 2D views was single rectangles; viewing in 3D brought them to life but drawing on the 3D image isn't possible so once I reverted back to 2D I lost track of which side I was trying to work on; I thought I would end up with steam coming out of my ears.

Time was slipping by at an alarming rate. I then remembered Barry's advice regarding drawing a border. I had been drawing in "Space". A border didn't help me out in this instance although another comment made by Barry suddenly struck home in a blinding flash of inspiration. (one has first to understand the logic used by the originators of the software).

I had been thinking of the sections of the jig as being individual pieces of steel and steel costs a lot of money so waste has to be avoided like the plague. Adding to this I was trying to join these pieces together which was a long tedious process for me as a CAD novice. A single border didn't help but what about a 3D border? I had been drawing in 3D but only thinking in 2D and this was causing me lots of trouble.

In 2D the length and height are used (X & Y) and I selected the "square tool" drawing a random square on the page clicking once at the start then moving the mouse a bit and clicking again; this set the random sized square on the page as a 2D drawing. Now I adjusted the dimensions in the top tool bar boxes for length; height and depth (X;Y;Z) giving me a rectangular shaped block when viewed in 3D; this by the way is dead easy to do and only takes seconds. Now by clicking on one of the lines I could click on "Line" and select machine at the top tool bar. This time though I selected "injection moulding".

I could totally ignore waste as this waste was fictional and would cost absolutely nothing. The reason I say this is that I could now very easily draw lines in any of the views and as long as the lines joined I could select "Air inside" viewing in 3D I had punched a hole right through the block; once I grasped this everything dropped into place and I completed the drawing in less than 15 minutes. I could now do it in much less time after doing it once.

To expand a bit on this; A number of views are available with "Top" being default. If a solid block of material is drawn and can be viewed as a block in 3D then by selecting the view (top;bottom; left etc.) the block can be modified as though you were cutting lumps out of a block of cheese; the area is selected by drawing lines for length and breadth and although I selected "air inside" the "Z" setting can be adjusted to any desired depth but be careful because plus and minus are active; it's possible to add the shape like a patch rather than to remove it; default is plus or positive so try using the minus sign in front of the Z dimension. Strange at first but without the program doesn't know if you wish to add or remove. (air inside which is a wonderful term punches the hole shape right through).

The relief I felt was staggering; I had struggled for so long trying to work the CAD program as I would think but my thinking was not in line with the CAD creators logic. Boy I can be thick but I make up for this by being downright stubborn.

I can now not only draw in 3D but also think in 3D and this is so important whilst never being explained in detail whilst I've read about and watched videos of CAD.

I've moved a huge step forward and am now rapidly gaining confidence in CAD. the day and a half I spent playing around on this one simple drawing could be considered a total waste of my time but is it? During this time I learned a great deal and became quicker at selecting tools; going back to change something; retrieving the drawing because I had saved it; selecting material and machine in fact I learned a great deal and yes it was absolutely frustrating and irritating but well worth it in the end. Thanks Barry for supplying the spark which fired up my imagination.

I hope this story does help other novices because it isn't really about how to draw but the reasoning behind why I wanted the drawing and how I went about it. If you want to learn CAD then please throw your pencil and paper out of your mind because CAD is a totally different technique but once the basics are grasped what a whole new world opens up. The drawing below shows little detail and looking at it the drawing gives no indication as to what it is supposed to be but the 3D image selected in EMS of the same drawing makes a tremendous difference.

Kind regards, Col.

       

[Radio Fixer]

The end result is very pleasing Colin.

"Time was slipping by at an alarming rate. " says you. When I was learning Corel Draw I simply said to myself that was what I was doing and all the other things I had on the list (other than vital) were on hold. It would take as long as it took and I got on with doing the tasks I had in mind. That way it became pleasurable and not a pressure.

As I mastered things I tried to document, in my own words, how I did it. Usually the words were, and still are, put on a copy of the created artwork. It makes doing similar later so much easier. Whats the level of support like for your Cad prog?

With Corel I was well supported by a good book (if I buy a program I usually buy a book), on-line tutorials, and a marvellous Forum. Some of the guys on there are Pros and when I got really stuck came up with the answers.

So keep on learning and dont get stressed by the time you put in. Its bound to take us 'ole boys' longer now but Hey! we get there and thats the main thing.

Cheers Gary

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Gary. As you know; once I get stuck into a project I'll not let go however hard it becomes but CAD is something else.

I've spent hundreds of hours over the last 14 years trying to crack the CAD code; every time time I've previously tried I've had to admit defeat due to other more pressing demands upon my time. Due to our rare freezing weather recently I finally got the chance to spend more time trying to master CAD as it was too cold to play out.

The breakthrough for me was that this time I downloaded EMS CAD whereas previously I had been trying to use fully loaded CAD programs like TurboCad. I found EMS suited me better and as it isn't loaded with lots of tool bars there was less to confuse me. Watching the lovely Aurora give the tutorial demonstration video proved a massive help as she made it appear so simple which in fact it proved to be. In the video Aurora explains in basic terms whilst showing how to use the cursor to select the different tools required for each function; I've watched many such tutorial videos but Aurora put things over in such an uncomplicated way that even a child could follow her instructions; this was exactly what I needed. Access to the video is very easy so it could be viewed with a couple of mouse clicks.

There was no complicated page settings; just follow the instructions and start drawing within minutes; it just doesn't get any better than this. EMS CAD is extremely straightforward to use; click on a tool and it does the job without lots of additional information or complication to throw you off track. "Snap" is on as default and this function is incredibly useful as is the "Nudge" function. It took around 4 hours to produce my first scaled 2D drawing using EMS CAD and a further hour to convert the drawing into 3D.

This thread is aimed at a CAD novice and concentrates on EMS CAD; the functions I describe may or may not be available in other CAD programs.

I would have thought a more basic drawing program like "MS Paint" which is a 2D drawing program and not CAD would have been very easy to use with little practice but I found out for me it proved the opposite. I'm certainly not knocking Paint; far from it because I've used Paint to draw basic sketches but I could never progress beyond this stage. I was even much worse at using the CAD programs I tried over the years; they all appeared to have a mind of their own and however hard I tried my drawings never materialized leaving me feeling utterly useless.

I'm not afraid of looking stupid in public or appearing totally thick; I'm not even scared of sticking my neck out whilst attempting something totally new to me; if I fail what have I lost? It's actually very hard to completely fail at anything I attempt to do as there are varying degrees of success. It's possible my first success in using CAD as shown in this thread appears more of a doodle to those experienced in CAD but to me it is a huge breakthrough; I'm on my own struggling through choice with something alien to me but slowly now making progress. I'd much rather look a fool in sharing my humble beginnings with CAD then other novices in a similar position hopefully will be encouraged; CAD is difficult to master without training but EMS CAD bump started me and I'll now practice further because once the basics are grasped the whole process slowly opens up; the one thing about EMS CAD which did throw me off track was in choice of "Machine". I spent a lot of time trying to draw something that a certain machine could never make; a milling machine won't bend or weld for example but once I realized what I was doing wrong the drawing came together quickly.

Regarding support for EMS CAD Gary which is a good question; I can only speak as a novice to this program but there are top class tutorial videos accessed through both EMS and "You Tube" to get you started; there is also the EMS CAD forum which I've found most useful and if stuck I can post a question for the experts to answer very much like this excellent GF forum. For anyone using EMS CAD for it's intended purpose there is EMS back up through contact. EMS CAD is totally free without any strings attached because EMS want people to use their CAD then place an order for the part/components through them and this is how EMS operates so for CAD novices like me it is a wonderful find.

Fortunately Gary I can remember things quite well once I've done them once but your suggestion of keeping notes/records as work progresses is good especially if CAD is seldom used.

EMS CAD video tutorials are a great help and by watching a couple of these a few times over things quickly drop into place. I learn much quicker through such tutorials because it is like having a teacher with me on a one to one basis and if I don't grasp what is being shown or explained I can quickly go back a bit. A few years ago I bought 3 DVD's showing how to install cheap 3 phase; this was another of my ventures into the unknown but by watching the particular DVD over and over again and taking notes with me into the garage I succeeded in installing 3 phase which I use to this day.

A dedicated book to the CAD program being used is also highly useful as you say Gary as the book can be opened at the chapter covering what you are trying to achieve. These days learning a new subject from scratch couldn't be easier. Book; video; forum; Internet or email are choices open to us all so there is absolutely no reason to feel isolated or stuck once a problem pops up.

I've still got a lot to learn regarding CAD but I know I'm not on my own with my initial struggles so I'm happy to share my story.

Kind regards, Col.

[Joe]

The trouble with MS Paint is that it isn't a drawing program - the clue is in the name - you don't 'Paint' technical drawings.

It is difficult finding anything that's sophisticated enough to do what you want but not overly-complicated by functions you don't want.

As Gary says, find what suits you and stick with it.

- Joe

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Joe; yes I agree MS Paint is really about paint but with a little practice basic 2D drawings can be produced because straight lines; circles; squares;rectangles etc. are available from the left hand tool bar. I've previously spent many hours using Paint and it was most useful in getting me used to selecting the various tools which is so important to a novice.

David has kindly sent me a couple of links regarding MS Paint and I've just studied them both in full; the first is an explanation as to the various functions of paint whereas the second is a video showing how to use colour including shading. Whilst watching the video I noticed other Paint videos to choose from so there is a good following for paint on "You Tube".

http://fay.iniminimo.com/paint.html

http://fay.iniminimo.com/paint.html

It is indeed difficult Joe to find a suitable drawing or CAD program to cover the actual drawings I wish to do without the program being too basic or grossly over complicated. There are so many free downloads to choose from and all have their own style. I've tried lots of such programs over the years but without any real progress.

I've come to realize that not only my ignorance of CAD was holding me back but that my computer graphics are simply not up to the task when it comes to the more complicated programs involving 3D. I'm working hard on my ignorance of the subject and hopefully the computer will soon be replaced. At least with a decent on board graphics; a fast computer and my new 23" flat monitor I will not be waiting for the computer to catch up.

I've been advised a number of times to pick just one drawing or CAD program and stick with it; this makes a great deal of sense and believe me I've tried my best to accept this sound advice; unfortunately it is very difficult for a novice like me to know what program is best for me. I bought TurboCad with the intention of sticking with it until I became competent but the harder I tried to use TurboCad the worse I became. I could not blame either the computer or the TurboCad program; the problem was me. I could not grasp the basics and I spent hours watching tutorial videos in fact TurboCad has lots of such videos and even with masses of concentration I was hopeless.

I can confirm now that what Joe; Gary and others advise regarding sticking with one drawing program does work. I think the trick is first to try a number of these drawing programs and stick with the one that feels right allowing a bit of initial success.

Yesterday I had ten minutes to spare before dinner so brought up my EMS drawing of the clutch mounting. I had previously struggled whilst trying my best to add an external circlip groove. As the original mounting also had an internal circlip groove to retain the oil seal out of curiosity I thought I would try to add the second circlip groove. I tried a number of times but the program didn't seem to want to do as I intended so I tried doing the same steps a number of times because I felt I was doing it correctly; sure enough the circlip groove suddenly appeared so it was not my fault but the computer; it was only at this point when I realized that perhaps my computer graphics had been working against me.

Once the circlip groove had been added and the drawing "Saved" I thought I would experiment by removing some of the sharp edges of the mounting. Once again I experienced problems but now knew to try the same procedure a number of times; Yes; I was right because the curves started to appear; at times they appeared in the wrong place so I simply went back and tried again until the computer got its act together. A poor man blames his tools but in this case I am being held back because my computer graphics are outdated; this begs the question; has this played a part in my many previous failures? I'll never know but what I do know is that I've now got a CAD program I can understand and I'm making rapid progress at last. I can't wait to get my new computer. Last night I timed it and it took four minutes to load the 3D image. Its just taken a minute to load this 3D image I've taken the picture of.

Once the very basics of 2D EMS CAD are grasped then 3D is a doddle.

The updated drawing of the clutch mounting is shown below both in plain uninteresting 2D and also glorious 3D. What used to be hard work is now very enjoyable.



Kind regards, Col.