Topic: Best 3D modeling addon

[Keith™]

Ok folks, who can tell me the best 3d modeling software suite available and why, also where would someone find some decent 3d modeling tutorials and study material such as books and the such.
I don't need this personally but I have been asked to research it for someone and since I did all of my learning on my own I am not a very good person to ask this sort of question, so I am delegating it to those who might actually know. The textbooks at HKU are not really easy to find, and they are not easy to read either... so I am absolutely no help.

[ML]

Hi Keb

My name is Mark, I am looking for some good resources myself. My e-mail address is ML0940@msn.com

If you find any, please e-mail me and I will also let you know

I can tell you that you can try visiting Amazon.com and doing a search on AutoCAD

Also, believe or not, you can go to E-Bay and do a search on AutoCAD.

I almost got a real nice talking tutorial CD on 3D fro like $10 but was out bid.

I know there is a lot of books out there but I am not sure of a good title at the moment, I will let you know

Mark

[t-bear]

Keith...
I've tinkered with Inventor and Solid Works a bit.
Personal preference is Inventor....even if it IZ ADesk!  Seems a bit more intuitive to me but I sure do miss the command line in BOTH of the proggys.  I think it's more a matter of personal taste as both seem to do the same thing ... just a bit differently.  The Inventor suite does give you the latest in 2D as well as 3D capability for one price and they work "fairly well" together.
As for tutorials....I can't help there.  The class I took used Sham Tikoo's book on inventor 7 but to me, it was very disjointed and unclear.  I woulden't recommend it to my worst enemy!
Lotsa luck in your search....

[daron]

Okay, first of all, what kind of 3D?
Parts, probably Rhino.
VIZ is good for just about anything as well as architectural. Awesome rendering.
Max if want want a great animation source too. Expensive though.
Maya is good but more expensive.
Form*Z is really good.

VIZ and MAX are Autodesk related so you have dwg compatability.

Books, the library is probably the best place to start since there are a plethora of books out there. You could scan a few from the library and then decide which one's would be worth buying.

[hendie]

it horses for courses isn't it ?
Are you talking purely Autodesk or....
Allibre is well worth a look and relatively intuitive and value for money ? well, get the free demo and have a play
http://www.alibre.com
I tried it for the month and was really impressed though the bear seemed to have some comment about it.
definately worth looking into though

[ML]

Hi T

I just caught your post on Inventor verses Solid Works
I can tell you that I have not worked with either but I am currently living in Utah. I was originally from The Mechanical Drafting World but I have been doing Architectural type work for like 7 years now. Anyhow, out here I see tons of Solidworks hits on Monster and CareerBuilder, it makes me feel as though I should go learn it.

I guess through the years I have developed this well it may not be the better program but it is an industry standard program, so that is the one I will learn. Do you happen to know what the latest Soildworks version is?

Thank you


Mark

[ML]

BTW, if you are planning on moving to Utah, think twice LOL

Mark

[ML]

Hi Daron

I think that the person who initiated this post is looking for bare bones do it in AutoCAD 3D Modeling references which is what I am hoping to find as well .

I try to do every thing in AutoCAD first. For instance I have a program called Accurender, it is out there but who knows how much?

I like it a lot but  decided that I needed to learn to map and Render in AutoCAD first, add ons second for my own sake.

Thanks

Mark

[daron]

What's wrong with Utah?

[deegeecees]

The 3D modeling software really depends on what the end result is going to be. If you want the end result to be animation, things of that sort, you want a high end application. If you are just looking for something to model for lets say a web site, then you really should stick with low end apps. In my experience, I have used high and low, here are some of the software packages available (Its been a while, so there may be some error in this list).

High end:
ProEngineer - Parametric Design
Unigraphics - Parametric Design
Lightwave - Excellent for visualization and animations
Maya - Another really super terrific one


Low End:
AutoCad with Accurender - 3rd party Accurender has amazing results
Rhino3d - All inclusive solid modeling from the makers of Accurender
Autodesk 3D Studio - More animation
SolidWorks
Bryce - Visualization
Macromedia Flash - Not solid modeling, but good for animations

I may have missed some, but its a start.

[deegeecees]

Or you could go to here

[Keith™]

Well, I am glad to see the discussion getting off to a good start....Thanks for all of the good input and keep it coming...

[Mark]

>Or you could go here:
or here http://tinyurl.com/333dq  

[deegeecees]

tinyurl.com? Nice!