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Cad help

50Pesos

Active Member
I am new to CAD, I’m sure I’m making this difficult. What I’m trying to create is a 2” pipe squished to an oval, 6” long, then bent at 30° for 2”. Can anyone help me?
 
I am new to CAD, I’m sure I’m making this difficult. What I’m trying to create is a 2” pipe squished to an oval, 6” long, then bent at 30° for 2”. Can anyone help me?

There are several ways to interpret what you want. Can you at least attach a hand-drawn sketch?
 
I am new to CAD, I’m sure I’m making this difficult. What I’m trying to create is a 2” pipe squished to an oval, 6” long, then bent at 30° for 2”. Can anyone help me?

You're leaving off some variables, but something like this? Really easy to do...draw an ellipse on a plane and then draw a line on a plane perpendicular to that one which defines the path you'll sweep it along. Search YouTube for Swept Solid or Swept Boss.

SquishedTube.jpg
 
Full disclosure it was on my friends computer I dont know the software he had. We were able to print a oval tube like I wanted but thats it, no bend. I wanted a lip on the edge as well so the clamp to have something to grab on to but we never made it that far. No surprise I am full on noob and need direction how to do this so I dont have to rely on others. He and I bought the printer together I just need to figure out how to design what I need.
 
Yes perfect,
attachment.php


These are the dimensions I would think with the lip would be this dimension and the rest smaller. I’d love to learn how you did this.
 

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I modeled this with NX but don’t know what you are using. Usually the terminology is similar between systems. Mark is right on, youtube search terms like sweep, extrude, and revolve. If you can’t get it i can send you a teams invite and i’ll share my screen
 
So I looked for cad software. We had been using blender, it was free. It was my first exposure. Is there a better route to learning this? I don't mind spending some money to get a product that isn't meant for NASA, just not interested in the /month software. Thanks in advance for any guidance.
 
Software

So I looked for cad software. We had been using blender, it was free. It was my first exposure. Is there a better route to learning this? I don't mind spending some money to get a product that isn't meant for NASA, just not interested in the /month software. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Try LibreCad.
LibreCAD is very similar to AutoCAD. I found quite a few tutorials on line as well.

Libre has a full suite of freeware (Libre Office), open source software. They all are pretty intuituve. I like them because my shop computer is Linux Mint. I can edit documents or work on drawings without running inside.
 
So I looked for cad software. We had been using blender, it was free. It was my first exposure. Is there a better route to learning this? I don't mind spending some money to get a product that isn't meant for NASA, just not interested in the /month software. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Initially it can be a little more complex to learn than some, but I like Fusion 360. Their free version simply limits how many projects you can have editable at the same time (I think 10?), which is not a problem at all for me. There are a ton of instructional Youtube videos available for it.
 
I am a Fusion360 user currently but used many others. EAA offers solidworks version for free I believe. (I won't use solidworks for other non topic reasons).

But any good 3d should do this with a sweep function.
 
I am a Fusion360 user currently but used many others. EAA offers solidworks version for free I believe. (I won't use solidworks for other non topic reasons).

But any good 3d should do this with a sweep function.

I think Solidworks changed their deal with EAA, so no longer free, just discounted.
 
I've been slowly learning Shapr3D as I'm a Mac/iPad user and is a very intuitive native app. It's core engine is the same as Solidworks, and it will read a variety of file types.

That being said, I've become very proficient with TinkerCAD, which is free and basic. If you can use the pre-built widgets and get good at adding and subtracting object space, you can build pretty much anything. It's cloud-based as well. It feeds my Prusa slicer software with good solid .stl files.

BTW. Blender is one of the hardest packages out there to master. It's a mesh modeling tool for surfaces that won't get you anywhere when you try to build any kind of advanced tooling or components.
 
Hey fellas, I have two files that I printed in PLA. It has come to my attention the PLA will melt and at least distort in the heat. Can any of you print in ABS? My printer is at its limits with ABS and it never turned out. Thanks.
 
Hey fellas, I have two files that I printed in PLA. It has come to my attention the PLA will melt and at least distort in the heat. Can any of you print in ABS? My printer is at its limits with ABS and it never turned out. Thanks.

I printed a test bracket in PLA a while back and left it in the car just to see how it would stand up to heat. One day in the car on a hot summer day and it shrank and warped like crazy. If you don't want to jump to ABS, I'd say give PETG a try. It's not as good as ABS in heat, but far better than PLA. It's also much easier to print than ABS, without the nasty fumes and need for temp controlled environment. It all just depends on your application and what you need the material to stand up to.
 
Hey fellas, I have two files that I printed in PLA. It has come to my attention the PLA will melt and at least distort in the heat. Can any of you print in ABS? My printer is at its limits with ABS and it never turned out. Thanks.

You might try printing with ASA, it also has better UV resistance than ABS. The link below is a great materials guide and covers a bunch of different brands. Not all PLA has the same characteristics, nor do the other filament types, which is why this guide is a good starting point. I use Polycarbonate with carbon fiber or Nylon with carbon fiber for anything in the engine compartment, most cockpit items are ASA.

https://help.prusa3d.com/materials

Annealing is something else to consider if you want to improve the strength of the printed part, although you may have to compensate for dimensional changes to get the desired end result. How much really depends on the material you are using.

John Salak
RV-12 N896HS
 
If you want to use this firewall-forward, I'd use nylon-12 in either SLS or MJF process. Send your .stl file to one of the many print-for-hire places and wait a week and get a durable part. My favorite (cheap and good) vendors today are Craftcloud or Shapeways. I made the oil cooler duct below from MJF about 2 years ago and it's holding up great.
20201015_153358.jpg
 
Thank guys, the prusa just isn't doing a good job. I'll hire it out. I can not get the bend on the oval. Can someone please help me with this before I send off the file? I cant attach the file here but I can be reached at [email protected].
 
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Fusion 360 from autocad has a free web version. All the CAD programs have a steep learning curve, but once you understand the basics, they mostly translate.
 
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