Precision Modeling in Blender? | You Decide, Blender vs CAD | Precision Modeling | Blender | Fusion

In this video I am going to finally fulfill a request that has come in about covering Precision Modeling in Blender. This is something I don't do, but wanted to at least cover it to answer the question.

We will walk through making a simple part in Blender and then make the same part in Fusion 360. We will discuss the workflow, geometry and ease of updates.

00:00 Introduction
01:54 Precision Modeling in Blender
09:54 Precision Modeling in Fusion 360
12:54 Conclusion

[paulreader]

Maker Tales has been renamed Keep Making but either will get you to Jonathan's channel. For those who have got this far in the series I suggest going through Jonathan's Precision Modelling in Blender series would be worthwhile. He also provides content on using CAD Sketcher add-on in Blender which brings some dimensioning and constraints to design inside Blender.

[sebbosebbo]

blender need thiss type of precision... a blueprint view with visual messure data is a dream..not only for cnc etc...
able to change quick fast organic forms on proportional measured level ( golden Ratio) in real time without selecting deselect parts (edit mode) the whole time is awesome...
two clicks ready done ..wow...nice...

[StevesTutorials]

These videos are always a bt odd. Polygon modelling and CAD modelling are both just different things entirely. Cad modelling you don't have to UV map, texture and than forcefully triangulate the mesh when it goes into a game engine (or even zbrush). Games engines and zbrush both do not like ngones. Whereas when doing CAD stuff it really doesn't matter if you get ngons. Blender forces a more polygonal modelling method BECAUSE you need to keep good topology for when you get into games engines otherwise you'll end up with broken meshes.

So it just depends what you want it for. If you're doing CAD based work or even 3D printing then sure. CAD software is great. If you're making video game assets you'll likely realize really fast that CAD models don't really work.

[CotonCotonCoton]

How do you select edges through the body in Fusion without going through the menu (holding the mouse button)? I've seen you do this in multiple videos but I can't figure it out. Looks very convenient.

[radeklukas]

From this video, it might very well feel that Blender is real bad when it comes to design. You kind of took the wrong approach in Blender by trying to emulate the CAD workflow and spend long time by explaining, while in Fusion you sprinted through it 🙂Sneaky. I (semi-enthusiast Blenderer) could probably match the speed of you doing it in CAD while also keeping some of the flexibility and ability to adjust dimensions after - although not in that many ways the Fusion offers, that is for sure.

In Blender, this would be easily done using modifiers (Boolean for the holes and Bevel as you did).
You can also synchronize the holes' sizes by using a shared mesh.

[pperry]

Umm, CAD Sketcher? That’s pretty precise, have you tried that plugin for Blender?

[alexmattyou]

I see, so to create something with sketch the CAD was much faster. As a blender user, I need to design something to 3d print. What about CAD Sketcher (a blender addon).

[MadMinstrel]

If you're worried about faceting, why aren't you using Subsurfs?

[marcus]

I am learning both blender and fusion 360 for functional 3D printing. Both has its merit but Fusion 360 is easier to use and is free for non-commercial use. Free vanilla blender is just that. Vanilla. Blender can only be somewhat like Fusion 360 if you use paid add-ons. Will learn both to get the best of both worlds but being home-based, free fusion (until autodesk changes its policy) would likely be my app of choice.

[TreeLuvBurdpu]

That's a very unimaginative model. I have other models that I've been doing in Fusion 360 for years, but I'm frustrated by the lack of easy scripting, and that transforms are not easily parameratized. Blender is much easier, and it logs all transforms to the console so you can read them. Fusion hides that info.

[KungFuChess]

Blender has a few good precision modeling add ons actually

[randomdamian]

You convinced me... what about Fusion 360 vs FreeCAD? I know that Fusion has stuff like some topology optimization where it uses AI and stuff..

[Alpha-xyz]

Blender is best for 3d modeling, animation and others, but not as good for cad as the fusion360 is

[cekuhnen]

What this video makes clear is how weak blenders polygon drawing tools are

So many basic tools are still missing - drawing an arc tangent form a line

Sweep a profile alone a path

And and and

As much as I dislike sketchUp it has very good tools for just that

Obviously sketching has hardly what blender in contrast has a to offer

[okamichamploo]

0:05 Am I the only one that saw that fade and thought Blender was crashing lol.