Design in CAD vs Blender - Daphne Laméris

How Blender can and cannot be used in a 3D printing company.

[tapiolahde]

It seems to me that many in the comment section don't understand the difference; it is not that Blender is lacking, it is an entirely different technique. You don't do technical design on 3ds max, Maya or Blender because they are based on polygonal modeling. Solidworks, Ironcad and others are based on solid modeling. They are never going to replace each other, they are completely different takes on 3d. Techniques don't compete, they are different and complement each other.

[henriquemonnerat]

As a product designer myself, I understand that there are limits to what you can do when developing products that need to be fabricated in the industry and I agree with her presentation. I still hope that Blender keeps evolving with functionalities that allow people to engineer things that have a real world connection. I think Blender has an opportunity here to bridge the gap to CAD and inspire whole generation of future engineers that are growing up with 3D printers in their bedrooms. Go Blender, be the Swiss Army knife for us designers!

[gwyn.]

If blender can combine the ability of CAD software too, then it'll be the perfect choice.

[Designandrew]

To me, one of the great things about Blender is how it manages to slide into so many varied pipelines and excel so well. I still use CAD for most hard surface modelling, but I use Blender to assemble everything else, and everything organic.

[RenaatVervaeke]

I was looking forward to this talk as I was in constant doubt of learning CAD to design my prints with. Currently i design in Blender, and my workflow is blazing fast. But iterating a design can be cumbersome when small parts need to change that affect the whole model.
I agree with you’re conclusion that both have their uses and can be useful in the 3d printing workflow.
Learning CAD seams unavoidable:)
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[luxxeond]

I now use Blender for designing complex jewelry and mathematical designs for 3d printing using just the standard tools and addons in Blender. When it comes to designing and fast iteration of designs, it's one of the best tools I've used.

[centaurixon]

Recently I was modelling two really simple mechanical parts to be 3D printed in blender and the process of doing this was crazy. I then recreated the same in FreeCAD and it took me just a fracture of the time with even better results. After the print I needed to do some modifications which were then pretty easy thanks to the parametic concept. So the bottom line is: CAD for mechanical parts (unless it is for the visual or concept only), Polygon-based for Organic-ish objects.

[dcrunicycles]

Thank you. 3D printing and Blender will continue to mature by which we all benefit.

[aviksaha]

Dimensions, simulation, accurate dimensions, relative constraints and relative motion, manufacturing code - CAD

artistic visual, asthetic appearance with technical details in later stage - animation software

Note fluid simulation in animation software are artistic not real world value.(particle soft body physics vs navier strokes equation)

Moreover topology in animation software modelling are not optimized for simulation

Well I love blender, I just wish it had a better workflow with Ansys, open foam, simens and engineering simulation software. I am tired of inputting dimension after every line in Cad.

Blender doesn't have to actually go into cad, just connect it to simulation software.

[fprefect]

That was actually a very good unbiased presentation. As a Blender employee (which i assume she is), she could very well have tried to punt Blender into capabilities it is not designed for. There is a right and wrong (less right) tool for everything. Good job Daphne!

[csmemarketing]

Very Insightful Presentation. I like how Daphne kept the technical jargon to a minimum. CAD is really boring, but Blender can make it more enjoyable. I like that.

[anthonylosego]

I typically design in Blender, print, then use the caliper to calculate print scalars in excel. Almost every dimension warps differently depending on local geometry. I change it up, then print again. Like iterative calculus, you have to do it a couple times to get it right. It would be nice if software was made to adjust for this function and get real world results just by detailing the printer and materials used.

[daot]

Turn on subtitles. They are in Dutch. Turn on translator to English subtitles. The results are hilarious. eg. at 9:08, you get: "I know you have all those sperm donor times takes to do the final and gravel check desk and lure it, and there you have such a great design historical weekend jeans." Yes, makes perfect sense! Lol! (That's not even close to what she actually said.)

Thank you Daphne Lameris for addressing the CAD/Blender comparison. With Fusion 360 removing features all the time to try to force us to pay, I was thinking about switching to Blender as a CAD option. You brought up some valid considerations. Thank you!

[luckylove]

Blender devs can just make some file format with parameters required for CAD machine and tools to read. If anything is missing, just include it. I guess those file format are proprietary.

[turbohyde]

Truly great presentation, I'm impressed by both your technical knowledge and your presentation skills!

[johnc.]

Tried to model up a conference phone with blender a while back, it was impossible. Had to use inventor and then take it blender to pretty it up cosmeticaly. I don't see how blender would be faster if you know how to use CAD software correctly. CAD is precise and retains a part history that can be edited.

[rededwards]

Blender and Jobs. Companies and organizations are now having to upgrade their Training Manuals, User Manuals, and moving alot of this ONLINE. They want employees to log onto their website and watch new training procedures, maintenance methods, repair, etc, etc. Blender having the ability to combine 2D(pictures) and 3D in a viewport, allows companies to use old material by scanning it in as a JPEG and then add 3D animation and notation to clarify NEW procedures, etc. Love Blender

[infoadsled]

the lack of blender from my perspective is modeling tools...because I been using Lightwave for a long time now and suddenly jump to blender 2.8...the only problem I face in blender is modeling(not sculpt), else is tiptop and awesome...hope one day blender developer can add more features on modeling tools

[eliederventura]

It's great to know what Blender can do, but it's also great to know what you shouldn't do in Blender. Excellent talk!

(Yes, I'm still watching the 2019 conference. Hope I finish it before 2020 conference)

[erik....]

With modifiers like boolean and array it's possible to get something similar to CAD parametric modeling, but still not even close to the same thing. Would work for 3d prints of simple parts though.