Learning CAD with Alibre Atom3D

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

OK – a bug was recently discovered in the auto-update code in the product (it fails to correctly check your maintenance expiry date, very embarrassing !). Unfortunately this can't be fixed unless you update to the just released 2019.0 release.

If you purchased as a one off, the best thing to do is to disable the 'check for updates' option, so you don't get offered the 'update' that you aren't entitled to.

If you are stuck without access to the software as a result of this issue, contact Alibre support or your reseller (even without purchasing updates you will be assisted if the software doesn't run for you).

Basically you need to uninstall the new version and re-install the previous version – if you don't have the previous installer available, support/reseller can assist.

[Steve Skelton 1Participant @steveskelton1]

All back up and running. Many thanks to John at Mintronics.

[Robert StoutParticipant @robertstout66817]

Hi,

I am new here but have been a cnc router hobbyist for many years, using mostly Vectric Aspire. I have been also designing many things with Alibre Atom3D but afraid I am drifting more towards using my subscription to Fusion 360 because for the money, the features are far greater and using Atom3d has become tedious.

Why oh-why-can't you copy and move an array of items and place them where you like. It looks like Atom3d has just removed the move command out of Alibre so that you have to buy the Pro. Why can't I move any 2 or more items at the same time? That's a stupid limitation. Atom3d has made Alibre 3d CAD just painful enough to make Pro slightly more attractive, but for the money, Fusion 3d does more, is easier to use and is always being improved.

For being around as many years as it has (I first used Alibre quite a few years ago) before it went through all the goofy transitions it did only to settle out at either Atom3d for $100 US or Pro for $400. I thought the reappearance of Alibre was a good thing but it's not really usable or much more usable than TinkerCad. Just my opinion.

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

Removal of convenient features once they have been checked by using the ‘non-payers’ as guinea pigs is S.O.P for such companies – you never get ouwt for nouwt

Edited By Frances IoM on 02/11/2019 09:12:42

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Maybe they took it out due to lack of use, can't say I have ever used the Move option in 6-7 years of having Alibre.

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

Alibre Atom3D is cut down from Alibre Design – mainly to simplify the interface and make it easier to learn. That does result in some functionality being lost, but it is also much less expensive than the Professional or Expert versions.

If you use the 3D feature pattern, rather than 2D sketch pattern to create your arrays (if I'm interpreting your words correctly), then repositioning the array is simple.

[Robert StoutParticipant @robertstout66817]

If you have a sketch of an array of say 7 polyline entities and you find that you later need to shift them over in the sketch by a small amount. As far as I can tell, I cannot move or constrain more than 1 entity at a time. Second, Moving the surrounding entity is not an option. So is there any alternative to recreating and duplicating and/or moving these entities one by one. Most Cad programs simply let you select the group you want to move and move it. Any other way is more work. Jason, you must have a simple alternative?! dropbox

Edited By Robert Stout on 02/11/2019 16:59:30

Edited By Robert Stout on 02/11/2019 17:01:04

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Should be OK to post Dropbox links, I do it quite often.

Just type "dropbox" in your post, hightlight the text and then click the icon of a globe with a link under it ( or press Ctrl + K) and then paste your link in the box that comes up.

[Robert StoutParticipant @robertstout66817]

"Maybe they took it out due to lack of use, can't say I have ever used the Move option in 6-7 years of having Alibre."

Well, then, how do you move things? Or do you just have a knack for putting everything exactly where it needs to be? Good skill to have.

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

Hi Robert

To move drawn objects I select the object(s) and use Shift+mouse, it's usually circles I am wanting to reposition.

Emgee

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Posted by Robert Stout on 02/11/2019 23:53:23:

"Maybe they took it out due to lack of use, can't say I have ever used the Move option in 6-7 years of having Alibre."

Well, then, how do you move things? Or do you just have a knack for putting everything exactly where it needs to be? Good skill to have.

That is what constraints are for put say a circle approx where you want it and then constrain by giving dimensions to it's ctr point, making it tangental to another feature, concentric to another circular feature etc.

If I want to move a part to form a pattern than I use that function to set at regular intervals or equally spaced around a point.

Have you tried that dropbox file again? I will send you a personal message about that so look at "inbox" along the top of the page.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Just seen you were able to get the link posted, as you have so many undefined (constrained) items I would add constraints to the group of circles and then dimension the top right one as 0,0 from the top of the ref line.

If you can put the actual Alibre file in dropbox David or myself can show you.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Your screen shot has almost all the items in red which means they have not been constrained which is bad practice.

In video below I have first constrained the circles by giving them a Diameter and also dimensioned the distances between them. This allows me to then click on any of the circles and while holding the mouse down drag them around the screen as a group but they will not be fully defined as none are positioned to a set dimension.

I then enter two dimensions to the previously constrained guide line and the group moves there and turns black as they are now fully constrained

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

For a quick method – Emgee's tip (which I had forgotten all about) is probably simplest.

For ease of future editing, Jason's suggestion to fully define the positions is a good one.

My earlier comment about using 3D pattern doesn't apply to the example you have shown.

[Robert StoutParticipant @robertstout66817]

Thanks Emgee, that is just what I was looking for… I figured there had to be a way.

****************************

Jason,

Thanks also but you are missing my point. I use constraints always (Fusion 360 pretty much dictates that you do). My issue was after having created an array of whatever and later having to move that array to a different location. Constraints in Alibre also do not seem to work with multiple selections so I cannot select the array and then apply a constraint… or can I? I realize I will need to spend more time RTFM or at least the help text but some of these things should be a bit more obvious. Again referring to Fusion 360, things are complete and located in a logical fashion.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy Alibre Atom3d and trying to see how much I can do to squeeze everything out of the $99 (US) version. I have been working with my grandkids and trying to find an inexpensive yet complete 3D package for creating 3D printed widgets. Atom 3D is almost that perfect package (say over TinkerCad and Moment Of Inspiration) which the kids are working with now. I am trying to learn all the work-arounds to conquer what I perceive, either correctly or not, as short comings. That is why I am looking here.

Thanks again.

ADDENDUM. Jason, just saw your last post. It sounds to me like I can do what I need. As far as not having items on my sample constrained, I did not do so as I was just trying to explain the inability of moving multiple entities at a time

 

Edited By Robert Stout on 03/11/2019 17:31:43

Edited By Robert Stout on 03/11/2019 17:36:35

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I was only going by what you linked two, that only has the 1" and 2" lines (black) constrained the rest being red have no constraints.

You would also do better sketching the array of circles separately to the ellipse and lines, that way you can just click "select all" and copy, paste, drag, etc them around as one rather than having to select each one while holding shift.

[Robert StoutParticipant @robertstout66817]

Jason, your video explains a lot. I did not seem to be able to apply a constraint to multiple entities so I will need to play with that. That is exactly what I perceived as missing. That is much better practice than moving the group as you state, but I wasn't having luck just applying a constraint to multiple selections. Back to it. Thanks again.

[Robert StoutParticipant @robertstout66817]

Jason,

Excellent, I now understand what I was doing wrong and what you meant about individual entities being under constrained. A definite misunderstanding on my part on how thoroughly parts need to be constrained.

[JC54Participant @jc54]

I have just bought a 3D printer and got it running. I have downloaded several objects from the web to print. I want to modify one of the designs, is it possible to import a stl file into Alibre Atom3d? I have tried but cannot see a way of doing it. I can export parts drawn in Alibre as stl files though. Thanks for any help John

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

No

[Tim Taylor 2Participant @timtaylor2]

What Jason said…..

There are a few free editors out there such as Meshmixer that can be used to do some editing of STL files.

[Ron ColvinParticipant @roncolvin83430]

To edit a STL with Alibre Atom3D you will first need a program to convert the mesh to a vector file that Alibre can import.

Blender can convert a STL to a DXF.

Both Fusion 360 and freeCAD can convert STL's to STEP files.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by JC54 on 26/01/2020 14:31:33:

I have just bought a 3D printer and got it running. I have downloaded several objects from the web to print. I want to modify one of the designs…

Struggling with this myself at the moment and not found a reliable way of doing it! I've not found a simple tool that allows STL to be modified in a straightforward human way. STL is machine generated, and the editors I've seen address repair needs rather than major surgery. Hope someone knows different!

In theory (and occasionally in practice), FreeCAD is capable. Done by importing a mesh, converting to a solid, editing the solid, then exporting a new STL. In FreeCad, open the Part Workbench and create a new empty document. Then do File->Import and select the STL file. Once loaded, do Part->Create Shape From Mesh. Once that's done, other menu options switch on, notably 'Part->Convert to solid' and 'Check Geometry'.

Try 'Part->Convert to solid'. If this works it will create a 3D CAD object that can be freely edited in FreeCAD's Part and 'Part Design' Workbenches, or exported to another CAD package. Then the new solid object can be converted back to STL.

A similar workflow is possible in Fusion 360. No doubt other CAD packages can do the job too. However, F360 fails with what I'm doing in exactly the same place. It also gags on my STL files.

The problem lies in getting STL converted into a mathematically valid solid. STL describes objects as a stack of layers. These have to be stitched back together to make a CAD editable solid, that is one consisting of correctly closed faces joined together to define a closed object rather than a shell with holes in it. Converting solid to STL is much easier than reversing STL back to a solid, hence the difficulties.

If FreeCad can't 'Convert to solid' because the STL is flawed, try 'Check Geometry': this does a sanity check and automatic repairs, after which 'Convert to solid' may work. I'm not having much luck with it, maybe because I'm attempting highly complex shapes. (Glyphs converted to mesh converted to solid). Picture is of a very simple example, the letter 'W' extruded from a base, shown as opened in FreeCad's 'Mesh Builder' workbench. The mesh envelope is mostly good apart from the join between the two 'V's being broken, plus more trouble where it joins the base.

FreeCad's Mesh Builder workbench has an 'Analyze' function that evaluates and repairs broken meshes. Not had much luck with that either, mainly because I'm stumbling around in the dark. In similar vein, 'Blender' is worth a look. It too can convert STL into solids, and identify faults, and fix them. At the moment it's all too much work: I don't understand meshes, and Blender is a monster graphics package bursting with complicated features.

TinkerCad is AutoCad's tool for 3D printing design work. Has a free/student licence and seems well thought of in the 3D community. It has a cloud-based mesh repair tool that may be smarter than the alternatives. Not tried it yet.

FreeCad has a good reputation. I've successfully imported a couple of simple curved objects, edited them, and printed without any bother. So it is possible. Perhaps your STL is more friendly than mine! Worth a go.

Probably ought to open a new thread rather than pollute Alibre.

Dave

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

Posted by JC54 on 26/01/2020 14:31:33:

I have just bought a 3D printer and got it running. I have downloaded several objects from the web to print. I want to modify one of the designs, is it possible to import a stl file into Alibre Atom3d? I have tried but cannot see a way of doing it. I can export parts drawn in Alibre as stl files though. Thanks for any help John

If you want, I could try running those stl files through MoI for you, to get them into something you could play with.

Martin.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

One of my rare excursions into 2D cad…

I tried to put a cross-section into a drawing (generated from a 3D object) yesterday, but no matter what I tried it only created a second drawing of my object, not a section. i followed the procedure in the help section exactly

Also, it has defaulted to first angle projection, which is fine, I can't find anything that auto-generates the 'truncated cone' symbol? What's the best way of placing one? Do I have to draw it manually?

Neil

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