I have access to the Autodesk Education master suite which includes around 25 programs. Which one is the best one for students to use in designing objects for 3D printing? I had them using Sketchup last year, but now that Autodesk is free I would like to give it a try.
Thanks for the advice.
http://www.autodesk.co.uk/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=452932&id=19430962
Inventor has a different procedure from many CAD tools but it is powerful and produces reliable STL files. The geometry in general will be more rigid and mechanical. If you want more organic shapes then there are many options like Max, Alias and Mudbox. I haven’t done enough direct experimenting with STL export using those tools to give definitive advice.
The master suite spans many fields of design. Which field you are teaching will determine the best toolkit and path to 3d printing.
Inventor is the way to go if you want to produce mechanical components. It emulates solidworks in its UI and work flow so it’s a good grounding for budding engineers. Modbot is a sculpting tool and more suitable for organic shapes like faces, figures etc. The learning curve for Inventor is steep. For mudbox, less so.
I used sketchup in design one of a BSME. When I started 3d printing as a hobby I began to use this for simple models. I grabbed an autodesk suit and attempted to use it. I believe the it will do the students good to experience autodesk and it’s advanced modeling capability but I found no advantages for simple models to 3d print. The learning curve will slow your itinerary schedule.
I am still learning the various CAD products but, out of all software used to model and export STLs, my opinion is Solidworks is king.
I’ll chime in and repeat the value of sketchup for quick n dirty modeling. However, I found myself out growing it pretty quick. Inventor fusion 360 is a nice step up with the added bonus of being deployable on Mac and windows.
Inventor would be my recommendation as well.
It’s quite easy, if you stick to the basics. There’s always room for refinement (so the more creative and ingenious kids don’t have to become bored), and if something goes wrong most mistakes are correctable later on.
Also, having learned Inventor, your kids can quite easily switch to other 3D programs later on.
I am looking at adding a desktop CNC to my classroom. Could I use Inventor for those models as well?
I don’t know much about that, but it seems that Autodesk CAM is just what you need for it (http://cam.autodesk.com/try-inventor-hsm/).
Fusion 360 has CAM functions built in as well. (FYI)