Maker Skills - 3D Modeling
To Question:
What is a 3D model?
How are 3D models made?
What is 3D modeling used for?
What tools are needed to 3D model something?
What does extrude mean?
What does cut mean?
What does fillet mean?
What is a plane?
What is an assembly?
What is the difference between 3D modeling, and 3D sculpting?
What is the difference between parameterized modeling, and explicit modeling?
What 3D tools are best used for what projects?
What file format is best for 3D printing?
Why are we going to use Fusion360 as our modeling software?
To Watch:
How To Pick the Right Modeling Software // 3D Printing Software: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzNdvZLoKAI
These next videos will help you learn Fusion360.
Fusion 360 Tutorial for Absolute Beginners— Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5bc9c3S12g
Fusion 360 Tutorial for Absolute Beginners— Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXRMzJWo0-Q
Fusion 360 Tutorial for Absolute Beginners— Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS8dYA_Iluc
-OR-
Fusion 360 Tutorial for Absolute Beginners (2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvrHuaHhqHI
-OR-
Fusion360's Own Beginner Tutorial: https://f360ap.autodesk.com/courses/introduction-to-3d-modeling/lessons/lesson-1-course-overview-7185bebe-2be5-4106-adac-a3bcf62bab0d
To Read:
So, 3D modeling is used for a variety of things in the world now a days:
Film - ever heard of CGI or special effects? 3D modeling is
in film to create the effects that make movies look realistic, and awesome!
Animation - Nearly every character and every object in an animated film needs to be 3D modeled first. The technology behind these animations have had
over the past few years.
Gaming - Like animation, gaming also has nearly everything
in the game 3D modeled. One main difference between animations and gaming, is that in gaming, everything is rendered real time. In many cases though, because games are rendered in real time, there are fewer details than in a normal animation.
Interior Design - Did you know that the new simulators were actually designed in a 3D model before they were built? This was to help understand the best place for everything
in the simulators before they were actually built, dramatically reducing building costs, and headaches.
Architecture - In the same vein as interior design, architectural 3D modeling focuses on how buildings will be built
.
The Medical Industry - Uses 3D models from their 3D imaging tools
to create interactive representations of anatomy.
Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design - Both of these industries makes 3D models of parts before they are manufactured, and may even use 3D printing to create physical mock ups.
Media and Events - While not as common, 3D modeling is used in Stage/Set Design
to better reduce costs, and have a faster setup time.
3D modeling, specifically, is a technique in computer graphics for producing a 3D digital representation of any object or surface. An artist or engineer uses special software to manipulate points in virtual space (called vertices) to form a mesh
: a collection of vertices that form an object. These 3D objects can be generated automatically through code or created manually by manipulating the mesh. The whole process produces a digital object which can be animated, printed, or viewed depending on the use case.
The points in the mesh are mapped into a 3D grid and joined together as polygonal shapes, usually triangles or quadrilaterals. Each point or vertex has its own position on the grid and by combining these points into shapes, the surface of an object is created.
Objects can also be generated through 3D scanning or 3D sculpting. There are several pros and cons to 3D modeling vs 3D sculpting. What is gained in precision is lost in speed as 3D modeling can be very tedious.
Once a model is created, they can be used in games, movies, space center controls, creating 2D images, or tacticals, presentations, planning, printing and anything else where a 3D model could be found useful. In Engineering Guild, we will be working primarily with the technical side of 3D modeling, rather than the artistic side. The media guild will have a more thorough lesson for artistic 3D modeling, and animation.
When 3D modeling, you will usually begin with what is called a primitive shape. These shapes are things like cubes, spheres, or planes. The primitive is just a starting shape to begin modeling. You will typically build upon this first shape by manipulating it using various modeling tools. Most always, it’s a good idea to start simple, using what you know, and then work towards complexity, learning new techniques as you go. Different programs will have different tools, tailored toward your end goal, to help you model.
There are quite a lot of modeling programs out in the wild. Some of them are tailored toward the artist, whereas others are tailored toward the engineer. Many programs will let you do both! Here are some quick examples:
Maya by Autodesk is the industry standard in 3D modeling and animation. If you were to take a 3D modelling course at a university this is probably the software you’d use. Most professional studios look for experience with Maya when hiring new talent, so any artist looking to break into the industry should seriously consider learning Maya.
Cinema4D is another very popular choice. The learning curve isn’t as steep as with Maya and it supports a more streamlined integration with tools like Adobe After Effects, making it an excellent choice for those interested in motion graphics. Some tacticals at the Space Center were created using Cinema4D
Blender is a free and open-source 3D modeling and animation program. It comes with a robust toolset capable of producing professional-quality assets and animations. No price tag. Blender’s learning curve is quite steep, however, and the software is considered non-standard in the industry, and can be somewhat confusing to use. Some of the Magellan and Galileo videos were made using Blender.
SketchUp is a tool popular among architects and landscape designers. It boasts an easy-to-use interface that makes it perfect for beginners looking to get started with 3D modeling for architectural work.
Fusion360 is also made by Autodesk, and will be the program we generally use in the Engineering Guild. This is a professional grade software made specifically for Engineering designs. Some of the bigger reasons are because it allows us to download our files in a format that is happy for 3D printing, an STL file. Fusion360 also allows for parametric modeling.
Parametric Modeling is typically used by engineers and architects because the file contains more specific dimensions, relationships, and can include a design history, which is very useful. The explicit approach (such as 3D sculpting) is typically used by artists and industrial designers because it can be more flexible. Explicit modeling allows changes to be made on the fly and small changes are not necessarily related to any other defined point of the geometry.
If you have additional questions, feel free to jump onto the #department-discussions channel on Discord, or come to Engineering Guild!
Content Adapted from:
https://www.matterhackers.com/articles/finding-the-right-3d-modeling-software-for-you
https://conceptartempire.com/what-is-3d-modeling/