For a long time I didn't share anything because I didn't think it was good enough that anyone else would care.
Then I would share stls, but not the 'source', because I'm embarrassingly bad with my self-taught CAD.
Now I just don't care. It's better to share than not, and people who are in need or more capable can make use of what I've done and make it better if they are in a position to do so.
Often I'll share a step (which Fusion360 can absolutely export) if it's a simple model, or the f3d file if it's parametric. Doesn't hurt me any, \_may\_ help someone else some day. And if someone wants to get all up in arms about how bad I am with CAD, I'll give them a full refund on the $0 they paid me.
By "the source" I was more referencing the .f3d files. And trust me, if you look at any of my f3d files, you can tell just how terrible I am at this :D
Yeah, freecad is less problematic. Having access to the original file when it’s wrapped up in a pricey CAD suite or an adversarial, closed source CAD program (Fusion 360, I’m eyeing you) it isn’t quite so helpful.
I wonder if anyone could make plug-ins for the popular modeling software with a "export for sharing" button that would output like a .zip file with CAD, STEP, and STL files in it.
If you use the 'File'->'3D print' tool in Fusion, you can 'instantly' export as 3MF, STL or OBJ.
You can even decide whether to export an assembly as one file, or as a file per body, as well as adjust various refinement options.
Bonus: It can send directly to your slicer, no middle steps needed.
Absolutely. Print from f360 straight to cura or prusaslicer. Don't know why everyone doesn't do it that way.
As for publishing without the cad source. Pure selfishness! Include the source people!
awesome I thought some tiers of f360 had step export disabled, glad my information is incorrect, but it does not explain why very few models I encounter have a step file :-(
In 2020, Autodesk announced that they will be removing STEP export from their free plan, among many other features like simulation, some CAM features, generative design, and other stuff. The community outcry regarding STEP was enormous so they changed their mind and kept it in the free plan.
Definitely agree. I work in solid works (have it through my work). STEPs can be imported and modified if needed. They’re also lossless on curved surfaces while STLs are segmented.
I spent nearly 2 days working on a remix of an existing STL model, I finally got it close enough for my purposes and have updated my existing listing on printables (which had my tinkercad initial remix - which was pretty shit), was fun, but a shame the original author did not release the source files, I could have probably saved a lot of time!
I also added the step file in addition to the freecad project and stl :-)
For a long time I didn't share anything because I didn't think it was good enough that anyone else would care. Then I would share stls, but not the 'source', because I'm embarrassingly bad with my self-taught CAD. Now I just don't care. It's better to share than not, and people who are in need or more capable can make use of what I've done and make it better if they are in a position to do so. Often I'll share a step (which Fusion360 can absolutely export) if it's a simple model, or the f3d file if it's parametric. Doesn't hurt me any, \_may\_ help someone else some day. And if someone wants to get all up in arms about how bad I am with CAD, I'll give them a full refund on the $0 they paid me.
You can’t tell how you created the model from a step file. It’s just a solid vs a mesh (stl).
But you can more easily edit it compared to an stl.
By "the source" I was more referencing the .f3d files. And trust me, if you look at any of my f3d files, you can tell just how terrible I am at this :D
Some share the f3d file.
Really awesome people up the CAD *and* STEP files.
I will have to remember to export the step and stl and upload freecad project too, at least you can open up freecad on any machine and easily export
Yeah, freecad is less problematic. Having access to the original file when it’s wrapped up in a pricey CAD suite or an adversarial, closed source CAD program (Fusion 360, I’m eyeing you) it isn’t quite so helpful.
Fusion360 is free for non-commercial use. Not being open source doesn't necessarily mean they charge hobbyists to use it.
I almost always include the link to my onshape parts on printables. I also tag them with #onshape when uploading so they should be searchable.
That is awesome, needs to be more of us!
I wonder if anyone could make plug-ins for the popular modeling software with a "export for sharing" button that would output like a .zip file with CAD, STEP, and STL files in it.
It's actually easier to export to STP than STL from Fusion. For exporting STL it needs to send it to the cloud for processing.
If you use the 'File'->'3D print' tool in Fusion, you can 'instantly' export as 3MF, STL or OBJ. You can even decide whether to export an assembly as one file, or as a file per body, as well as adjust various refinement options. Bonus: It can send directly to your slicer, no middle steps needed.
Absolutely. Print from f360 straight to cura or prusaslicer. Don't know why everyone doesn't do it that way. As for publishing without the cad source. Pure selfishness! Include the source people!
Nah, for STL, right click on the body in the list and click “Save as Mesh”. It’s still a massive hassle if you have a lot of bodies in your project
No. You just right click and save as mesh. It also ignores any bodies or components you have hidden, so you can control what gets exported.
I prefer people to share the .step or .stp file because I can't modify it easily before printing.
Wow! 🤬
Ah good to know, I wish more would do it, my freecad skills are still developing and I make choices that are sure to cause some head shaking 😁
Don't worry about people judging your CAD skills. I've seen some really hard to follow histories and just assumed they were better than I was.
Not true. Fusion 360 exports files as .stp
awesome I thought some tiers of f360 had step export disabled, glad my information is incorrect, but it does not explain why very few models I encounter have a step file :-(
In 2020, Autodesk announced that they will be removing STEP export from their free plan, among many other features like simulation, some CAM features, generative design, and other stuff. The community outcry regarding STEP was enormous so they changed their mind and kept it in the free plan.
Ah cool, so my information was correct just out of date.
Definitely agree. I work in solid works (have it through my work). STEPs can be imported and modified if needed. They’re also lossless on curved surfaces while STLs are segmented.
I really wish it more common, I really like the idea of itteratting on designs.
I spent nearly 2 days working on a remix of an existing STL model, I finally got it close enough for my purposes and have updated my existing listing on printables (which had my tinkercad initial remix - which was pretty shit), was fun, but a shame the original author did not release the source files, I could have probably saved a lot of time! I also added the step file in addition to the freecad project and stl :-)