April 05, 2018

KH 376: Tinkercad - A free browser-based CAD tool.

1 hour 3 minutes

So you got yourself a brand-new 3D printer, but you're getting a little tired of printing out just the objects that you've downloaded. If that's you, then we've got an episode for you! Jason Howell and Megan Morrone join Padre for a special 3D episode of "Know How"! -- We're going to be teaching the basics of "Tinkercad", a free, browser-based CAD tool that can be used to create everything from the simplest box to a universe-in-a-bottle. (Stargate Reference) - Join us!

The Environment

* We call the grid the "Build plane"

* The scroll button on your mouse will zoom in and out on your focused object

* Typing an "F" will change the focus to whatever object you have selected

* Holding the right button and moving the mouse will rotate around your focused object

Instruction 1: Placing and Resizing Shapes

Tinkercad starts with placing shapes on a bed so the can be manipulated

* Let's practice placing shapes on the build-bed

- Pick 4 shapes from the basic shapes menu and place them on the bed

- Use the hash marks to keep each object 40mm away from other objects

** Tip: Once placed, you can use the arrow keys to move the shapes 1 unit at a time. (The unit size is determined by the drop-down menu in the lower right corner)

** Tip: Hold "Shift" while hitting an arrow key will move the shape 10 units

* And now let's resize

- Clicking each object, resize them so that they are twice their current size. (W x L x H)

- The bullets that appear when an object is clicked can be dragged to the size you want

** Tip: You can also click each bullet and then click the value to enter a new value on the keyboard.

Instruction 2: Elevation and Rotation

We need to practice some of the finer points of manipulating 3D objects... specifically their rotation and elevation on the bed.

* Elevation

- Click the object you want to raise or drop

- Click and hold the "black arrow" at the top of the shape (It will turn red when selected)

- Drag the object to the height that you require

- Notice that as you change the elevation of the object, the callout to the side will tell you how high the bottom of the object is above the build plane.

** Tip: Holding "CTRL" while hitting the up and down arrows will move the object up and down by one unit each time you hit an arrow key

** Tip: Holding "CTRL" + "SHIFT" while hitting the up and down arrows will move the object up and down by 10 units each time you hit an arrow key

* Rotation

- Click the object you want to rotate, you'll see three curved arrows for the three axes on which you can rotate the objects

- Click, hold and DRAG to rotate

** Tip: Staying WITHIN the rotation circle will snap rotation to 22.5 degrees. Going OUTSIDE the rotation circle lets you rotate by degree (or less)

** Tip: You can also click the curved arrow and enter a custom rotation value

Instruction 3: Smoothing the Curve

Any shape with a curve is actually just a bunch of straight lines APPROXIMATING a curve. The "smoothness" of that curve depends on how many lines make up the curve: The more lines, the smoother the curve.

* Add a cylinder to your build plate

- select the object

- In the drop-down menu, play with the first two settings (Sides, Bevel -- ignore Segments)

- Increasing or decreasing the number of sides will increase or decrease the

* Add a

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/know-how/episodes/376

Hosts: Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, Megan Morrone, and Jason Howell

Sponsors:

eero.com code KNOWHOW

Ring.com/KNOWHOW

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