Many of you might not know it, but mechanical CAD can trace its roots to the 1950s. In 1957 Dr. Patrick Hanratty, sometimes referred to as the “Father of CAD”, developed the first numerical control manufacturing system. He later went on to license technology to United Computing and Intergraph (both now part of Siemens PLM), Computervision (now part of PTC) and many others.
Ever heard of General Electric? It’s one of the largest companies in the world. Chances are there’s a few things around your house designed and manufactured by GE, and now you have the chance to design a GE product of your own.
Quick, what kernel are you running?
If you answered that question immediately, this blog post isn’t for you. If like most CAD users you’ve heard the term “kernel” but aren’t sure what it is or why it’s important, keep reading.
In fact, if you’re like most CAD users, at some point you have struggled to import a CAD model created in a different CAD system. If so, you’ve run into a kernel problem. In that case, this blog post is definitely for you. Let’s start with the basics… Read the rest of this entry »
Create a model with clear design intent and a tutorial to go with it for our latest Challenge!
Picture via Fateh Merrad’s Tutorial: http://grabcad.com/questions/how-to-create-a-rim-of-an-audi-r8.
GrabCAD wants you to lead the way in creating content that is made for reuse and sharing. We think the best way to do this is baking your design intent into your model. For this Challenge, we ask that you include a Tutorial on your process and frame of thinking for two reasons: Read the rest of this entry »
The recent Challenge with NOKIA reminded me of the great models we have that focus on all things electric. Whether it’s circuits, motors, connectors, switches, or other accessories – GrabCAD has plenty of electric CAD to keep you busy this weekend. Get inspired, start a new project, or find something cool to set your scene!
300b valve amplifier by Andrew Whitham deserves way more love! Get the full assembly and watch out for the schematic, coming soon.
It’s almost midnight, you just remembered your niece’s birthday (tomorrow) and you start to panic! There is no time to go to a store or rush an online gift. As you try to come up with apologies in your head, you catch a glimpse of your 3D printer sitting in the corner, gathering dust. A 3D printed toy like Thomas the Tank Engine model by GrabCADr A. Ter Meer would be perfect. But, are the parts the right size to 3D print?
This is one of many scenarios where you need to know the measurements or scale of a model before downloading. We want to help you with that! This post will walk you through each handy tool, so you can measure like a pro.
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Have you ever noticed that there are more types of CAD file formats than there are CAD systems?
A precise gear (left) as compared to a tessellated gear (right).
Not only do most CAD systems create several different types of files, there are a myriad of interoperability formats that have different advantages when collaborating with your partners and customers. Let’s take a look at some of the formats supported by GrabCAD’s 3D viewer, along with the strengths and weaknesses of those formats.
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