I'm going to be helping someone put audio in a newly purchased home, and also want to do some projects in my own. Also, once I get past some personal stuff, I want to FINALLY make* some custom speakers and matching cabinets.
I've made some crude albeit scaled room sketches in PowerPoint, but that's not going to serve easily for 3D cabinets. And for rooms, I feel there must be something simpler. Once upon a time I used Google Sketch-Up, or are there better choices by now?
*Not myself, my detailed woodworking days are past. Any LA-area recommendations for cabinet makers (speakers and stereo cabinet, not kitchen ha ha) very welcomed.
I've made some crude albeit scaled room sketches in PowerPoint, but that's not going to serve easily for 3D cabinets. And for rooms, I feel there must be something simpler. Once upon a time I used Google Sketch-Up, or are there better choices by now?
*Not myself, my detailed woodworking days are past. Any LA-area recommendations for cabinet makers (speakers and stereo cabinet, not kitchen ha ha) very welcomed.
Sketchup is probably the easiest to get going with and is aimed more at the larger scale stuff (like architecture). You can get a free single user license for Fusion 360 which is much more powerful but might take a bit longer to get to grips with. If your designs are going to be more complex than simple box shaped cabinets then Fusion might be worth it, particularly if you want to get anything laser cut or CNC routed.
Ooh, I hadn't thought about that. Probably not so elaborate. Rectangular parallelepipeds, the speaker cabinets with some kind of removable front/back baffles so they can be changed in the future if I want.
(That would imply I need some kind of simple material that is generally available, like Birch plywood or something. Which flies in the face of desire to have some kind of unique wood. Hmmm, maybe funky frames and inserts of something more common).
I've been using AutoCAD for all of my projects, small and large. You can quickly generate 2D drawings and easily edit them. It's relatively easy to learn.
I've done some 3D modeling in AutoCAD and once you get the hang of it, it's just as straight forward as 2D but the downside is 3D AutoCAD models are not easy to edit, so you end up redrawing if you change the design. For speaker boxes, this is not a big deal since they are not that complicated.
I use 3D AutoCAD models for studying the design, then go back to the 2D workspace to refine the design and produce working drawings.
Programs like Fusion 360 are "parametric" tools that allow you to generate and edit 3D objects without the need to redraw. You simply change the "parameters" of the object. These types of programs are much harder to learn because there are more steps to take to draw something.
I've tried to learn a couple of different parametric programs but always fall back on AutoCAD which is alot like drawing with pencil and paper, but much more accurate and much, much easier to edit.
I've done some 3D modeling in AutoCAD and once you get the hang of it, it's just as straight forward as 2D but the downside is 3D AutoCAD models are not easy to edit, so you end up redrawing if you change the design. For speaker boxes, this is not a big deal since they are not that complicated.
I use 3D AutoCAD models for studying the design, then go back to the 2D workspace to refine the design and produce working drawings.
Programs like Fusion 360 are "parametric" tools that allow you to generate and edit 3D objects without the need to redraw. You simply change the "parameters" of the object. These types of programs are much harder to learn because there are more steps to take to draw something.
I've tried to learn a couple of different parametric programs but always fall back on AutoCAD which is alot like drawing with pencil and paper, but much more accurate and much, much easier to edit.
For stuff like this, if starting out with CAD, I would strongly recommend a parametric software as opposed to AutoCAD. Making adjustments to objects already created is a pain, and dimensioning is generally way easier in parametric. The advantages of AutoCAD over a parametric software don't really come out to play in this field.
Don't know much about Fusion 360 as my background is more SolidWorks, but those are my 2 cents.
EDIT: A few examples:
1) Drawing rectangles and circles:
- AutoCAD:
-- Make sure you know your desired dimensions first. Otherwise you're down the path of inevitable return.
-- Did you remember your dimensions? Enter those in with your 'rect', or if you're doing a circle, make sure you know if you're doing a radius or diameter dimension.
-- Did you get the dimensions wrong, and drew your rectangle with lines instead of the built-in polyline 'rect'? Drag one side, and trim the other two sides that are now too long. Make sure you dodge the other stuff in the way.
- Parametric:
-- Draw a circle. You can get away with "eyeball" sizing.
-- Dimension the circle. Right away you know if you're dimensioning the radius or the diameter.
-- Put in the wrong dimensions? Just change the dimensions.
2) Drawing anything with a tangent.
- AutoCAD:
-- Don't.
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For stuff like this, i.e., the OP, pencil and paper are the way to go.
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