3D modeling for 3D printing

[tahu505]

Hey, so I want to model some armor pieces to 3D print. Specifically, I want to make the collar/breacher chest piece attachment from Reach. Right now I only have experience modeling in Solidworks. As much as I love Solidworks, I'm not sure if it's the right tool for this job. What other 3D modeling software would you guys recommend for me?

 

[MoeSizzlac]

It's a biased thing. Everyone has their favorites. I like using Blender. Specifically, 2.79b, although I'm slowly getting used to 3.02.

Others like Fusion 360 by autodesk.

Maybe someone else can chime in for other popular ones. I think Fusion is the go to for doing a whole crap ton of work but I couldn't commit to the time it took to learn every aspect. I think I picked up too many bad habits from Blender and it doesn't transfer well to Fusion.

I understand the need to learn so if you need help, specifically in Blender, let me know.

Edit - See attached for the collar in case you run into roadblocks.

 

[TurboCharizard]

Hey, so I want to model some armor pieces to 3D print. Specifically, I want to make the collar/breacher chest piece attachment from Reach. Right now I only have experience modeling in Solidworks. As much as I love Solidworks, I'm not sure if it's the right tool for this job. What other 3D modeling software would you guys recommend for me?

I have a huge bias towards Fusion360 and Solidworks since they're the tools I've used throughout school. Both are awesome for hard armour modelling but take a bit of getting used to for creating those pieces.

Currently I model all armour and weapon props in Fusion through a mix of the creation of forms and solids. It's a bit on the janky side of things for certain shapes but luckily there's good tutorials out there to get you through some of the more advanced processes.

 

[tahu505]

It's a biased thing. Everyone has their favorites. I like using Blender. Specifically, 2.79b, although I'm slowly getting used to 3.02.

Others like Fusion 360 by autodesk.

Maybe someone else can chime in for other popular ones. I think Fusion is the go to for doing a whole crap ton of work but I couldn't commit to the time it took to learn every aspect. I think I picked up too many bad habits from Blender and it doesn't transfer well to Fusion.

I understand the need to learn so if you need help, specifically in Blender, let me know.

Edit - See attached for the collar in case you run into roadblocks.

Thank you for the model references. I was actually going to make the breacher attachment to go with some of the Reach armor you designed lol. I'm still going to try modeling the piece myself. Also I have tried using Blender a little bit, but haven't dove too deep into it yet. I showed one of my friends the sword from Destiny 2 I made recently in Solidworks and he told me he thought it would be easier to make in Blender.

 

[tahu505]

I have a huge bias towards Fusion360 and Solidworks since they're the tools I've used throughout school. Both are awesome for hard armour modelling but take a bit of getting used to for creating those pieces.

Currently I model all armour and weapon props in Fusion through a mix of the creation of forms and solids. It's a bit on the janky side of things for certain shapes but luckily there's good tutorials out there to get you through some of the more advanced processes.

How similar/different would you say Fusion360 and Solidworks are? I haven't used Fusion360 yet, but I've been using Solidworks for the past 4 years through school as well and would say I have a lot of experience with it. Also would Fusion360 have any specific advantages for making armor compared to Solidworks?