nschutten
Member level 3
dutch fold sheet metal
I am looking for a tool in which I can input a 2D drawing (sheet metal), define fold / bend lines, specify the angles, upon which the program can render the resulting 3D model for verification, while I can still access the original 2D drawing for easy editing.
I already found www.emachineshop.com and this is almost what I am looking for; I am missing:
- you cannot measure anything in the 3D model renderer
- export to different formats is supported, but doesn't work; therefore when using eMachineShop, I am tied to this manufacturer also; I would like to use industry standard formats instead for easy interchange of files
I have also been using TurboCAD and this seems an excellent tool; however (and this may also be my shortcoming), when I generated the 3D model, this was all that was available; all editing then had to be done in the 3D model, whereas editing on the 2D model is much easier for me.
Regardless of the above, I need to be able to quickly generate the unfolded (layout plan) 2D plan (including the fold lines) from the 3D resulting model.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
I am looking for a tool in which I can input a 2D drawing (sheet metal), define fold / bend lines, specify the angles, upon which the program can render the resulting 3D model for verification, while I can still access the original 2D drawing for easy editing.
I already found www.emachineshop.com and this is almost what I am looking for; I am missing:
- you cannot measure anything in the 3D model renderer
- export to different formats is supported, but doesn't work; therefore when using eMachineShop, I am tied to this manufacturer also; I would like to use industry standard formats instead for easy interchange of files
I have also been using TurboCAD and this seems an excellent tool; however (and this may also be my shortcoming), when I generated the 3D model, this was all that was available; all editing then had to be done in the 3D model, whereas editing on the 2D model is much easier for me.
Regardless of the above, I need to be able to quickly generate the unfolded (layout plan) 2D plan (including the fold lines) from the 3D resulting model.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!