jwhendy
December 22nd, 2008, 07:06 PM
Hi,
I was curious if I could start a thread of people who have actually (and, if possible, still do) use Medusa4. I know that there are several posts about it in the forums, but they are more along the lines of how to install it, where to symlink libraries so it's happy, etc.
What I'm looking for is some discussion regarding how to actually use it. I can't gather enough from their tutorials to actually do anything decent. Perhaps there are others like me with questions and if there's anyone being productive with this piece of software, let's get some help going around!
My main difficulty: I'm used to SolidWorks, Pro/E, Audodesk Inventor, and Unigraphics NX5. Methodology: create a sketch, dimension/constrain it, and make something 3D out of it. I'm okay with being limited (nearly) to 2D in Medusa4. What I haven't figured out is how to quickly and simply dimension and constrain drawings. From all I can find in the user's manual, you draw a line and then if you want to define the length you:
- Right click or double click it to get into Edit mode
- Choose a tool from the Lines + Edit tool tab (like Extend Line)
- Enter in a dimension in the absolute entry box up top
The problem is, the length you enter in does not stay put. If I edit another adjacent line, Medusa4 has no problem changing the length of the line I just entered... I know I can dimension, but that just tells me what a line's length actually is - I can't change lengths through the dimensioning tool that I've found.
Anyway, lengthy post but perhaps worth it. I've looked at about all the free CAD programs out there and of them all, this one looks to have the most promise for 2D/3D. Qcad is up there for merely 2D work. Everything else I found seemed flaky (read immature) or required me to learn a new programming language to do anything useful (BRL-CAD, Varkon, etc...).
Thoughts/input?
Thanks,
John
I was curious if I could start a thread of people who have actually (and, if possible, still do) use Medusa4. I know that there are several posts about it in the forums, but they are more along the lines of how to install it, where to symlink libraries so it's happy, etc.
What I'm looking for is some discussion regarding how to actually use it. I can't gather enough from their tutorials to actually do anything decent. Perhaps there are others like me with questions and if there's anyone being productive with this piece of software, let's get some help going around!
My main difficulty: I'm used to SolidWorks, Pro/E, Audodesk Inventor, and Unigraphics NX5. Methodology: create a sketch, dimension/constrain it, and make something 3D out of it. I'm okay with being limited (nearly) to 2D in Medusa4. What I haven't figured out is how to quickly and simply dimension and constrain drawings. From all I can find in the user's manual, you draw a line and then if you want to define the length you:
- Right click or double click it to get into Edit mode
- Choose a tool from the Lines + Edit tool tab (like Extend Line)
- Enter in a dimension in the absolute entry box up top
The problem is, the length you enter in does not stay put. If I edit another adjacent line, Medusa4 has no problem changing the length of the line I just entered... I know I can dimension, but that just tells me what a line's length actually is - I can't change lengths through the dimensioning tool that I've found.
Anyway, lengthy post but perhaps worth it. I've looked at about all the free CAD programs out there and of them all, this one looks to have the most promise for 2D/3D. Qcad is up there for merely 2D work. Everything else I found seemed flaky (read immature) or required me to learn a new programming language to do anything useful (BRL-CAD, Varkon, etc...).
Thoughts/input?
Thanks,
John