Questions about design software

[el01]

Mod Break: discussion split off from another thread.

We usually judge the things we don't give value as overpriced. I think Apple is, in my opinion, a bit overpriced. but if they gave you the plans for their products, would you be able to build one? only they afford to do what they do, and that has a cost.
Obviously when we start talking about 'simpler' products, we get the idea that 'it would be cheaper doing this myself'
and honestly, it its.

there is almost unlimited access to documentation and guides on the internet for free. I'd recommend you getting to learn fusion 360, as its a free app for startups and students and its really good tool for learning cad design, and its parametric implementation has such a easy learning curve! its an awesome app for people to share projects and colaborate.
for what I understand you live in the US, right? it should be easy finding a fablab where it would be really cheap to cut a case out of mdf or acrylics. after the first case it gets a lot faster, and documenting this could be awesome as it would teach people to mod your project in the end as well

running a business costs money, but I'm sure you'll find a way to keep your hobbies going

peace

Can you send a link for Fusion 360 for free? Thanks!

 

[Biowarejak]

Can you send a link for Fusion 360 for free? Thanks!

It's a process.

 

[el01]

It's a process.

Welp, as it turns out, I am gonna use FreeCad now (I'm an open source advocate, so...)

I will most likely die!

Thank God for online courses: I am taking a course right now from TU Delft on industrial design, so I may bring stuff over for evaluation if that's OK.

 

[el01]

I'm sorry but I'm not going to release the files of either the LZ7 or HT5 to the public, that may come across as rude or selfish, but as I'm trying to build a business around manufacturing these products and designing new ones, it would be against my interest to do so. Thank you for your understanding.

As others have pointed out, the value of a product is not just the sum of the materials and manufacturing costs, but also the time, energy and costs spent in developing the product in the first place, the logistics of bringing it to market, the background costs of actually running a business, and not to mention the taboo subject of trying to make an actual profit (how dare he!!!).

It would indeed be cheaper for you to make these cases yourself, but I suggest that you invest some of your own time into learning the skills to design your own case instead of asking for someone to hand over years of development work for free so that you can shave 25% off the cost of the product by making it yourself.

Sorry if that came across a bit harsh, but as @Biowarejak mentions, complaints about pricing start to wear you down after a while, especially when you are trying your hardest to keep the price as low as possible yet still being a worthwhile venture.

Believe me, I wish I could sell these products for half the cost or less, I know and appreciate the prices are high.



Most I've managed to negotiate was a 10% discount, but that was on a pretty big order!



That is very true indeed, the profits I've seen so far from Lazer3D is no where near representative of the amount of time and effort I've put in, probably around the equivalent of less than £1 per hour if you count the development time as well. Hopefully that will change over time.



Maybe, but then I'm doing the same back at ya, ha ha!

It's fine, I understand Currently, I'm trying to use Inkscape to design for laser cutting... What would you say is the best software for such a purpose? Could you give me a sheet of pointers on design for laser cutting? Thanks!

 

[Biowarejak]

It's fine, I understand Currently, I'm trying to use Inkscape to design for laser cutting... What would you say is the best software for such a purpose? Could you give me a sheet of pointers on design for laser cutting? Thanks!

Personally I find inkscape to be a PITA to use. FreeCad works and is accepted by Ponoko though

 

[el01]

Personally I find inkscape to be a PITA to use. FreeCad works and is accepted by Ponoko though

What a happy coincidence! I downloaded and started using FreeCAD last night . Inkscape works well enough for me, though. I do understand your points on how much of a pain things can be in there.

 

[Soul_Est]

What a happy coincidence! I downloaded and started using FreeCAD last night . Inkscape works well enough for me, though. I do understand your points on how much of a pain things can be in there.

I second FreeCAD. Very powerful and will only get better with time and effort. Wish it could use more than one thread for calculations though.

I also posted about FreeCAD tutorials when I was working on RSC. The post listing them are here: https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/rsc-really-small-case.914/page-2#post-21159

 

[el01]

I second FreeCAD. Very powerful and will only get better with time and effort. Wish it could use more than one thread for calculations though.

I also posted about FreeCAD tutorials when I was working on RSC. The post listing them are here: https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/rsc-really-small-case.914/page-2#post-21159

Hahaha! With my Core i5-540M, no wonder it loads and runs so slowly! I am currently working on some more tutorials to better understand FreeCad. Somehow, I can't seem to get my head around software with more than two toolbars. I may need more cores, threads, or better optimization... Don't know how the human chipset will handle a microcode update though...

-el01