• Phil Osterbauer(phoenix4690)

    Fusion 360 is powerful and fun to use. The last I checked was free for hobbyists.

  • Shawn Blanch(blanchsb)

    Those arms are most likely straight. They are load bearing.

  • R
    Rita G

    I check out MOI3D, but hate the price.

  • Phil Osterbauer(phoenix4690)

    That's cool Rita, I really like Onshape. I've used it some here and there.

  • Shawn Blanch(blanchsb)

    Creo was cool because it had a great collections section for holding assemblies and commentary about it. But since blender 2.8 it's nothing to gawk at anymore

  • Peter Varga(rationalrats)

    @ritag for an "affordable" peak into "other side" see MOI3D, it does most of what Rhino does, minus the "industrial part"...

  • William Miller(williamatics)

    hOUdIni iS BEtTEr.

  • Phil Osterbauer(phoenix4690)

    the surfacing is...possible...in Solidworks, I think the large (sub)Assemblies would make Solidworks chug in something like this though.

  • R
    Rita G

    Shawn, yes, Blender is unbeatable.

  • Omar Domenech(dostovel)

    I get so confused every time Kent says cat

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Buckle up for a LONG project.

My kids absolutely love "diggers" and as a 3D modeler I certainly appreciate them too. All the complex shapes, hard edges, bolts, hydraulics, tire treads, etc. It's a modelers playground and labyrinth rolled into one. 

I'm going to start building a digger - a Caterpillar 434E specifically - as accurately and detailed as I can. The name of the game here is organization, perseverance, and efficiency because most of the shapes are not difficult to build. There's just. so. many. of. them. Which gave me an idea...

Stop! Collaborate and Listen

Why don't we build this thing together? For those interested in following the project, I'm hoping at least a few will participate by modeling certain pieces of the backhoe themselves to be submitted to me for review and incorporation into the final model.

Check out the Collaboration Forum thread for more info!

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