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Since starting on this project I've wanted to be able to realise my
designs in 3D, as an explanation of ideas and an aid to
construction, but also because I have an interest in computer graphics
and modelling anyway! To this end, I was particularly interested in
obtaining some engineering CAD (Computer Aided Design) software but
getting hold of it was difficult due to the prohibitive cost and many
free 3D graphics software was lacking or cumbersome to use. Whilst
browsing the internet one day, I happened across the 3D graphics and
animation package called 'Blender' that stood out amongst the rest. It
wasn't engineering CAD as such (which caters for modelling of real material
pieces and their properties with a view to manufacture), but instead,
'Blender' is aimed more at media professionals and artists for the
creation of 3D visualisations as well as other content. It turned out to
be a very powerful, feature packed piece of software, and easily
satisfied my current modelling requirements! I'm still looking for
a proper CAD package which will help me realise some more exotic design
ideas with a view to outsourcing the manufacturing as I have limited
facilities, so any offers greatly appreciated! ;o)
I'm still very much a novice when it comes to 3D modelling and I've only
just scratched the 'Blender' surface. I'm slowly working towards a fully
blown model of a turbocharger but have a way to go yet! Below is a set
of models that I've created in original .blend format and for those that
have WinZip, a compressed .zip format for quicker downloads. Feel free
to download the files and play around with them. You'll need a copy of
Blender first of course which you can download from the Links section on
the main page.
Once Blender is installed, double-click on the downloaded file and it
will automatically load. For those not familiar with Blender, below is a
small set of quick start commands to allow you to at least render, and
move around the model:
F12
= Render
Alt+Left Mouse Button
= Rotate
Ctrl+Alt+Left Mouse button
= Zoom
Shift+Alt+Left Mouse
Button=Pan
Rendering is performed from a single fixed camera position. It's a
relatively easy task to add cameras in different positions for renders
from different viewpoints or change the image size for faster rendering
but you'll need to learn a little bit about Blender first! There's lots
of tutorial material on the Blender site and you can even buy the book
if you're serious about getting involved! ;o)
All models were created using a relatively low spec machine: ASUS
A7V8X motherboard (166MHz FSB ), using an AMD Athlon XP 2200+ ( 1.8GHz )
processor, 512 MB DDR 333 memory and nVidia FX5200 graphics card. A
rough guide to render
times using the above spec machine with no other tasks running are given
next to each download in the following format hh:mm:ss, where hh=hours
(hopefully not! ), mm=minutes and ss=seconds. With a faster machine
render times will obviously reduce.
Note:
The models for download are copyright and are available for personal and
non-commercial use only. If you do decide to use any of the models, in
full or in part, for display purposes , some credit would be much
appreciated. Thanks and enjoy! ;o) |
