Plasticity 1.4 | Dimensions and Measure Tools | What They Do And How To Use Them |
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- In this video we are going to take a look at two of the recent additions to Plasticity in the 1.4 version release. Dimensions and Measure.
These tools have been highly anticipated and represent a big jump in the functionality of Plasticity for CAD users. Now if you want to have certain features sized specifically you can do it!
With new updates there are also going to be some limitations, so in this video we are going to look at some simple examples and highlight some areas for you to watch out.
Dimension HotKey is "="
Measure HotKey is "CTRL + =" - Навчання та стиль
I was wondering how to handle with some specific shapes and dimensions...I found the deal here with you.
Vidoes're neat, clear, concise and accurate.
No noisy background music
Voice clear that keeps you focused on
Thank you for the time you dedicate for sharing KNOWLEDGE
Awesome, thank you!
Love your work, such an empowering tutorial, purchased plasticity with complete confidence. Thanks Matt
Great to hear! Thanks for the kind words and don't hesitate to ask questions!
Great video explanation of how the Dimension and Measure tools work. Thanks for sharing!
Very welcome!
Fantastic tutorial about the measure tool. Good examples choosen to show it. Very clear pronunciation.
Thank you very much!
Thank you, well done! This added functionality has convinced me to download the trial.
I refuse to rent software and can't be tied to online access. I'm happy to buy new versions when the upgrades have value. That puts the ball in the developer's court. Apparently this developer has ambition and confidence. I like that.
Yeah Nick has done a great job with Plasticity. He is thinking pretty far down the road and what is going in. Like the inclusion of more advanced surfacing tools that for any other software as an add-in would cost more than Plasticity itself. I do think some more advanced functionality may end up being in the studio version only so just keep on eye on the list of features.
We will have a 5 part series coming out soon for basic modeling workflows after the current scanning series is done fyi.
I will love it the more if Plasticity give us the option to dimension and constrain sketches like in CAD
That point is under discussion on the beta forum. I think we will see it at some point but not likely in any near future releases.
Thank you for making this video. I did find it quite annoying that Plasticity didn't have measurement to adjust the size of things after you have drawn them but now I see it was just my lack of knowledge. It would be nice if the measurements all just popped up as soon as you click on something. Like if you click on a circle it shows the radius and diameter. If you click on a line it shows the length. If you click on a rhombus it shows the length of the edges as well as the angles of the faces. And then if you could just simply click on these dimensions to edit them, it would make things so simple. The only modelling software I have used is Revit (I'm a structural engineer) which is quite different but I do miss some of these quality-of-life features when using plasticity.
Could you possibly make a video that covers common errors in Plasticity and what is causing them and how to fix them? Like sometimes I am trying to fillet a bunch of edges on a shape I just made and then I get an error which prevents me from finishing my action. Surely Plasticity could fillet all of the edges that it CAN fillet and then highlight red the edges that it couldn't fillet and maybe help me to understand why this edge can't be filleted when the mirror image edge was able to be filleted. I feel like I am banging my head against a wall when using plasticity sometimes. It can be really frustrating when you are encountering errors and you don't know why the error is occurring. I have also encountered issues with trying to set keyboard shortcuts. They don't seem to stick. Also sometimes it seems that I try to do a command and a completely different function is activated instead? What the hell is going on?
On your first point, when you select something take a look in the bottom right hand of the screen. It should display info about what you have selected. Length, surface area, volume etc.
On the common errors i hear ya. No real warnings or error messages make it tough. I don't really have a list of common errors but if you want to email me support@caducator.com with stuff you run into i can try to make a video/short about them.
You are the MAN! Thanks!
Glad to help!
I was between f360 and Plasticity about a year ago. Went with Fusion because it seemed more CAD oriented and more of a matured package. Now that I am familiar with the peculiarities of f360 surface modeling and Plasticity offers dimensioning I think it´s time to reevaluate.
Designspark Mechanical has had 'dimensioning' for what, 10 years now. The free version is a perfectly good CAD tool to make 3D prints - It uses Parasolid and I think the modelling is absolutely decent enough. It doesn't have G3 blends - but so much of it is very very similar strangely enough to Plasticity. DSM does have a Constraint sketcher or a traditional sketcher and patterns are procedural / persistent.
Many hobbyists and makers have given v6 a bad press due to the free version having .stl imports and dxf exports taken away - the ability to break step read-only imports into readable steps was also removed from the free version. Free version is free, Paid versions additionally have Drawings and Data Exchange and importantly now a universal instant object mirroring tools, all available on flexi-monthly subscriptions - full yearly cost, if needed, will be less than Plasticity v2.0 cost. Any hobbyist that creates their own models and just wants to 3D print, DSM Explorer is very good and free - Learn direct very capable CAD for free. Annotation dimensions are smarter in DSM because they can be directly and indirectly used ( referenced) in move and pull operations.
Learn Everything About Design is a great channel.
But cam
Yeah there are no shortage of options. I own several CAD programs and have explored many others like Shapr. Rhino etc. I think where the free version of Fusion shines is the ability to do SubD modeling on a mesh body, to make PCB designs, and simple detailed drawings as well as program/control CNC machines(with limitations). That is one reason (as well as the UX) i like Fusion. It isn't perfect but pretty good when you compare what some others cost. FWIW Fusion and Plasticity are both on the same Parasolid Kernel as DSM, Shapr and many other CAD programs. That is a big reason for the price of Plasticity. The indie version is basically paying for the kernel.
As Software progresses I think there is going to be a big shift based on what the user is doing. Direct modeling is a great tool (SpaceClaim) and that is how Plasticity works as well as some of the tools in Fusion. One big difference you see is the OS support. Plasticity supports win/mac/linux i do believe. when you look at mac support that greatly limits your choices of CAD/Modeling and if you dive into Linux that restricts it even more.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign i thought DSM used ACIS, not Parasolid, And yeah, Mac Os does not have a lot of options, other CAD software i know it works on Mac is TurboCAD, one of the softwares that is part of market i like to call "AutoCAD indie clones"
@@omegadeepblue1407 DSM v6 is now Parasolid.
I just purchased the individual license; Plasticity Indie ($149 less 10%) and have it running on my Mac and PC. All essential 3D modeling tools
STEP, OBJ, STL, and Parasolid import/export. All version updates included for 12 months, including major releases Blender bridge. I like it that I own my software - which is more rare these days.
Before Plasticity was public there were lengthy talks about the license model. I personally don't mind the sub model, but the majority of users wanted to own it. I know a lot of people still complain about the price because things like Blender are free, but its a killer deal for sure compared to everything else out there.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign It is not about the price, it is about its stage. Actually you get only 1 year of free updates, and a year passes very fast in development. The app is great, but still has many things missing, or in a "bad" workflow. With one word: it is still very young. In my opinion the price is not too high, but the time you get updates is too short. There will not be that much updates and progress in a further year, good developing takes it time. I would have bought it too right now, but with only 12 months of free updates it is too expensive to wait for optimizations. So I wait to pay for a "proper" state, money you do not have for developement right now. I am fine with 12 month of support if a more polished version is out, but 1.4 in its actual state is way too early. My opinion. I think a minumum of two years at this stage should be ok, so a user gets some few updates within its supportlifetime.
just what i was looking for. thank you!
Glad I could help! Plasticity has updated to version 24.1.1 (they are using the year now as the first number). Dim/measure are still in there but just a heads up some things may be a bit different. We have a Whats new video as well as some newer content.
Excellent video, many thanks.
You are welcome!
I've taken the plunge on Plasticity and have enjoyed the whole experience. It's designed to encourage shortcut key strokes. Within a few weeks model creation becomes so we quick and natural even when surfacing.
Moving the whole of the geometry of that motorcycle bracket outer clamp? Select point/line/surface grabs, select over all the points you want to move then hit g to move it any direction you want. Simples
Great tip! Using move or rotated is an option but I don't think you could do it with a measurement/dimension input. If all the selections are cylindrical it might work to do it from a reference plane.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign
If you want to move say 10mm in x, hit g then select X axis arrow, start moving with mouse in X direction then type in 10. If you want to move in a different direction use v to realign the axis.. If you want to move to an existing point again get it moving in the axis you want then hit control and the specific feature you want to move to.
Putting in exact dimensions while extruding or rotating is as easy as described above .. To me it is mildly annoying that you need to hit tab for exact line length or box dimensions.
Although this measure function is useful, general feature information was/is always shown at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Select a line and it's length will be displayed there. Select an area and it will show numeric area of feature selected. select a solid will give position centroid etc.
@@colinhare4722 oh yeah 100% agree. I was just saying if you measure it at 214.378mm and need it at 215mm, the dimension tool just hitting 215 would be easier than grabbing everything you need to move and putting in .622mm.
For something like this I would stick with a CAD approach generally and not add all the little details until the geometry was right and then G or even Dimension would be so much easier. Like deleting the hole for the fork before the bolt/clamp section is on you could just move a single outside face easily then redo the hole centered on that arc.
I’m a mechanical engineer. I’m thinking about getting the indie license. I’ve been a Solidworks user since it was first introduced. The nice thing is I can create something export as a step, or parasolid. Bring it into Solidworks and use feature works to identity the part create sketches for features. Then I can fully define the part in Solidworks.
IF feature works works then yes :) It is hit or miss. But this is built on the Parasolid Kernel so you will be getting good BREP geometry in the process.
I just signed up for a year of fusion 360, but if plasticity keeps up these massive improvements, I think it will be mature enough to invest in next year. Definitely keeping a close eye on the improvements!
and the year after that or the year after that...personally I think the subscription model providing it's possible to Pause a subscription when you don't want or need it, is better than any particular version purchase. I do agree, there's been very positive improvements during v1
For sure. I make a lot of content for Fusion 360 because I see the value it brings for the price. A lot of people complain about it and even complain that all features aren't in the free version, but see how much any other CAD company gives you for free :) Even though I don't use Plasticity all that much at the moment i was happy to buy the Studio version to help support its development. The way dimensions work in Plasticity is not like other programs so its shows some innovation!
I purchased the Studio version 10 months ago but every time 'I'd tried to use the product I would get lost, my 2D/3D skill set was stuck in the 80ites. Following your video I was able to produce my first 3D object to print! I did find that working with objects that are only 1.5mm tall I have to zoom in to get the right selection (I just discovered the four icons top left, the third one in just selects the FACE which solved the zoom issues). I think my issue has been trying to locate an object at a X,Y point, I can draw a rectangle at 0,0 to 50,50, extrude it 3, then when I tried to place the cylinder I couldn't figure out how to get it at an X,Y location...
It can take a bit of getting used to. Setting up your coordinate system first is helpful. I just released a course on my site www.learneverythingaboutdesign.com walking through a speaker design for $10. and we have several playlists and how tos on this channel including this basic modeling workflows series ua-cam.com/play/PLBDfGh8A8kXVIrO1aizPFmRBy-A-G9svk.html
Some quick tips. If you delete the cube in the start up scene, before doing anything else hit the / and it will zoom to your grid. If you create a rectangle at the origin with a specific size (50 x 50) and its too small to see. after you OK/right click, hit the forward slash to zoom into it. The default startup scene is in meters, and even if you change the units it will still make the original size cube unless you save a new startup scene from the P(file) menu.
This getting started is not with the current UI but not too much has changed (Single right click vs double to confirm in the old one for example).
ua-cam.com/video/9cgBK8ljH1k/v-deo.html
I hoped to see something powerful like measures and dimensions in shapr3d, but shapr3d is more practical and easier in that.
I would imagine v 2.0 will have more measure functionality. It wasn't on the list of things originally for Plasticity but Nick has been taking inputs from the Beta crowd and adding things in.
Thanks for the useful lesson, but how to set exact dimensions for curves?
With Plasticity there is no direct dimensioning system like you have with other CAD programs. You can dimension "curves" meaning lines on input but not on a spline curve. About the best you could do is set up some reference lines for where you want control points and snap to them. You can use Measure so there is an onscreen dimension to show you where they are in space.
If you need precise input for complex splines Plasticity might not be the right program currently.
Love the video. how do I determine the weight in silver?
There are no materials/mass properties in Plasticity. But if you select a body in the bottom right it will tell you the volume and you can use the mass of whatever material you want to figure it out.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign UR AMAZING THANK YOU!
Can we do something like put a hole on top of a rectangle and tell it we want it measure to 1/2 the width of the rectangle so it centers it and if you adjust the rectangle it will move the holes?
Sadly no. there are no parameters to speak of. in version 24.2.x we can now edit dimensions to change the position of say a hole on the top of a box, but you can't control it with say a ratio so its always half the length of the edge.
That’s very nice but in my language, the equal sign is on shift + 0 and so the keyboard shortcut doesn’t work. This is a problem I’ve had in other software too - some characters that have their own key on English language keyboards, have to share key with another character. Is there a nice general solution to this?
When you search for a tool in Plasticity "F", you can right click on the tool in the list and change the shortcut to whatever you want. That might be the best option. Also keep in mind these tools showed up in version 1.4, but its on a new released 24.1.1 now.
Can you show us how to model a motocross bike in plasticity? That would be awesome l, done see anyone doing this and would like to learn myself.
I wiuld even pay you for a detailed tutorial if you do make one.
Just gained yourself a sub and like.
Keep up the great work man 💯🤜🤛 as its much appreciated
Great suggestion! I would love to do it as i ride mx/sm, but it will have to wait. I did a car series with plasticity ua-cam.com/play/PLBDfGh8A8kXXglEZA2MGsn-U8z2pNCPny.html but the amount of time that takes for those series is tough right now. Both from my available time and also the rate the software changes. I did a concept car body video and then some updates happened to make that workflow a bit better.
I do have a website www.learneverythingaboutdesign.com where i sell fusion courses. the plan this year is to get some other software courses there becuase i can swap out videos when the software changes. can't do that on youtube, just need to hide them.
Really would like to get away from Fusion but it Seems like I should wait a bit. My modeling is not that good as it is to have to try and figure out work around.
Yeah it all depends on what you do/need to do in CAD. I couldn't leave Fusion and just use Plasticity, but I do design work for clients and need a lot of parametric control. Sometimes the clients require I use Solidworks, sometimes Inventor, and Sometimes Fusion.
I don't think Plasticity will ever go to a history based parametric CAD replacement. It is aimed at a different target user, but it might get people who want a perpetual license model and don't need drawings, simulation, PCB design or other things that Fusion offers.
Really interesting thanks. at the risk of asking too complex a question: if i wanted to model a 3D bike frame, based on a simple set of key dimensions for the frame size, I think plasticity isin't really the tool for that right? like, if I started with a size "small" and then changed some key dimensions to make a "Large" frame, whole groups of features would need to be updated to new locations, and your video shows plasticity can't do that. I'm after a parametric modelling tool that is good with surfaces and won't break all the time, like F360 does. anyhow, v good video, thanks
Yeah you really want a parametric CAD program. Fusion is great for that using user parameters. If you have a commercial or edu license you can also use configurations.
depending on the complexity of the bike frame it can get pretty tricky to ensure the ends rebuilt properly. If you are doing just simple tubes you could try the Pipe tool in fusion along a sketch but the chain stay area might get dicey.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Yes I've pretty much completed a bike on F360 now (and watched lots of your videos) but I dislike how brittle F360 timeline is - upstream changes break refs all the time. I'm sure I'll get better at following the strict rules but its way worse than Solidworks, and having seen some impressive videos on Plasticity I'd hoped maybe that was the solution.
@@s_cycle1921 yeah. certain features are more robust. I break Solidworks all the time too :)
5:36 Is there any way to automatically space objects or do you have to manually move each one? Like if I had 50 of these circles and I wanted them to all be equally spaced, is there a shortcut to do that?
You can do an array of them. there are a few types with some options but that is likely the best bet. Manually moving stuff sucks so i do try to have references or start from 0,0,0 when possible. When moving you can use the Freestyle option to snap to locations.
How do you think Plasticity compare to Fusion's Form tools, specifically for use in Reverse Engineering using 3D Scans? Would you be able to perform the same workflow for your car scans in Plasticity as you did in Fusion?
Well Plasticity can't directly work with the mesh yet. You can insert it but not snap anything to it, and it doesn't have freeform modeling like Fusion. It does have pretty good surfacing tools.
So if you want to work with mesh data and want to use Freeform modeling you gotta stick with Fusion for sure.
2:36 selecting the object and hitting = does nothing for me, have the whole object rectangular prism selected that i created from a rectangle. What are some reasons im not getting the same effect?
edit: nvm hitting a to select everything, allows me to hit = and tab through 2/3 of the measurements (not all the measurements but 2/3 isnt terrible, i can eyeball the last one). it's weird, simply selecting the object by clicking with the object selection (hotkey 4) doesnt allow the same behavior.
Odd but thanks for the update! The = is meant to work with the box primitive but for me it works from the rectangle and extruding that. If you use the box primitive or sphere or cylinder does it work any different?
Sorry to ask as newbie:
How do I get Equal sign on my Windows laptop keyboard (has also numeric keys on the right) to start measure tool in Plasticity.
I have to press Shift + 0 to get Equal sign "=" in other software.
But Plasticity does not allow me to hit more than Ctrl+Shift (would have to hit number 0 as well).
I try to program my Spacemouse button with Macro sequence. But no succes so far
Thank you for the answer. Regards Aleksander
Hi Aleksander, I am not 100% sure as my laptop has a full keyboard on it. but what you can do is hit F on the keyboard to find the dimension command. when it pops up, right click on it and you can assign a new shortcut so you don't have to use = if that is problematic
So with this it's basically a more streamlined parametric CAD (maybe without a timeline like in Fusion360)?
well yes and no. The big difference here is that there is less parametric control. So in Fusion you start with a sketch, you define that (typically) with dimensions, then you build solids or surfaces from that sketch. With plasticity the "curves" just exist. You can control the input with a dimension at creation but for the most part after its created you are doing all direct modeling.
So for example say you make a square that is 10mm x 10mm. then you start modeling and adding features like fillets. If you want to go back and change it to 12mm x 12mm, in fusion you would edit the sketch and it would update the shape. In plasticity you would need to offset faces. That has some downstream problems if say you HAD to have a 2mm fillet because now if you offset the entire thing the fillets get larger. It takes a different approach and typically its used for modeling intended for vfx/animation, game assets etc. It can be used for 3d printing as well and we have several videos on that (Mario ? block, 3d printed threads, and some older videos), but your approach to modeling needs to be a bit different.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Thanks for the reply.
I need precise fillets for CNC carving, but I'm doing smaller and not particularly complex shapes. If I resize and break all fillets or the "CAM-ability" for a given radius end mill, is that easily fixable for simple designs or would I be significantly better off with Fusion 360? (I absolutely hate the SaaS model and would love avoiding it if I can).
@@kay6736 If your end goal is CNC I might suggest a CAM program that has basic CAD in it that doesn't have the SaaS if that is what you are trying to avoid. CAD in a CAM program usually sucks :) I supported Mastercam for years and always preferred to do something like an add-in for Solidworks instead of modeling in the CAM program. There are options out there. I do most of my CAM program. well all of it these days in Fusion but a quick search on some free options out there. mecsoft.com/products/freemill/free-cad-cam-software/
I have no experience with that. They do also have an add-in for Rhino. I am not a fan of the workflow/ui in Rhino but to be fair i haven't tried Rhino 8 yet.
Other tutorials explain how to do symmetry while you do a rectangle by pressing the tab key, but in version 1.4 when you do a rectangle and try to do symmetry when you use the tab key, appears a measurement. Which is the new command?
1.4 is the newer way. I think for a rectangle you now hit C for center. when you have the tool active look at the bottom right corner and it will list available shortcuts. This was a big point of confusion sadly :)
Thank you
Can you freeze part of model(dimensions), so it cannot get accidentally modified?
Everything in Plasticity is "direct" modeling. After you make geometry there is no link back to the curve. If you want to increase the size of a hole you offset its face. So some primitives can be manipulated with the dimensions but only until you add or remove from them.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign It might be something to think about....once you add some dimension, which you positively do not want to change, freeze it and put maybe red mark on it and make it connected to the model in a table(?) of frozen dim's....That is a typical problem with direct modeling, you can screw up the model not even realizing it.
@@jiritichy6855 Thats a cool idea. I know the onscreen measurements are there for a sort of check of that, but freezing geometry would be nice. ill take a look at the Plasticity Discord and bring it up.
Alot of great tips here! But for some reason my quick commands dont work! I have to search dimensions and click it in the search bar every time to use it. Not all the commands are like this, just some. Any tips?
hmm, when you search for Dimension is the = key the shortcut you see? With the dimensions on objects it will be dependent on the selection. Does it work with anything at all? Like if you start a new design with a primitive Cylinder or box, do you see those?
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign thx for reply. Some shortcuts work, but far from all. Maybe its because Im on the free version still?
@@Ronh83 that shouldn't be the case. what type of machine are you on? Windows, Mac? pc/laptop?
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign im on a Windows laptop.
@@Ronh83 do you happen to have a desktop to try it on? I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't work for you. Which version are you currently running of plasticity? I am on 1.4.18
objects not lining up with the measurement tool. I pick the first object with shift held down then others then the last one. hit equals I get the measurement, hit enter then nothing moves what am I doing wrong.
Depending on your selection filter, the first selection might be an object and not a face. Dimension (=) works on faces only. You can change to face selection with the number 3 above the keyboard (not numpad) to make sure you are only selecting faces.
Select the reference face (where 0 will be), then all faces you want to move. The last face you select will be the one used as a reference dimension away from your first selection. Once all faces are selected press = to activate the dimension tool. From there either hit enter again to move section 2 to n-1 to the measurement of the last face (n).
Hope that makes sense.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign that worked for the outer faces but it didn't work for the holes. The thing is that in the video you have all selections active.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign the weird thing is that when I tried to align the holes with the face on the other side it worked. Must still be a bug or glitch.
@@terrykuehne6173 not sure. I know it doesn't work with everything. The first selection needs to be a planar face.
I am doing this in Linux, so I don't know if that's the problem or not. but like I said it does work if I try a different first planar face than the original.@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign
8:40 Man that sucks. So if you have a complex shape then you have to move each and every surface individually? You should be able to lock faces together so that if you move one of them it moves the whole group. That is a massive fail IMO. I hope the developers consider allowing us to group items together so that they move as one.
It depends on what you are moving. And there have been a few updates since this video. Version 24.2.x is out now and some new stuff was added.
If you want to move multiple faces you can select them. If you try to offset a face and there is tangency like filets to other faces, it should move them all.
@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Can I move a face/body relative to a reference plane like you showed in the video (say you want to make it exactly 50mm from centre of circle to the CL of object) but you want all the other objects to move with it. Is that possible?
@@The.JZA. Yes. There are some updates in 24.2.x and im going to try to make a video about that today. But in order to move something so its at the same height for setting up to 3d print i would suggest using the Freestyle option in move. this lets you pick a from and to point. Put your part centered at the origin. then move it in plane to where you need it.
GRAB edge is not working
I think i need to redo this video. these dimension and measure tools came out in version 1.4, but now its on version 24.1.1. I honestly don't use these tools in my workflow with Plasticity. I haven't noticed a different behavior in 24.1.1 though.
You say you will simply create a rectangle and the you extrude it without any explaination of how you selected extrude. I fear as a sketchup use I am not going to be able to follow you.
Yeah I would start here with this video. I just updated content including a UI overview and basics of modeling. ua-cam.com/video/9cgBK8ljH1k/v-deo.html
the video here you just watched was more talking about changes and updates to v1.4.
Fusion 360 WINS here everywhere
damn this is so complicated
sorry, it is different for sure. Plasticity is on version 24.1.1 now and things evolved slightly, but I don't think this changed.