help identifying gear module or dp

I admire what some of you lads can do with cad I can only dream, I keep toying with the idea of getting into it but not really got the need bit of a catch 22 really to get good at something you need to always do it (keep practising) and not really having the need nothing to practice with lol, I’ve played with fusion360 did a few tutorials, and downloaded free cad,

Rich

Nah, still guilty. When I drew the gear it felt wrong but I carried on regardless thus missing an error I should have noticed. A little embarrassing because redrawing plans to spot mistakes and make sure I've understood properly is one of the main reasons I use CAD...

Dave

I found modelling my projects in Fusion 360 as I made them was a good way of learning what I need to know.

I'd vote for 3D CAD, it's a darn sight easier than some 2D CAD packages which are are just glorified electronic drawing boards. Practice makes perfect:

One big advantage of 3D CAD is the ability to create assemblies and sectional views so that form and fit can be checked before cutting metal:

It is also possible to move assemblies to check clearances at the extremes. On this model of a water pump the minimum clearance between the drive rod and the inside of the ram is 15 thou:

And so it proved to be in reality once I'd made the parts. Another plus for 3D CAD is that 2D drawings are simple to create.

Andrew

I have shown a few of my friends in the local model engineering club what can be done very quickly in 3D CAD and they are all totally amazed.

I used Autocad 2D for a lot of years before we transferred to Solidworks 3D at work in 2005, every now and then I have to make change on an old Autocad drawing and it beggars belief how we ever managed to produce anything with it.

Another 100% thumbs up for 3D from me.

Phil

Andrew's reasons for preferring 3D are spot on but he reminded me I hit an unexpected Fusion360 restriction last week.

The non-commercial / private version still generates 2D plans from the 3D model but the ability to export drawings as a PDF or DWG is disabled now. At least on my version, which was updated on Tuesday. The change is due to their latest licence policy; the feature is now paid for.

I've been using Alibre for 12+ years. I looked at Fusion360 (due to the built-in CAM) a few years ago. I'm glad I didn't swap over. Free access is only good while the current CEO is in place. While I use 3D CAD for work it's not my main source of income and I wouldn't want to pay for full commercial access.

Andrew