Hi

I am a complete novice. Can engineering drawings in 3D be made in Inkscape?

Yes this is a stupid question, but I do not know. If not what do you need.

Dan

If you are asking about isometric/axonometric grids then yes, Inkscape has that capability, look in document properties, file menu for how to set up the grid with customized angles and spacing.

Dear Druban

Thank you.

I do not understand - what are: "isometric/axonometric grids"? Do I need these?

I want to make up a set of plans for a pocket watch. Can the programme to this?

Thanks
Dan

Well, other than Inkscape, what are your alternatives?

I'm sorry to put it that way, but it seems like your putting the cart in front of the horse, so to speak.

Inkscape has its purposes. It's a complex piece of software. And learning how to use it to make a single drawing seems like the other way around to me. However, it's not impossible that you'll come to enjoy using Inkscape.

Yes: I've seen Inkscape used in many powerful ways. A wristwatch isn't beyond what Inkscape can do. I'm just wondering how much time you've got to get this project done. Is it for school? Or for personal enjoyment.

We'd need to know more background to what you're looking for in order to help you make the right software choice.

You can look into these videos and see if these tutorials help in achieving your goal.

http://screencasters.heathenx.org/

Please, we'd be more helpful if you could provide more details.

foxint wrote:I am a complete novice. Can engineering drawings in 3D be made in Inkscape?

A general caveat though if one intends to use Inkscape as a "free" (as in beer) 2D CAD application:

• If your requirements are to create construction plans with very high precision (this is a basic requirement that immediately comes to my mind when reading 'engineering', 'watch' and thinking of horology), based on real units (e.g. to be used for production of small to tiny mechanical parts) - then Inkscape is likely the wrong choice for your task (even if you limit yourself to 2D): Inkscape was originally designed and developed with the main focus on artistic drawings and illustrations - "Draw Freely" - and while the tools to create technical drawings continually improve, some underlying basic facts have not (specially with regard to numeric precision, and real (absolute) drawing units).
• If on the other hand your "engineering drawings in 3D" are in fact illustrations of e.g. new product designs, you might have made a good choice (though you'll have to take care of most 3-dimensional aspects yourself - like you would have to when drawing on paper: Inkscape is not a 3D modelling software and has only a limited set of tools and features to aid with creating fake 3D (projections)).

Did you already take a look at the screenshots and showcase pages on Inkscape's website?

Guys
All very helpful.

The pocket watch is basically for personal use. I have some ideas and if they float may be a good project for a small run. But basically there will be one. Size is about 50.00mm so yes it is small in absolute terms, but big in watch terms. So yes precision would be nice.

I do not need it to be pretty. From my sketches, the watch will be made of a number of disc/circles, with the middle being an annulus.

OK Looks like from Suv's comments (thank you) that this is not the programme for me.

Excellent advice. I will have to look for something else. I have played arround with Inkscape and it seems good, but I have never had any training and I am an accountant. so I am probably playing in the wrong playground

thanks again

Dan

You might want to try DraftSight. It's free to use and runs on all three of the major OS's. It's a basic clone of Autodesk's AutoCAD and can export to svg which is great for doing some technical and free hand combination if you need to flip back and forth from DraftSight to Inkscape. Unfortunately, there is no svg import in DraftSight so you have to export to dxf in Inkscape and drag that into DraftSight. Works very well.

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/ ... -software/

Hi Guys

Thanks for the super advice. I will try DraftSight. It my be just what the doctor ordered

Great to have so many intelligent comments. much appreciated

regards
Dan

It depends on how you are going to produce the watch's body. If you want 3D printing (with plastic or metal), perhaps Blender is better. Shapeways are quite Blender-friendly.

Personally, I'd start from drawings with pencil and paper, then move to either Blender (free) or FreeCAD (surprisingly, free ).

There you go, Dan. ~suv, heathenx and prokoudine expanded beautifully on what I wanted to say.

I have no intention of talking you out of using Inkscape. It's a fine tool that'll come in handy the more you become familiar with it. I agree that a CAD program is more what you're after (no offence to Inkscape's abilities). However the thought was of your attempts to create exact gears and components that would probably be easier in some other software package, one where such items could easily be dragged from a toolbar.

Please: do enjoy Inkscape. HeathenX's tutorials will propel any artist forward with ease. And when your drawing is complete, I for one, would enjoy seeing what you've done.

Hi Bob and the guys

Again, excellent comments. Yes seems perfectly logical to me now.

I do have bits of the pocket watch on peices of paper. Small details like the crystal (glass) retaining mechanism, the sight ring etc. Now the hard part putting it all together. Don't hold your breath...these things take time and I have to learn a programme. I am not an artist or engineer - I am a bean counter

Thanks again

Dan

I'm not sure how easy such a search would be, but there have been some excellent images of watches and gears (separately) posted in the Finished Inkscape Work and also I'm pretty sure in the Work In Progress forum -- if you'd care to search. It seems watch faces are a favorite of the photorealism crowd, and indeed, are very impressive when successful!