DeltaCAD Drawings For Blender Projects

I have been using DeltaCAD for my Computer Aided Drafting Projects for about 10+ years now.

As my Default Page Setup for my DeltaCAD Drawings, I have created a “Grid Page” Layer; and, I use the “Snap To Grid” Option for all of my DeltaCAD Projects.

Depending upon the Project, I use 8-1/2"x11" (Letter) Paper; or, 8-1/2"x14" (Legal) Paper; and, the Grid Setting is either “0.1000” or “0.1250” (my version of DeltaCAD doesn’t do #.##### or #.###### Grid Detail). Thus, my version of DeltaCAD can’t accurately measure 1/32" (0.03125); which, is an issue for me concerning some of my DeltaCAD Projects.

The Blender 3D Window has a Grid System that is only accurately measureable from the Top View and Bottom View; and, there is no Grid System for the Left View and Right View and Front View and Back View.

Because I am dependent on using a Grid System for visualizing Object Porportions, I am wanting to use a Printout of my DeltaCAD Grid Layer for measuring my Blender Project Objects.

My DeltaCAD Drawings aren’t translatable to Non-DeltaCAD Applications; thus, I want to am scan my DeltaCAD “Grid Layer” Printout to create a Non-DeltaCAD Computer File that can be used by Blender.

?What File Extension should I be using for the Scanned DeltaCAD Printouts?

?How do I Load the Scanned DeltaCAD Printouts into my Blender Projects?

I tried to Attach my DeltaCAD Grid Layer Picture Files; but, I don’t have Permission to do so at this time. They currently are PNG Files.

add it on an Image and put it in background !

but you can set the grid number of lines in N panel!
but may not be the same size !

see
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.4/Reference/Windows/3D

you can set number of lines and sub lines and the size as you want !


happy bl

Actually, the PNG File classification is wrong.

They are JPEG Files with the “jpg” Extension.

I mess around with the Microsoft Paint Application every once in awhile. I used MS Paint to create my Forum Avatars; and, use the “png” Extension for the Files.

The Hyperlink doesn’t have the information that I am looking for.

?Which Layers appear above and below the other Layers?

MULTI-VEW DRAWING (Standard Technical Drafting Technique)


Okay…This is an old DeltaCAD 3.0 Drawing before I started using Layers in DeltaCAD 3.0.

The Diagonal Lines are where an Orthographic View will be placed within a Professional Technical Drawing using Multi-Views. However, these Diagonal Lines are typically used for Image Alignment within Technical Drawings.

ALL LAYERS ON


“OUTLINE” LAYER


Okay…I messed up with the Drawing Organization on this DeltaCAD 3.0 Project.

However, this DeltaCAD 3.0 Project is The Reason why I am interested in working with Blender to begin with.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Sorry for the poor quality Computer Imagery; however, the Printouts come out just fine.

do you want to make only 2D or do a real 3D models ?
in any case don’t think layers in blender are like layers in CAD!
if I remember well layers in CAD have color and line type

in blender layers are only another level where you can add objects!

the little cross on your dwg would be like the grid in blender !

also do you need to print these as dwg of a certain size like A4 A3?

did you check this E book

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/r.burke2/precision_modelling1.html

happy bl

I am trying to use a Multi-View (2D per View) to create a 3D Object that I may want to 3D Print.

Although my DeltaCAD Printouts aren’t Full-Scale (my Error in applying DeltaCAD to the Project), the actual DeltaCAD Computer Drawing is Full-Scale.

?What is “dwg”?

I don’t have Printers that can utilize USA standard size Drafting Papers like 17"x22" or 34"x44".

DeltaCAD Layers are like Transparent Sheets Of Papers. Each Layer you can Draw Lines & 2D Objects (Squares and Circles) and Add Text.

I assume that Blender Layers are like DeltaCAD Layers; but, Blender uses 3D Objects instead of Lines.

In DeltaCAD 3.0 (my version–the current DeltaCAD version is 8.0), Lines (aka Blender Objects) that are visible are based on which Layer is “Current”; and, which Layer that the last Line was created.

EXAMPLE:
_ I use the Layer Names “Grid” and “Layout” for all of my DeltaCAD Drawings. The “Grid” Layer is part of my DEFAULT.DC File. DeltaCAD automatally creates a Layer titled “Default” whenever DeltaCAD is opened.
_ Sometimes when I create a new DeltaCAD Project, I create a “Layout” Layer. The “Layout” Layer is used to organize the Views that I will be using in that particular DeltaCAD Project.
_ In the “BattleBot” Drawing (which isn’t Layered), the Squares where the Car is located is placed on the “Layout” Layer; and, the Car is drawn in another Layer (which for this Posting only, I’ll name “Object” Layer).
_ Concerning the “IsisHead” Drawing, the other Layers have different names; because, my additional Layer Names are specific to each DeltaCAD Project.
_ In the “BattleBot” Drawings, the “Object” Layer is created after the “Layout” Layer; thus, if you were to look at only the “Grid” Layer and the “Layout” Layer, the “Layout” Layer lines will hide the “Grid” Layer Lines.
_ If after creating the “Object” Layer, I added lines to the “Layout” Layer; then, the new lines in the “Layout” Layer will hide the Lines in the “Object” Layer.
_ To insure that all “Layout” Layer Lines hide the “Grid” Layer Lines and all “Object” Layer Lines hide the “Layout” Layer Lines and the “Grid” Layer Lines, you must…
_ - make the “Grid” Layer the Current & Only Layer and Select All Objects in the Grid Layer then Delete All Objects then Undo the Delete…
_ then…
_ - make the “Layout” Layer the Current & Only Layer and Select All Objects then Delete All Objects then Undo the Delete…
_ then…
_ - make the “Object” Layer the Current & Only Layer and Select All Objects then Delete All Objects then Undo the Delete.
_ To my knowledge, DeltaCAD 3.0 has no other means of organizing the Layers as to which Layer is “above” and “below” the other Layers.

I made this Posting before checking out your Hyperlink.

Blender allows 3D Objects to be made in each 2D View; which, is a bonus for my “IsisHead” Project.

I would not worry about the real dimensions in blender
as long as you have the right proportions you can always re scale afterward !

I assume that your drawings have only front side top view !
or do you also have other angle views ?

if there are 3D surfaces on your object it may be good to have other views to help make a 3D model

for 3D printing there are some sites that will give you what is required.

can you show the 3 view top side front so we can have an idea on the 3D model!

it should be possible to make the 3D model in blender.

happy bl

My DeltaCAD “IsisHead” Project is nowhere near completion.

At this time, there is only the Side View and the Front View; because, that is where my focus on the Head Structure has been.

However, I do envision having a Side View, a Front View, a Top View, a Back View, and a Bottom View for my DeltaCAD “IsisHead” Project.

Because Blender is a 3D Application, I was hoping to create a Blender 3D “IsisHead”.

Blender is better suited for my “IsisHead” Project than DeltaCAD; because, 3D Extrapolation is automatic in Blender; while, in DeltaCAD, 3D Extrapolation has to be made manually by the Draftsman (me).

?Why Rescale afterwards when one can create the Proper Scale at the start?

It has been my experience that Rescaling introduces flaws into the drawing. For Artistic Drawings like Video Games and Animation Movies, such flaws are acceptable. For Real World Item Production such flaws within the Technical Drawings and Architectural Drawings and Engineering Drawings are unacceptable; because, those flaws will result in Product Recalls for Consumer Products.

well if dimensions are normal in meters should not be a problem unless you scale by a very large values!
but using only blender would be easier I guess!

can you show us your head if you have a 2D model

happy bl

LOL…That is my Head Model at the present moment.

I am in the USA. I am 40-Something pushing 50. I use the Imperial Units because that is how I see things.

You are correct about the Metric System; and, the USA International Businesses does use the Metric System as Standard Measurement Units; but, I am not an International Business; and, I am located in the USA.

To be honest…I have 3 years of High School Technical Drafting Training and some Collegiate Architectural Drafting Training; and, I am a College Flunkie. My Drafting Training didn’t include Computer Aided Drafting; because, CAD was a relatively new Drafting Technology; but, I did see a Computer System loaded with Autocad LT in a Tech School before Dropping Out of its Drafting Courses.

My acquisition of DeltaCAD 3.0 was a fluke. Most CAD Applications at that time (in the 1990s) were in the $40.00 USA to $80.00 USA price range; and, required Computer Systems that were more powerful than what I had access to. I purchased DeltaCAD 3.0 in just a CD Case at a Best Buy store for only $10.00 USA; because, I made a spontaneous effort to looking at some CD Cases on a store shelf while looking for a Computer Game System that could be played on the weak Computer Systems that I access to. After the purchase, it was a number of years before I actually downloaded the DeltaCAD 3.o CD for the first time; and, began using DeltaCAD 3.0.

DeltaCAD 3.0 is generally too weak for all of my Drafting Projects because it can’t accurately measure 1/32"; thus, it can’t even measure 1/64" or 1/128". Most of my Drafting Projects don’t require 1/64" or 1/128" accuracy; but, 1/32" accuracy is sometimes needed for some tiny portion of my Drafting Projects.

Besides that, I only use about 10% of the features that DeltaCAD 3.0 has to offer; and, I am unfamiliar with about 80% to 90% of the features that DeltaCAD 3.0 has to offer.

As far as my “IsisHead” Project is concerned, I may be tackling a Drafting Project that is beyond my Drafting Skill Level.

I have been non-professionally studying Human Ethnicity since my Pre-Teen Years; and, I am doing my “IsisHead” Project based on what I do know about Human and Animal and Robotic Head Structures.

From what I have seen in the Video Tutorials on the Blender Website, the 3D Modeling of Humans & Human Heads isn’t compatible with where I am at concerning 3D Modeling of Humanoid Androids.

My current DeltaCAD 3.0 “IsisHead” Project is flawed; because, I messed up on the Layering Process. I hadn’t used DeltaCAD in awhile when I started the “IsisHead” Project.

Also, restricting myself to Full-Scale Drawings that can fit onto 8-1/2"x14" Legal Paper isn’t going to work. I am going to have to abandon my practice of limiting my DeltaCAD Drawings to Letter & Legal Paper dimensions, which I had been doing for 10+ years, to do my “IsisHead” Project properly.

I do believe that 3D Modeling is the way to go for my “IsisHead” Project; and, trying to do 3D Draftings on a 2D Platform like DeltaCAD 3.0 is only restricting myself. Before there were Computer Systems, 3D Modeling was only possible by using 2D Drawings that were made by hand. So, I shouldn’t be complaining; especially, since my father was a Degreed Hydraulic Engineer; and, an Expert Draftsman. I am nowhere near my father’s expertise on metallurgy and mathematics and Fluid Dynsmics.

What I should probably do…Is get a block of clay and a clay knife; then, whittle down the clay block till I get what I am looking for in Head Structure & Detail.

The actual details that I am looking for in the “IsisHead” Project is actually a composite of many different Human Head Structures.

Examples would include Gwen Iffil and Nichelle Nichols and Heather Hunter; and, I have zero pictures or drawings for use as references.


would this help?


this is how it looks left and right. let me know so I can send you the .blend file.

Orthographic Top / Bottom / Left / Right/ Front / Back all have the grid system and look exactly like your image. What you describe as a plane describing ground level and not straight on view sounds like you are in perspective view. Toggle between the two with numpad 5. The view you are in is also shown in the top left corner of the 3d view. Have you also tried Quad view http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.6/Manual/3D_interaction/Navigating/3D_View#Quad_View

Yea…However, your Vertical Grids appear to be Off-Center to the Default Horizontal Grid; and, the Grid Lines don’t appear to be properly aligned to the Default Grid. But, that may be just due the Computer Graphics from that particular Image Perspective.

In terms of Layering; and, using the Blender Default Monkey Image…

If one was to create an opaque Blue Monkey on Layer 1 with Origin at X=0,Y=0,Z=0; then, create an opaque Yellow Monkey on Layer 2 with Origin at X=0,Y=0,Z=0; then, create an opaque Red Monky on Layer 3 with Origin at X=0,Y=0,Z=0…within DeltaCAD 3.0 and viewing All Layers, the Blue Monkey would be hidden by the Yellow Monkey and the Blue Monkey & Yellow Monkey would be hidden by the Red Monkey.

Within DeltaCAD 3.0 and Viewing All Layers, if the Yellow Monkey’s Origin was X=1,Y=0,Z=0; and, the Red Money’s Origin was X=0,Y=1,Z=0; then, the Yellow Monkey would hide most of Blue Monkey based on the X-Axis Offset; and, the Red Monkey would hide most of the Blue Monkey based on the Y-Axis Offest; and, the Red Monkey would hide most of the Yellow Monkey based on the X-Axis & Y-Axis Offset.

However, if the Blue Monkey in Layer 1 was created after the Yellow Monkey in Layer 2 and the Red Monkey in Layer 3; then within DeltaCAD 3.0, the Blue Monkey in Layer 1 would hide the Yellow Monkey and the Red Monkey based on the Origins and X-Axis,Y-Axis,Z-Axis Offsets of all the Monkeys.

In DeltaCAD 3.0 you can select which Layers are to be seen and not seen; as well as, which Layers are to be Printed and Not Printed.

I haven’t done this Blender Test as of yet; but, it should be simple to do.

you can set active layers on the bottom header !

one thing here if you want a more powerful and free CAD there is one I think and it is called freecad !
and probably 10 times better then the old one you are using.

but for doing a head in 3D I would not even bother using a CAD soft just use Blender !

as a model try to find some pic on internet that you like and
may be look at Blenswap models u might find a model you like there and it is free.
There are several site that show how to make a nice head topology.

Now are you going to do some animation with this Head model ?
if so then it will require a very good topology for nice deformations.
otherwise topology is not that important.

happy bl

happy bl

how well do you know blender ?

if you need some intro tut to using the basics let us know
there are some good intro tut to blender out there!

happy bl