Atlas City Project

Moderator feel free to move this topic to the appropriate location and delete this sentence.

1. I need to start putting my design concepts about mechanical engineering down into some repository.
Where is the document repository? (Sorry - I'm new)

2. I also need a free / open source tool to create / view these mechanical designs.
What I'm looking for is a 3D designer / immersive viewer that is aware of precision (built with this task in mind) and specifically, enables parts to stay together (like being snapped together) when dragging or moving. For example, it would be aware that a hole bored into a part is part of that part, and not just another free-moving, free-floating shape in the drawing. (AutoCad lite for the layperson)

My initial need is to design these modular housing units, since they are way more than just walls, they are really more like components. But I can see how such a tool would catch on for other engineering efforts by non-engineers (such as myself), for example, designing a factory floor.

I'm not an engineer, so I would need a tool that has an intuitive interface and does not assume industry knowledge. And if it could export to fancier tools for use by professional engineers so much the better.

This may not be what I'm looking for...

Sweet Home 3D is a free interior design application
that helps you place your furniture on a house 2D plan, with a 3D preview.

www.sweethome3d.com/index.jsp

Google SketchUp
Intuitive, fun and free for anyone to use
Model anything you can imagine.
Redecorate your living room. Invent a new piece of furniture. Model your city for Google Earth. There's no limit to what you can create with SketchUp.

http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/

Here is sketchup used in an engineering context:
https://picasaweb.google.com/gallery.sketchup/Engineering#slideshow/5345371997055638658

My question is, do you need the pro version to make parts aware of one another?

I had a hard time positioning parts, boring holes, etc. and have it respect those relationships in the free edition, but maybe I'm missing something. I'll start watching some training videos at
sketchup.google.com/intl/en/training/videos.html

Maybe I just need a good tutorial on it or a "Engineering in Sketchup: for non-professionals" book.

Google SketchUp & SketchUp Pro Bible
www.amazon.com/Google-SketchUp-Pro-Bible/dp/0470292296/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297862906&sr=1-11

Google Sketchup Cookbook: Practical Recipes and Essential Techniques
www.amazon.com/Google-Sketchup-Cookbook-Practical-Techniques/dp/0596155115/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297862906&sr=1-3

Google SketchUp 8 For Dummies
www.amazon.com/Google-SketchUp-Dummies-Aidan-Chopra/dp/0470916826/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297862906&sr=1-4

FreeCAD

FreeCAD is a general purpose Open Source 3D CAD/MCAD/CAx/CAE/PLM modeler, aimed directly at mechanical engineering and product design but also fits in a wider range of uses around engineering, such as architecture or other engineering specialties. It is a feature-based parametric modeler with a modular software architecture which makes it easy to provide additional functionality without modifying the core system.
FreeCAD is based on OpenCasCade, a powerful geometry kernel, features an Open Inventor-compliant 3D scene representation model provided by the Coin 3D library, and a broad python API. The interface is built with Qt. FreeCAD runs exactly the same way on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux platforms.

sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/free-cad/index.php?title=Main_Page

Anyone experience this one?
This one looks like it has all the engineering awareness and power.
How easy is this to use?

to tell you the truth I am not familiar with the software mechanical engineers use for their work.

i could tell you the software us computer and electrical engineers use for circuits though!

good luck in your quest for software.

So you don't have experience in these programs? As an engineer, did you have CAD training?

I like engineering, but never got the opportunity to go to school for it.

Which raises a good question:
Is there an engineering drawing for beginners text that anyone would recommend?
A few concepts might go a long way...

This is freecad. It bombs alot and it took me an hour just to do this:



I guess I could get faster I suppose.

I'm used to 2D drawing where you select an area and hit delete, and there's your hole.

Rotating and positioning 2 objects in the right relationship in 3d space is what is so hard.

Google SketchUp 8
This only took 15 minutes and was a lot easier.



After another 30 minutes, I can do pipes:

Nice. That seems much easier. I almost began learning that a while ago, but with little graphic background it all seemed Greek to me.

If you are designing mechanical element of building sevices (plumbing, ventilation, etc), you only need to develop schematics in 2 dimension (usually top down view), instead of full 3 dimensional rendition. Usually we use AutoCAD (because it's popular -_-"), but i think freecad is adequate. The site engineer then implement the schematic in realistic form (but still no need for full 3-dimensional rendition) during construction.

If for pure mechanical engineering (designing car, engine, aircraft etc) then 3-dimensional diagram is important.

I think it gives the general public a better idea of what it may look like.