Check out the guidelines below and if you think you've got a model that we need then clone the repo, add it in and send us a pull request! As we go forward, every product that has a 3D model will get a special icon (like the OSHW or RoHS icons) as well as a link to the model.
Of course, we need structured feedback, so here's the plan: We've set up a GitHub repository for 3D models. We have a lot of questions: What file types are most universal? What software are people using? Are people using these for 3D printing or virtual prototyping? Can we get some help? Nate (our fearless leader) sprung this idea on us a few weeks ago and since then we've been working on ways to approach it. Right now, we're a small team: Paul (Our Minister of Machinery), Nic (Graphic+Motion Design Extraordinaire) and myself. It turns out that more and more of you are either doing this or are interested in doing it, so we decided to help out by providing 3D models for some of our products that we think need them most. And with the advent of desktop 3D printing, you can even design a custom enclosure specific to your project and have it in your hands within a few hours! If I can make models of the different boards and sensors, I can experiment with different layouts without ever cutting holes in a real enclosure. One use that I've found for it is in modeling an enclosure for my electronics projects. Often it helps me figure out whether or not to pursue a project in real life, sometimes it's satisfying enough just to model something. Modeling something in 3D has become an integral part of the design process for me. It satisfies my urge to create while I'm stuck in a decidedly "screwdriver free" environment. I don't know what you do on a long airplane ride, but I like to get out my laptop and fire up SketchUp. My personal favorite is SketchUp, which was developed at Google and recently acquired by Trimble. Now? Now you can go download any number of free 3D CAD programs and start virtually prototyping. The first time I saw 3D CAD software, it blew my mind. You were still limited to flat cross-sections, though, if you wanted to describe a 3D surface.
Some math was still involved but getting an idea from your head to the page was a lot more intuitive.
By the time I started using CAD, it was a click-and-drag sort of operation.
Only a few decades ago you had to use CAD (Computer Aided Design) software without a mouse, typing every coordinate and describing every curve. Even the mathematics to describe curves in a computable way is fairly young. That makes sense, I suppose, because computers haven't been around for very long. Computer drafting technology has come a long way in just a short time.
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