3D Software and Hardware Tools

Karen Henry 3D Design Short Article

Just a few short thoughts on 3D. 

3D software tools are different to 2D tools. 2D includes tools such as photo editing and image editing software.

3D Software

3D software is used to make 3D products in virtual reality.

Examples of this software include:

  • AutoCAD
  • 3DS Max - 3D Animation/Designing Software
  • SketchUp - from Google
  • Blender - Blender is free and open source software, available to download from Blender.org

Once you have a 3D files you can either use this to make real-world products or visualise real-world products.

3D designs created in a 3D software package such as AutoCAD, 3D Max, Blender, or other 3D visualisation software tool

3D Printing

3D printing is a revolutionary way to produce small plastic-based products directly at the point of need. 

The requirements for 3D printing are:

  • A 3D printer
  • Plastic wire for melting by the printer
  • 3D designs

3D Controllers

3D control is a technology to allow humans to interact with computers using three-dimensional input controllers. Traditionally 2D controllers such as mouse controllers, rollerball controllers, pen and tablet technologies have been used by humans to send input commands to software. Examples include:

  • Leapmotion Controller
  • Tilt Brush Controller

Advantages of 3D Software modeling

The following are some of the advantages of using 3D software for modeling and prototyping.

  • Lower cost of building larger prototypes
  • Rapid Prototyping
  • Easy to change colours
  • Using NURBS easy to bend and model virtual metals
  • What you see is what you get
  • Change textures and surface reflections
  • Place models in different environments
  • Animate characters and models
  • Experiment with different lighting


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