I feel like Shapr3d is becoming worse with every update.
I use the second to latest IPad Pro to model and a Logitech laptop to export and slice the files and ever since the history update was introduced I have experienced data loss and project corruption, leading to me loosing hours of work. Not to mention the fact that I can’t even delete my old sketches because if I do, every subsequent modification becomes fucked up. I wouldn’t mind keeping the sketches in a hidden folder if it weren’t for the fact that they still count as elements in the projects, making the project itself bigger and slowing my device. It has gotten to a point where Shapr keeps on crashing (on my iPad) while I try to open my latest project because there are too many complex sketches. My question is why introduce such a feature when it only brings drawbacks? And at the bare minimum you should allow users to toggle history based designing on and off.
You also made the fillet/chamfer tool way worse to use on IPad. Before I could just select an edge and move my apple pen up or down thus crating a fillet or a chamfer. Now I have to manually select either the fillet and the chamfer and then slide my pen across the screen to modify the object. My question is once again why. Why modify a feature that was working great before and turn it into something that takes more time to use and is more annoying?
I want to end this by thanking my university for allowing me to use the pro version for free, because I wouldn’t pay a single cent for a program that I feel like is actively cannibalizing itself.
I agree we should be able to disable the history stuff as it has slowed the app down on all my devices. My iMac used to tear through any project but since history it can be real sluggish. Also in agreement with the sketch deletion, I get really annoyed when it also deletes the body it is associated with, it never used to do this.
I haven’t tried the new chamfer tool as I cancelled my subscription until I need to use it again. If only we could get a cheaper subscription, maybe a hobbyist tier without any of the history…
Yeah, the whole forced update was a deal-breaker for me, including the snark and gaslighting towards people who had real concerns.
The way sketches are now handled contributes to most of the clunkiness. For instance, I have been designing a machine, and I go into isolation mode to create or modify a new component. Often, this component will be behind an existing component, which is why I isolate it. But now, too often I create a sketch and modify something, but now the sketch is in the way. People always say hide them, but not only is the sketch already “hidden” in the items list, it really isn’t hidden in the real world.
So, I have to go out of isolation mode to make the sketch disappear, then find the components I want to isolate again, and get back to work.
At first I was also skeptical towards parametric history, but it does make you a better modeler with time. Planning how to build a model will save you lots of time when you want to change it. Now, I create construction planes a lot more often and try to keep my model dynamic with the right order of operations. It makes changes super easy, whereas I previously had to make ugly changes or keep copies all over the place.
With that said, I would imagine the next logical step being variables, assemblies and joints…?
As new user i agree. There is no way to easily duplicate an object so i can make a variation of it. So i have to redraw. That is NOT acceptable for a nearly $300/year product to have some many design flaws. i will not be renewing my use of it.
Sad that the free TinkerCAD has many superior capabilities and FAR BETTER User Interface that a $300/yr program and from what i can tell from the forums the developer doesn’t care about fixing fundamental issues with the product.
Maybe because you are new user you don’t know how to copy an body or sketch and edit that. That doesn’t mean S3D can’t do that. In fact it is really easy.
You just du Move/Rotate, or Transfer action and click Copy and you have that. You can also click on “chains” to un-parent mash from its original.
I hope this help you and you find that this tool is much better than you think. And it is still in development so be patient:)
I finally it figured out and thanks for post as well! BUT my fundamental issue still stands. The way to copy folders and objects is not intuitive and violates multiple rules for UI design
You can not copy folders as far as I can tell (next post by jean-philippe2 show how to do that. but it definitely is not obvious).
You should be able to select an object, right click select copy or edit menu->copy. Neither work
The application violates commonly used UI paradigms for no clear reason.
thank you that works. but again my fundamental point is that it is NOT how good UI design is done. it is inconsistent with 30 years of how people expect a UI to behave.
i should be able to select a folder, go to Edit->Copy and then decide where to place it
Agreed, and with @Dayton3D etc too. I’m a veteran software designer & developer, wrote my own 2D CAD app in 1984! Been using Shapr3D since it was first available. (We also dabbled with Autodesk Fusion as developers.) When it was launched, Shapr was ground breaking because it exploited the iPad touch screen & Apple Pencil to create a fun & intuitive experience, although the learning curve on sketching was tough at first due to the odd way it worked until they thankfully made it more natural. All was good for a few years, then things went downhill with the parametric upgrade. We’re using Shapr on on an iPad and two PCs, once with an RTX 4060, the other with the ultra speedy 4090. Shapr now takes ages to load, and as others have said, if you delete sketches, you lose work. Fusion allows you to disable history mode, and whilst not as intuitive, is immensely powerful. My tip is to use Shapr for creating parts/components, (quicker, more fun!), and then Fusion to build out your final super duper machine. Now we have licenses for both, we model each component individually in Shapr and/or Fusion and then import them into the master (Fusion) file, so any changes made are reflected across our assembly. It’s all about workflow and using the best tool for the job. We have even created an internal 3D workflow guide to remind us how to do things like import into Blender from Shapr, which sometimes requires Fusion! If you are into serious CAD, you’re going to need more than one app as the do it all perfectly CAD app has yet to arrive. My educated guess as to why there are issues with Shapr are that they have bitten off more than they can chew by starting out with an intuitive iPadOS app, and are now competing with apps developed over decades on workstations. This is not a reason to stop using Shapr, just include more tools in your workshop. No money? Engage student mode!
This is my biggest annoyance for years: so many features that only a small subset of users use - and no option for everyone else to disable them! And the tenor always resonates: ‘We know better than you what’s good for you’.
In the ‘technical world’, Shapr3D is perhaps the biggest disappointment I have ever experienced. Why is that? Just as I was starting to get into 3D design, Shapr3D entered the scene. A few weeks earlier, I started to familiarize myself with SolidEdge - with the help of a good friend who works with it professionally, it worked quite well. But it was hard! And then came Shapr along … what a relief, what a wonderful ease and simplicity. My head was completely free for the creative aspect. But as Foreigner sings so beautifully: ‘That was yesterday’. Today, working in Shapr is mainly about avoiding cliffs, finding ways to ‘get it done anyway’.
An example: every user probably has a ‘favorite set’ of tools or commands that they like to use over and over again. For me, ‘Add - Construction Plane - Along Edge at Angle’ was one of the most frequently used functions right from the start. Until one day those three small planes in the center of the coordinate system made their appearance … ‘Along Edge at Angle’ used to ask me for a line and an angle. It couldn’t have been simpler. Now it asks for a line … and a tap on one of these three planes. But woe betide you if the line is not parallel to at least one of these planes but instead intersects all three axes (across the universe). In this case, my beloved function simply no longer works. Just like that - without necessity, without improving anything at all.
Or the grid, which in a certain version suddenly started to no longer be fix on the ground but on the plane you are currently drawing on. I’m sure there are people who prefer it that way - for me it turns my stomach around. I have a 1:1 replica in my head and that’s exactly how I imagine the scene, I know at all times how I have to move and turn my world or my object to achieve what I want to achieve. The ‘dynamic grid’ destroys this world in my head to a certain extent.
I’m sure there are 100 other reasons to be sad. And all this is the reason why I only use Shapr3D occasionally - even though I pay for the business subscription every year.
I would really give a lot to be able to simply install an older version (then without warranty etc.) as it is possible with other software-products - I would travel back in time a long way …
!
