Just wondering if we should be learning how to use the Parametric software?
Is Shapr3d going to be shifting from how it is now to history based in the future?
I use this for work. I just need to know if Shapr3d will be shifting totally in the future.
Thank you.
Hi Ida,
They have stated that once the HBPM beta is released, that will be the only version. You can still do direct modeling with a few differences as it is today, but parametric opens up some great features. There are some good tutorials here:
Well, it’s not ready for prime time yet. I have not been wildly impressed so far; the Beta has issues. I don’t like that you have to retain all sketches so as to not break the parametric history chain. My fix is a dump folder with all the sketches blinded,but it piles up. The folders I like, but the interface needs some tweaks, still find I have to break my flow to get to name changes, etc. the sharing function has been inoperable, which is super frustrating. Simply unusable, which is a huge step backwards. Drawings are still not perfect, cartoonish. Im still having to export to SketchUp to make my blueprints, which is fine if my design is perfect and requires no fixes, but how often does that happen?
I can see this will get worked out, but the Beta felt rough and it required more mental effort to use. I hope the team doesn’t rush to get it online, it’s not there yet.
As @Bob3DPO said, it’s indeed the direction we’re going towards. We don’t plan to have two separate apps or two separate “modes” rather one single app that is capable of history-based parametric design, but still allows you to perform direct modeling operations as flexibly and intuitively as it’s possible today. But if you don’t (yet) want to make use of the parametric feature set, there’s not much new stuff to learn: apart from the permanent connection between sketches and bodies and which tools we offer by default, there the parametric version is completely identical to the direct modeling one until you open the history sidebar.
@Hammerhand, thanks for the feedback. Can I ask a few follow-up questions?
I don’t like that you have to retain all sketches so as to not break the parametric history chain. My fix is a dump folder with all the sketches blinded,but it piles up.
Is my assumption correct that in the live version you tend to delete the sketches, right? Why do you do that?
the sharing function has been inoperable, which is super frustrating. Simply unusable, which is a huge step backwards.
Have you reported the issue to our Support team or here in the forums? If not, could you describe the issue? We have not received reports of problems around this from others so far, so it’d be important to investigate it.
Drawings are still not perfect, cartoonish. Im still having to export to SketchUp to make my blueprints, which is fine if my design is perfect and requires no fixes, but how often does that happen?
Is this in general about the drawings functionality in Shapr3D, or were there things that worked in the live version but not in the parametric one?
Looks like i have to start playing around with it.
I don’t like that you have to retain all sketches so as to not break the parametric history chain. My fix is a dump folder with all the sketches blinded,but it piles up.
Is my assumption correct that in the live version you tend to delete the sketches, right? Why do you do that?
I actually delete sketches all the time too. Its kind of annoying having visible sketches and I did not realize it breaks the chain - or something will happen to it when i break it.
Will have to sit down one weekend and go through the tutorials.
Fusion 360 doesn’t allow deletion of sketches either, but it does provide a Remove option that keeps it in the history but removes it from view. It should be fairly easy to add a “visible” flag to the internal representation of a sketch and a corresponding operation to do that.
What’s annoying about having them there? Do you ever hide them instead of deleting them?
The more sketches there are, the more jams there are for equipment, especially for complex sketches.
Maybe something was lost in translation, could you elaborate on what you mean by “jams for equipment”? Do you mean performance problems, a slowdown of the app?
Performance caton
I noticed something similar when i imported a stp file with included sketches. If i moved or rotated it, i got a big breakdown in performance and loading time. I got no problems when i deleted the sketches first. Then i was able to move and rotate the body instantly.
I delete them all the time, or I used to, when I could. I have complex models and assemblies, and the sketches, until now, were useless after they had served their purpose. If I needed them back, I could always project onto a plane.
Also, the items panel gets very cluttered with hundreds of redundant sketches, so why keep them?
Now, it appears there’s no option. Could you let me know your strategy for dealing with hundreds of sketches in a drawing, which I’m now prohibited from deleting?
I need to use this program for productive work tomorrow, how long do you think it’s going to take me to re-learn the program? I’ve been using this for three years now, so there’s some un-learning to suffer too. Is there a tutorial for those who need to transition from the old version to the new version, or are all the tutorials designed for those who need to learn from scratch?
I typically create a Sketches folder and move all my sketches in there. To hide all sketches, simply hide the folder.
I’m also on the “delete all the sketches” team. Or at least there’s should be an option to automatically hide sketches from Items bar. It’s very annoying when I have hundreds of bodies.
That and the copy in-place missing feature. Two trivial features that somehow are missing…
I understand that wouldn’t solve your problem totally but you can use filters to see only bodies for now.
One feature which might make things a little bit les unwieldy might be to have a single button to move an item to the top or the bottom of a folder.
It’s a huge amount of manual work to move an item from the bottom of a file tree to the top when you have hundreds of items embedded in the existing file structure.
Finding hidden items in a complex file structure is likely one of the reasons I’ve been deleting items rather than hiding them.
Im sure this is a great solution for those who model a single component, but this need a lot more work to make it functional from a ux perspective.
Plus, it requires me unlearning all my workarounds, and quite likely, implementing some more
That’s what folders are for. Group like elements together. And folders can be nested.
That kinda works. If I show only bodies, when I select a folder that have a body and a image, the folder selected only selects the body. That means I can’t move the folder with all of its children, only the bodies.
This is exactly as it should work.
Just choose “All items” in filter for that purpose.
Just get used to to keep order in your items panel. Sort all your sketches, bodies etc in appropriate folders.
I usually start my projects from creating two folders for bodies and sketches then I just expand that hierarchy to more complex.
I do something similar, but first create them the first time I need them. I sometimes don’t create a folder for bodies but almost always do for sketches. Then to get all the sketches out of view, I simply hide the Sketches folder, which hides all the sketches contained therein.