Hi there. I am new to this forum so I hope I am going about this the right way. I was wondering if anyone knows of a company or freelance person that does sign design using 3D software like Solidworks or AutoCad 3D? We have more and more needs for 3D design and I wanted to explore options of farming out this work instead of bringing someone in house to do it. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
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3D Design
- Thread starter Matt1975
- Start date
Big Rice Field
Electrical/Architectural Sign Designer
Big Rice Field
Electrical/Architectural Sign Designer
I am a freelance designer with a drafting background. Ii can render isometric drawings using Corel Draw.
Thanks for your reply. I visited your website, very impressive but I am not seeing anything that is quite what I am looking for. I am a manufacturing guy and not a designer so forgive me for not speaking the same language. What I am looking for is someone capable of making an exploded drawing where are the parts can be labeled with material type and cut size. Are you able to do that in Corel?
Yeahgor
Born to be The Designer.
Sir, can you explain me more about your needs. Are you need 3D mockups for customer presentations or exact production draft files for CNC routers and 3D printing?
Hi there. We are a custom sign manufacturer, we do all kinds of projects. Our current prints are not detailed enough for me, they are more of a guide that shows what the finished product is supposed to look like with dimensions. It takes a highly skilled metal fabricator to take the prints we use and turn it into a finished product. I am trying to achieve a higher level of detail that breaks that finished product down into every individual piece complete with quantities, material types and dimensions. If I could achieve that level of detail with my prints then maybe the guy fabricating the sign doesn't have to be so highly skilled, these workers are proving difficult to find.
Evan Gillette
New Member
Welcome to the forum. I have a similar background (mechanical engineering with a wide variety of manufacturing experience) and might be able/willing to help you out. I have experience with most of the cad packages (solidworks, autocad, ProE, Fusion360, onshape, and even some catia back in the day) as well as several graphic software (flexi, adobe) so I have a good understanding of their purpose and function. Send me a PM and I can get you direct contact info so we can discuss a trial project. I am also interested in developing a similar system, the industry certainly seems to be lacking in this area but there are some good reasons for that as well.
Yeahgor
Born to be The Designer.
Ian Stewart-Koster
Older Greyer Brushie
Wow... forgive me for saying so, but I'm wondering if you are overthinking it.
Detailled drawings of methods and attachments and tabs etc might relate to one material alone and not another.
Where metals might be folded or welded, acrylic might be glued or solid. Timber might be different again.
The worst jobs I've had is where the architect sends 3D drawings and tried to tell you how it is to be made, instead of the finished look wanted- because invariably those drawings began with someone who thought one was was better than another, and their inexperience in a specific field, shows up. The drawings looked great to an amateur, but were a waste of time in the workshop.
eg wanting folded and welded stainless steel letters, then painted in 2-pack urethane, at 3" tall, to be mounted 10 feet high up a wall.
Seriously, solid 25mm lasered acrylic, and painted in automotive acrylic lacquer to the right colour, then a 2k clearcoat was far simpler and cheaper for the same look and durability. Solid routed 32mm acrylic is OK too.
If you are not careful, the time spent drawing unneeded detail adds cost for the client but achieves nothing when the fabricator knows their job better than the designer/draughtsman.
My first reaction when an architect sends something overdrawn is "can't I do it my way?" "Why?" "Well why did they draw this when that is what is really needed?" "Oh, ok then..." "Thanks".
Other times I've been sent a drawing that worked at 18" tall. but when scaled down to 3", did not work at all due to impractical material thicknesses. Or I was told they wanted 2 ft high solid acrylic @ 2" thick letters, indoors, when fabricating hollow ones would have been better.
I've had architects specify marine plywood, to be painted in 2k urethane in a set colour specified edge treatment etc- that I can buy alupanel in already the right colour, and just fold the edges.
Yesterday I was asked if we can laser tasmanian oak for a shop fascia 4 metres up in the air.
I said yes, but by the time you get the right stuff in a veneer, and the laser will make it a light brown not the black wanted, you will need to mask and spray it, then seriously seal the charcoal & lasered edges etc etc - you might as well use a wood-grain alupanel, and plotted cast vinyl letters - or mask and spray it in paint as from street level, no one will appreciate the difference except the person making and affixing it.
Too much wrong detail is worse than not enough!
If someone wants a 3D rendition, I provide a 2D rendition, plus a photo of a similar finished 3D job we've done that way. Reality is better than software fanciness, to me!
But we use Corel and Enroute if we need to show something - plus Photoshop.
Detailled drawings of methods and attachments and tabs etc might relate to one material alone and not another.
Where metals might be folded or welded, acrylic might be glued or solid. Timber might be different again.
The worst jobs I've had is where the architect sends 3D drawings and tried to tell you how it is to be made, instead of the finished look wanted- because invariably those drawings began with someone who thought one was was better than another, and their inexperience in a specific field, shows up. The drawings looked great to an amateur, but were a waste of time in the workshop.
eg wanting folded and welded stainless steel letters, then painted in 2-pack urethane, at 3" tall, to be mounted 10 feet high up a wall.
Seriously, solid 25mm lasered acrylic, and painted in automotive acrylic lacquer to the right colour, then a 2k clearcoat was far simpler and cheaper for the same look and durability. Solid routed 32mm acrylic is OK too.
If you are not careful, the time spent drawing unneeded detail adds cost for the client but achieves nothing when the fabricator knows their job better than the designer/draughtsman.
My first reaction when an architect sends something overdrawn is "can't I do it my way?" "Why?" "Well why did they draw this when that is what is really needed?" "Oh, ok then..." "Thanks".
Other times I've been sent a drawing that worked at 18" tall. but when scaled down to 3", did not work at all due to impractical material thicknesses. Or I was told they wanted 2 ft high solid acrylic @ 2" thick letters, indoors, when fabricating hollow ones would have been better.
I've had architects specify marine plywood, to be painted in 2k urethane in a set colour specified edge treatment etc- that I can buy alupanel in already the right colour, and just fold the edges.
Yesterday I was asked if we can laser tasmanian oak for a shop fascia 4 metres up in the air.
I said yes, but by the time you get the right stuff in a veneer, and the laser will make it a light brown not the black wanted, you will need to mask and spray it, then seriously seal the charcoal & lasered edges etc etc - you might as well use a wood-grain alupanel, and plotted cast vinyl letters - or mask and spray it in paint as from street level, no one will appreciate the difference except the person making and affixing it.
Too much wrong detail is worse than not enough!
If someone wants a 3D rendition, I provide a 2D rendition, plus a photo of a similar finished 3D job we've done that way. Reality is better than software fanciness, to me!
But we use Corel and Enroute if we need to show something - plus Photoshop.
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Thanks for your thoughts. In my scenario the specs, construction methods, materials will not be coming from a designer or architect but from our production team. I just want someone who can draw it for me in 3D.
I have created for you the future of Signs101. Don't ask me as to what type of service they offer. Took a whole 8 minutes to design this complex beast and render it on my computer.
Making the interior parts with all the fasteners/welds/extrusions/lights/power supplies etc is what takes forever to make. Unless the supplied 2D files have parts drawn correctly from all the sides which makes the process much easier.
Making the interior parts with all the fasteners/welds/extrusions/lights/power supplies etc is what takes forever to make. Unless the supplied 2D files have parts drawn correctly from all the sides which makes the process much easier.
Attachments
GaSouthpaw
Profane and profane accessories.
I always figured a production drawing (what I call 'em, anyway) was a standard part of the plan set for sign manufacturing. Not a big deal if you're strictly decals or post & panel, but required when you're doing anything with multiple components. It's a part of what I do for every complex package- spec'cing out materials, electrical, fastening methods, etc. Attached is an example of what I'm referring to, and it's by no means as detailed as they sometimes get- this was just demonstrate to the customer the methodology. Depending on your volume of work, you might be better off hiring someone to do this in-house but you'll have to find someone who actually knows how signs are constructed- not just a layout person.
(EDITED TO ADD)
Scrolling through Big Rice Field's stuff- if some of those aren't detailed enough, I'd almost wonder if maybe your fabricators might need some more training. Parts are spelled out, cut sheets for items, radii identified, etc. That should be plenty of info.
(EDITED TO ADD)
Scrolling through Big Rice Field's stuff- if some of those aren't detailed enough, I'd almost wonder if maybe your fabricators might need some more training. Parts are spelled out, cut sheets for items, radii identified, etc. That should be plenty of info.
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Big Rice Field
Electrical/Architectural Sign Designer
IT sounds like you need a designer that can make pattern files for routing machines. This can be done in Corel Draw as full size vectors that can be exported to FLexiSIgn or other CAD CAM programs.
Hi can you recommend a design software to use on a CNC router.
Evan Gillette
New Member
Depends what the majority of your use is, but I would start by looking at vectric products