Para profesional maupun hobiis di bidang embedded computer applications membutuhkan referensi untuk memecahkan berbagai masalah di bidang yang berkembang pesat ini. Circuit Cellar adalah satu-satunya majalah yang secara gamblang dan komplit mengupas seluk beluk hardware serta software untuk embedded-control systems.
Analisis dan solusi yang ditawarkan Circuit Cellar telah menginspirasi para insinyur maupun peminat embedded computer applications untuk merancang aneka peralatan yang akan mempengaruhi masa depan kita. Siapa saja pembaca Circuit Cellar? Circuit Cellar terdistribusi hampir ke seluruh dunia dan dibaca oleh para insinyur, mahasiswa, maupun hobiis yang berminat merancang dan memproduksi sistem-sistem embedded , baik dari sisi hardware maupun software.
Para pembaca setia Circuit Cellar tahu betul bahwa mereka tidak salah memilih panduan. Jadi, jika Anda ingin serius belajar embedded computer applications , inilah koleksi majalah terbaik untuk Anda. Sirobotika menyediakan koleksi lengkap majalah Circuit Cellar, mulai dari edisi tahun hingga edisi terbaru tahun Produk sejenis juga dapat Anda beli di sini. Harga: Rp The answer is that the LDraw file format allows us to store both parts for the library and models made out of parts from the library in the same format.
Figure 3. You then need a program that allows you to put them together. Finally, you need a file format to store your finished models. By designing the LDraw file format so that it can also be used to define the LEGO parts in the library allowing programs to use finished models as parts or submodels of larger models , James set up a virtuous cycle.
Virtuous cycles are composed of elements organized in such a way that they reinforce each other automatically, strengthening the system as it is used. By setting up LDraw as shown in Figure 3.
The LDraw executable was actually the program that read the files. Users of the initial release of LDraw had to type the model files into a text editor. When LDraw read those files, it produced an image of the model on the computer screen. This by itself was pretty revolutionary because it let LEGO fans share their creations among each other in a way that had not been possible since LEGO was first created. Even this limited software release was enough to plant the seed for the cycle to take place.
Along with the initial LDraw executable, Jessiman included a parts library with three parts in it and the specifications for the file format. These parts have been rendered in LDraw we added the name lettering with an outside program.
Not surprisingly, these initial parts were virtual replicas of the first brick types that gave birth to the LEGO system as we know it today. The seed was in the file format: If the users liked the program and there was no reason for them not to , they would inevitably start contributing parts to the library, since they would need the parts for their own creations.
The more parts in the library, the more attractive the cycle became to new users and the more potential developers there were to add parts to the existing library. From the original release of three parts, the library now holds well over 2, official parts today, with many more constantly being developed in a peer-reviewed process. A Multitude of Resources Close to 10 years later, the LDraw system is not only healthy and growing, it has become much more sophisticated as well.
Several other programs have been developed to manipulate LDraw files. Format translators widen the possibilities available to us as modelers, because they allow us to interact with non-LDraw and non-LEGO-based applications. Strictly within the LDraw realm, things have changed quite a bit as well. The LDraw system is still used, but the actual model building is generally done via MLCad which we look at in the next three chapters or other similar programs that use the LDraw library and file format.
However, it is not only programs and new parts that have come out of the LDraw fan community. These new libraries will not store parts; instead, they will hold such diverse things as different effects that better simulate the conditions of real-life LEGO modeling or elements that allow users to better organize their models and create instruction steps for them.
Development on some of these components has already begun, with many more unexplored possibilities still to be realized. Similarly, in your first trips into the world of LDraw, you might not be completely aware of the complexity of the system you are using, either.
However, once you get your feet wet and gain a basic understanding of these programs, you will quickly see that there is a wealth of opportunity for those looking to take the next step. We finally decided to give readers a clear introductory path into the LDraw system and some of the major programs that have sprung up in its wake.
This being the case, we decided to mention but not cover in detail everything not directly related to the LDraw system. As the experienced users of the software know well, once you are aware of the basics, there are simply too many options to try and explore them all in detail. For that reason, we encourage the reader to explore the other resources mentioned in Chapter 10 of this book. In Chapter 10, the reader is exposed to information related to a fantastic fan community with a wealth of resources not easily matched in other hobbies.
Apart from being based in some way on products put out by the LEGO company, these elements all share another characteristic with LDraw: They are created by fans, for fans, and are offered free of charge. We apologize to the developers of some of these other LEGO-based programs for not reviewing their often excellent, unique, and incredibly engaging software in the detail it deserves.
Our main objective with this book is to introduce as many people as possible to the wonderful world of virtual LEGO-based modeling. It is our sincere belief that the LEGO community as a whole gets better as more people become involved. We think James Jessiman would agree.
This information is important for the first-time user because it is essential to understand that LDraw is the basic system that sustains the rest of the software described in this book. Although we do not directly use the LDraw program as we work through this book, we do use and rely on its file format and other key components.
The most important aspect of LDraw aside from its quality is the fact that it was created by a LEGO fan and thoroughly tested and further developed by other fans.
James Jessiman, creator of the original LDraw software, passed away at a young age. In LDraw, he has left behind a technical legacy of impressive elegance and absolute rigor. The system that Jessiman designed relies on three elements: a parts library, a program to create models, and a file format to store them. Jessiman started by designing a file format that, when completed, would allow the other two elements to happen naturally in the software development cycle. Since the file format accommodates parts from the library as well as models made of those parts, from the beginning there was the possibility to add new parts to the library, which made the program more attractive.
Thus, the more LDraw users, the better the LDraw system became. Today, the LDraw system has grown in both the number of parts in the library as well as the number of auxiliary programs, extensions to the file format, and a host of other goodies waiting for users to discover them. This approach has ultimately proved successful in both cases. It has already evolved quite a bit, and the future looks very bright. A Multitude of Resources ; LDraw is not only a highly successful software system; it is also a great exponent of the pool of resources available to LEGO fans.
Q: Is LDraw a program? The file format and the general program structure have outlived the executable itself as new applications based on it have been developed. Q: What is freeware? A: Freeware are programs whose authors have allowed their free use and distribution. They do not carry any moral obligation to pay for their use.
Not all freeware programs are open source. In fact, the LDraw program code is not public. But its file format is, which is a key element in its success. Q: Who created LDraw? Q: How can I get support for LDraw? In fact, the complicated questions posed on these sites are generally the ones that draw the most attention!
The concepts covered in this chapter are general working principles. It is useful to be aware even vaguely of them. Overall, the important message contained in this chapter is that the top quality we often take for granted in the LEGO and LDraw building systems is in fact deeply rooted in a very intelligent and accomplished design.
Take advantage of it! By the end of the chapter, you will be building virtual LEGO models on your computer screen. This chapter introduces you to the MLCad interface and basic modeling functions by walking you through the construction of a simple model. In a way, it might feel like you are playing a video game—a game that is both interactive and intuitive. Since MLCad features a very logical and simple-to-use interface, learning where all of the modeling tools are is a relatively easy chore.
One thing is for sure:You will never run out of parts! He regularly puts out new versions of the software and, more important, maintains a dialogue with MLCad users via the Lugnet forums. You can find out more details in Chapter For most people, some apparent wizardry is involved in creating 3D images inside a computer.
For practitioners, the real wizardry comes in the form of the actual programs created by enormously talented individuals such as James Jessiman and Michael Lachmann. They bring a tremendous amount of computer power to our desktops, harnessed in such an intuitive manner that all that is required of us is the desire to build something. All the puzzling and sophisticated mathematics involved with computer-aided design CAD are present in these applications, but we use them without being aware of them.
Magic indeed! The key point, however, is that everything we will use to create MLCad models—the tools, the models themselves, and the parts library—is accessed from a single console. Many functions require navigating through one or two additional dialog windows, but these will be very specific to the function. MLCad should start right up. MLCad has a single-screen interface layout, pictured in Figure 4.
It runs inside a window with the appropriate Window Close, Maximize, and Minimize buttons with which you are probably all too familiar. Even the toolbars exhibit some of the same icons you might recognize from other Windows applications. Of course, MLCad also has its own specific commands. You will learn about each of these commands in this and the next chapters. Figure 4. The main window consists of two areas.
The smallish gray area at the top holds the menu bar and the moveable toolbars. Think of this area as the place where you keep your tools. The bottom www. The two windows on the left, the Available Parts window and the Parts Preview window, allow you to browse and manage the parts library. The large section on the right that appears here as four white empty windows called panes in MLCad speak is known as the modeling area.
This is where you will visually build and manipulate your models. The window right above the modeling panes lists the parts for the active model that you are working on.
At the very bottom of the screen is a single gray line known as the status bar. This bar provides varied and often very useful information, depending on what is underneath your mouse pointer—for example, part names from the parts library, XYZ coordinates in the modeling panes, or information about commands used when navigating the toolbars. Any of the windows on the lower part of the screen can be resized to easily adapt the program to your needs.
You resize a window by placing the mouse pointer over the appropriate window frame the gray outline around each of the panes and then clicking and dragging it to resize the panes. In Figure 4. The mouse cursor changes to a four-pointed arrow icon and the new configuration is shown using gray lines. Once you let go of the mouse button, the frames from the previous configuration will disappear. To give the user a closer look at the model, one of the modeling panes has been resized to occupy much of the whole lower screen.
The two parts library windows have also been reduced. The toolbars but not the menu bar have been docked on all four sides of the screen, and one of them has been set floating in the modeling panes. These toolbars can also be turned on and off. This is a good example of how you can customize the main MLCad screen to suit your needs. The Main Toolbar The main toolbar shown in Figure 4. The first four buttons control the mode in which the program is running.
The next buttons set the size of the grid, which is a modeling aid. The number on each button indicates the zoom percentage; the higher the number, the higher the magnification, and thus the larger the model will appear in our screen.
The Zoom Fit button adjusts the zoom factor of each modeling pane so that a view of the complete model is shown in all of them.
As you will learn later on, MLCad is not only a virtual LEGO modeler; it also provides support for viewing the step-by-step instructions of the models. When viewing step-by-step instructions of the models, you navigate them using the first six buttons.
Official LEGO instructions are printed in booklets; using these buttons is the MLCad equivalent of flipping back and forth through the virtual pages of a set of instructions for a given model. The last three buttons are used to select parts of the model when you are editing it. You move them with the straight-arrow icons, in the X,Y, or Z axis as indicated. The buttons with curved arrows are used to rotate the parts in the same axes. The Enter Position and Rotation button at the far right opens a dialog box that permits you to directly type the coordinates for your parts.
Ghost techniques are relatively esoteric commands used to build the step-by-step instructions of complex models made of smaller submodels.
Group and Ungroup allow you to bundle together selected pieces of a model for many practical editing situations. The Hide and Unhide buttons let you make parts invisible—also useful in many editing situations when you need to see what lies behind some parts.
Snap to Grid and Rotation Point are also editing tools. The Colorbar As you might have guessed already, the Colorbar shown in Figure 4.
This is a definite advantage over using real LEGO, which is always limited in the number of pieces available and in the color range of the available parts. Not only that—the More button lets you create your own custom colors for the parts. Its commands generate basic geometric shapes that are used to create the parts for the library.
They can also be turned on or off, either by clicking the appropriate X button at the top right of the floating toolbar or by right-clicking any of the toolbars. Right-clicking pops up a list of all www. The ones that have a tick mark next to them are visible. Clicking any name will change the status of the toolbar to on or off. Double-clicking it makes the toolbar a floating window. The actual content of each toolbar is not customizable. This is one of those areas where time will undoubtedly bring improvement; we are sure that eventually Michael will get to this minor functional detail and allow even more customization of the interface.
The good news is that these edges are trivial, for the most part. We mention them throughout this and the following chapters and, if necessary, provide ways around them. We will use this model to examine basic modeling concepts and how they www. Once you master these basic concepts, you can then use the podium for a variety of situations, so you can explore more sophisticated techniques in context.
Later in the book we will populate the podium with minifigs and create a diorama around it. Working with them is often similar to playing a 3D videogame, such as a flight simulator. That makes the user a pilot of sorts. And like all pilots, you must follow a procedure to check to see that your plane is in working condition before take-off. To start creating a new model, you must prepare the program for it. The following checklist will help rookie pilots get the program ready for model-building take-off.
Create a new file by clicking the New File button on the main Toolbar, as shown in Figure 4. In this mode, the program allows us to add parts to a model. As you will learn in the next chapter, the grid is an important modeling aid that helps you with the alignment of parts.
Adjust the screen area so that it looks approximately like the one in Figure 4. The important things to keep in mind are that you want four view panes of approximately the same size and you want the two parts library windows to occupy roughly a fourth of the horizontal space.
We have also resized the view panes so that the Parts List window above them shown in Figure 4. The position of the toolbars is not important. Placing the First Brick The easiest way to add a part to a model is to drag it from the Parts Preview window into any of the modeling panes. To make a part appear in this window, we have to look for it in the library.
There are over 2, parts in the library; to ease the task, MLCad organizes them in customizable categories known as groups. There are several ways to browse the library, but the easiest method in this case is to select the Brick group from the pull-down menu located between the Available Parts window and the Preview window, as shown in Figure 4.
However, the Brick group is fairly large, so not all its parts will fit in the Preview window. The scrollbar on the right side of the Preview window allows you to www.
Incidentally, this window has two zoom factors: one that shows many parts in less detail and one that shows fewer parts in more detail. You can switch between the two by right-clicking with your mouse anywhere in the window, as shown in Figure 4.
Although LEGO measurements are very easy to understand see the sidebar that follows , there are often many variations for the same part. Notice that as you move the mouse pointer over the Preview window, the names of the parts appear in the status bar underneath. Try to strike a balance between seeing many parts and the time it takes to display them; especially in the beginning, it is good to get acquainted with as many parts from the library as possible. Luckily for us, studs are generally visible and obvious.
The parts names which we get into later always include a stud measurement. The first digit is always the smallest. Once you have the desired part showing under your mouse pointer in the Parts Preview window, you are ready to go.
Simply click on the part and drag it with your mouse into any of the modeling panes, and release the mouse button. The process is captured in Figure 4. Using MLCad is like being an astronaut in a virtual playground. But is that a good thing? This is a subject that LEGO fans will discuss forever. Moving and Adding Parts Try to get a feel for the virtual space by moving the part in the modeling panes. Take a look at Figure 4. Three of the views are flat: a front view the top-left pane , a view from the left side the top-right pane , and an overhead view the bottom-left pane.
In the next chapter we describe the www. If you drag the part off the pane, it will simply return to the original position. This is a great way to use the current position of the part as a reference. The next chapter explains this modeling aid in more detail. We could go back to the Parts Preview window, but we can also make an instant copy of a part by clicking and dragging it as though we were moving it while holding down the Ctrl button on our keyboard.
If we let go of the mouse button, we will have two identical copies of the original part, as shown in Figure 4. Talk about magic! To avoid dramatic changes, try not to click too far from the center of the pane, and move the mouse slowly. As you will see shortly, there are easy ways around this characteristic, and a long-term solution is in the works. For now, we have to be alert to parts not positioned as they would be in real life.
In order to work with one particular brick, you simply click it. The selected part will be surrounded by a thin-lined bounding box and will have a cross in its center. Just as we can create a copy of a part, we can also modify its type. Once you have selected which brick to change, select Edit Modify. The Select Part dialog window pictured in Figure 4. Unlike the Preview parts window, when we modify a part here, we can only choose it by name; there are no previews.
If we click Brick 1 x 4 and then click OK, our model should look similar to the one pictured in Figure 4. Note that they might appear in a different position on your screen.
Try to place the bricks in all the positions shown in Figure 4. Remember that you can only move the bricks in the flat view modeling panes.
Later in the chapter we will go into more detail about opening and saving files. Part Orientation Once you learn how to position parts relative to each other, the next step is to learn how to orient them. The bricks we have used so far are parallel to each other. Click the Y rotation axis button of the Elementbar, as shown on Figure 4. NOTE To avoid time-consuming accidents, double-check that the grid is set to coarse before you perform any rotation—at least until you read the section on rotations and rotation points in the next chapter.
Refer back to Figure 4. Now position it next to the other brick, as it is shown in Figure 4. Make sure that the bricks are correctly aligned. The model should look like the one in Figure 4. NOTE Copying and then modifying bricks is a time-saving technique. Once you get used to doing this, it will become much easier to copy and modify rather than going into the Library Parts Preview window every time you want to grab a new brick.
Go back to the Parts Preview window and return to the beginning of the Bricks group. Attach it to the podium, as shown in Figure 4. As you can see in the Preview window, the 0 appears on only one side of the brick.
The brick is not orientated correctly; the face with the 0 on it is obscured by other parts and the perspective of our view of the model. You might need to click the Toolbar button several times, but the face will eventually align correctly and the number will be shown. As shown in Figure 4.
If you keep clicking the Y rotation axis button, the brick will continue to turn. The 0 will disappear and reappear again every four clicks. As we just saw, even the simplest shape might offer more possibilities than initially meet the eye. The model should now look like the one in Figure 4. As you will see in the next chapter, MLCad supported by the LDraw format provides us with a very sophisticated way to control each of these essential building fundamentals.
Thus, it pays to become familiar with the basic concepts as quickly as possible:They really are all there is to modeling. There are certainly still more interesting tools, such as working with more than one part at the same time, but these are arguably secondary to the process. Changing the color of a single part is as simple as selecting it and clicking one of the colored buttons of the Colorbar. What makes the exercise more interesting is the fact that we are going to change the color of all the parts at the same time.
As we mentioned before, to select a part, simply click it. To select more than one part, click each of the parts that you want to select while holding down the Ctrl key of your keyboard. When two or more parts are selected, they act as a block. For instance, if we select both numbered blocks by www. Notice in Figure 4. To deselect parts, simply click the empty space of any modeling part set to a flat view. Once we deselect the parts, the bond breaks.
As we will see in the next chapter, being able to group parts together in selections, groups, models, and submodels is a very important characteristic of the LDraw and MLCad modeling system. Since we want to change the color of all the red parts to yellow, we can use another handy multiple-part selection mechanism: the Select Same Color command.
These new commands can be triggered with the three buttons on the right part of the Movementbar see Figure 4. All the red parts in the model will be selected, which in this case is to say that all parts in the model should be selected. Now click the yellow button of the Colorbar.
The red bricks are now colored yellow, as shown in Figure 4. It is not a member of the brick family but of the plate family. Add it to the model, as shown in Figure 4. You can now build the remaining levels of the podium using the techniques we have just discussed to add, copy, position, color, and modify the parts.
For instance, changing the color of a group of parts is a trivial task, but choosing the best way to select the parts is what makes a skilled modeler. Many MLCad functions, such as selecting several bricks to use as a group, can be accomplished in a number of ways. Use whichever method seems more natural to you. For instance, we can color more than one part at the same time, but the Select Same Color function is unavailable if we have more than one part selected— even if they are the same color.
This will be yet another factor in choosing the method that is best for the task at hand. The brick with the 3 pattern is changed into one with a 2 pattern via the Edit Modify command.
Building the third level involves repeating the same methods. Place it on top of the second-level bricks, as shown in Figure 4. Copy the numbered bricks and change the 2 into a brick with a 1. You have now been exposed to a good number of the typical modeling functions and situations available in MLCad. Now that you have firsthand experience with the program, it is time to start widening your view to www.
Once you are familiar with them, they will never get in the way of your building—just as with real LEGO. A lot of that improvement comes from its relatively simple interface. As you have seen, a single screen contains all the tools you will use to build your virtual LEGO models.
Table 4. This is the easiest but generally not the fastest or most precise way to use any program, and MLCad is no exception. Its commands can be also accessed via other means. In practice this means that we can throw models together pretty quickly and then later refine them as much as we need, without much more effort. Files can only be saved if they have been altered since they were last saved. The program detects this status automatically and enables or disables the Save command appropriately.
We can use the standard Windows command File Save as … to save new copies of an existing model. All the parts in the parts library carry this extension. However, this extension has become increasingly inconvenient over the years. As the Windows user base grew and Microsoft strengthened its file association features, the. LDR extension. DAT extension. Thus, all files compatible with the original LDraw format can now carry the extensions. DAT or.
The internal file format is exactly the same. These files carry the. MPD extension. We discuss. MPD files in the next chapter. When creating models, many users generate multiple files for instance, alternatives to a particular model. It is always best to organize your models in folders.
Thus, we suggest you first create a new folder called powertools using the appropriate Windows methods and then put your podium model file into this folder. Podium is a good name for the file. Doing so will empty the modeling space and let you start from scratch—always an emergency solution to keep in mind should you get into more trouble than you can handle with a particular model.
Save often and use File Revert as a substitute. This command brings the model back to the state it was in when last saved. Load the podium file again via the File Open menu option, for instance.
Upon loading the file in a new installation of MLCad, something odd will happen. Even the layout of the screen might look slightly different than when you last used it. Even more telling, the View program mode is activated in the Viewbar, as shown in Figure 4. To understand what is happening, we need to take a closer look at program modes.
One of the major benefits of the LEGO system of building is its modularity. If we simply send these users instructions on which parts to use and how to place them, they can easily replicate our creations to the very last detail. Before computers became commonplace, this process was very cumbersome.
Sending a parts list only solves half the problem; we need to show how the parts are positioned as well. The introduction of home computers radically changed this situation.
In fact, the first efforts of James Jessiman with LDraw were directed strictly to create a program that would show models and their step-by-step instructions. At this stage, this idea was already revolutionary; what was important was to have a tool that allowed the sharing of fan models, not ease of use. Nevertheless, James soon introduced a second program, LEdit, that helped users build the models. MLCad incorporates both applications into one program. To set the program to show the instruction steps for a model, we activate View mode.
If we want to edit a file, we activate Place mode. What just happened when we opened our saved Podium file into MLCad is that the program, set automatically to View mode, attempted to show the first www.
This is actually not such a good feature for users who are mostly interested in building models. Fortunately, this default can be changed. In that same chapter, the sections on building step-by-step instructions explain how to add step commands to your models. Only the relevant commands for instruction browsing are activated i. Part of Chapter 6 is dedicated to creating and viewing instruction steps for our models.
There you will find a more through description of View mode and its functions. Our actual model building will happen in Place mode, which deactivates the instruction browsing items in the Movementbar but allows access to all the modeling tools. This being the case, we need to click the Place mode button in the Viewbar so that we can continue working on the Podium file that we have just opened refer back to Figure 4.
This default cannot be changed— nor does it need to be. It is important for the first-time user to realize that although View and Place modes cover two separate and key functions in MLCad—viewing the instruction steps and building the models, respectively—the roles of Move and Size modes are not nearly as important.
In fact, they could very well be considered just a pair of tools used in Place mode. In the next sections, we explain how to use the modeling panes to our advantage. Since Move and Size modes are closely related to the tasks involved, they will be covered in more detail later. It includes a top window that shows the model data in text format and up to four lower windows that display the model from different points of view, as shown in Figure 4.
We will see and work with the Model Part List windows in Chapter 6. For the time being, we want to concentrate on all the functions related to the modeling panes themselves. But when modeling inside a computer, it is much faster and easier to look at the model from different angles simultaneously as we build it. The basic elements of our models, the LEGO parts, help us figure out directions in this virtual space. However, as our models get more complex, we rely more and more on the standard coordinate system to find our way around.
We will talk about this concept in detail in the next chapter. What is important for you to realize now is that the modeling panes are highly customizable tools—and that in fact they are adjusted often. The four view ports show the model from four different angles. The top-left view port shows it from the front, the top-right window from the left, the bottom-left window from the top, and finally the bottom-right view port shows it in a 3D-perspective view.
As we saw at the beginning of the chapter, modeling panes can be resized to occupy a larger section of the screen. Other helpful commands deal with how we look at the model: setting the view angle, zooming in and out, and repositioning the model within the panes.
As we saw earlier, at the end of the toolbars section, when we right-click with our mouse in a toolbar, we are provided with a menu in which we can turn toolbars on or off refer back to Figure 4. Later, we also saw how right-clicking with our mouse on the Parts Preview Window changes the zoom factor for the sample parts refer back to Figure 4.
When we right-click any of the modeling panes, we are presented with the menu pictured in Figure 4. As an amateur photographer with not enough space to build my own LEGO city, the idea of doing it virtually and the ability to render it so it looks like a real photograph is more than appealing to me.
The parts library in Mecabricks is really big, and includes some of the newest moulds LEGO has released. You can find many printed parts for minifigures, too, and scatter them around your builds. So here are the software mentioned in comparison with each other. Supported File Types. Okay, that sounded better in my head. Depending on what you want to do, the answer to that question changes. If you only want to design with existing bricks, and order them easily as soon as your model is finished, Studio is the right fit for you.
If you want to create life-like renders, or be able to design wherever you are, Mecabricks is the best option. So, tell me, is there one you favor among these?
Or do you use a completely different program? Let me know in the comments! I just installed them, took a quick look around, and shared my opinions. My apologies to the developers of each software in advance if any of the information I gave here is wrong or misleading. I also would like to add that not all the features of each program are mentioned here.
It allows to rotate objects eg links, axes, gears. But it also rotates connecting parts, like connected hinges. Can other packages do this? And just for you to know, Studio lets you use any color that you want, and lets you know if it exists or not in real life. One feature that you did not delve deeply into was how easy Mecabricks can export to Blender. Blender has the power behind it to push your LEGO images and especially animations to the next level.
Mecabricks exports are perfect and you can choose to display all the finger prints and scratches just like the movie. The just work so well together.
I want to say that what you said about leocad etc. In your list summary it seems that Mecabricks is free to use. It appears to me though that you need to buy credits to be able to render images only screenshots are free … or did I miss something?
Can somebody help me with this? So long as the model built in Mecabricks is under pieces then renders are absolutely free. You would need to spend credits for any renders above pieces though. LDD Interface with parts being loaded The user interface is simple and easy to get used to. The User Interface and Overall Accessibility The on-screen graphics look like the images from the instruction booklets.
LDCad Interface with a sample model All three programs let you view the steps one by one. Thanks, nice review But I miss an important feature: animation.
Gosvaz 20 Jun Reply. Christer 6 May Reply.
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