CAD questions

[USMC]

i was wondering where everyone gets all the blue prints of all these aircraft. i am in CAD class and need projects to do and thought hey! why not do some stuff for my habbit. if anybody can help out would greatly appreciate it thanks.

[niart17]

i was wondering where everyone gets all the blue prints of all these aircraft. i am in CAD class and need projects to do and thought hey! why not do some stuff for my habbit. if anybody can help out would greatly appreciate it thanks.

It really all depends on what subject you're looking for and how detailed of a print you want. Sometime a simple Google Image search for "F-XXX blue prints" or F-XXX plan drawings" or something like that will get the results you need (usually just simle 3 view drawings). Other times it's like trying to find the Holy Grail. There are also sites out there that will sell you prints but I suspect if you're using them for CAD class, you don't want to spend any money for them. Another source is go to RC plane websites and poke around there. Since there are more people there that do scratch builds, they use blue prints more often than some of us do. Good luck!

Bill

[toadwbg]

This might be interesting for you. Especially if you ever get to do a 3D print.

What I mean is you can take a 2D drawing and make a 3D CAD model than print it but will it actually look like the real thing? This is EXACTLY the art kit manufacturer's deal with. Make no mistake, that final look is as much art as it is good kit design and engineering.

Shape and profiles are an illusion when scaled down. That or reality is warped

[niart17]

I think a big portion of the problem is what's called perceived scale perspective. You can't view a full size jet from say 10' away and it look the same as a 48th scale model being seen from a similar scale distance. It could be an exact duplicate, perfect shape and perfect size with all the details, but the size of the viewer is still the same. You can photograph models and attempt to recreate the view of say a 1/48th scale person, but you can't physically see it the same way that scale person would in real life. That's why sometimes a perfect scale model that nails the shapes still doesn't "look right" when you see it up close.

It's an interesting quandry.

Bill

[CBRent]

Here you go:

http://www.the-blueprints.com/

Also:

http://www.grabcad.com

Good luck!

Brent

[Adam Baker]

Grab Cad is an excellent site! Ive been a member for a couple of years, and people post awesome tutorials on their, and if you get stuck on something, you can post up asking how to do something, and chances are it gets answered fairly quickly.

As for what I do when I'm looking for stuff, I just spend a lot of time searching the net w/ every possible search term iteration I can think of. I've been doing freelance design work w/ Solidworks for about a year now, and searching the net helps a lot. So far all my projects have been modeling related.

[Wayne S]

It really all depends on what subject you're looking for and how detailed of a print you want. Sometime a simple Google Image search for "F-XXX blue prints" or F-XXX plan drawings" or something like that will get the results you need (usually just simle 3 view drawings). Other times it's like trying to find the Holy Grail. There are also sites out there that will sell you prints but I suspect if you're using them for CAD class, you don't want to spend any money for them. Another source is go to RC plane websites and poke around there. Since there are more people there that do scratch builds, they use blue prints more often than some of us do. Good luck!

Bill

If one is into modeling and has a scanner, Instruction sheets are a good place for views.

[Adam Baker]

I forgot to ask, what program are you using? If you're using Solidworks, and you find good drawings, its possible to import drawings into Solidworks sketches, and then you can trace over the top of them to create the 3D models. I've been doing that extensively for my current design project.

[Brian 1]

The Wylam books are a good start if you are interested in the subjects they cover. While not every dimension is given the base dimensions usually are. From there you can use a scale factor to determine all of the rest. I just checked on Ebay and there are quite a few volumes for sale cheap. Here's an example from one:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o163/deMichu/WylamMe.jpg

Edited March 9, 2013 by Brian 1

[Adam Baker]

Nice, those section view images would help a lot for making a 3D model. That's the problem I have w/ my current project, only the standard front, sides, etc, but no section images like that, which would make modeling a lot easier.

[CBRent]

Interestingly enough Eduard just offered a free blueprint of the Spitfire IX.

Link below:

http://www.eduard.com/spitfire/?utm_source=HS&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=468x73%231&utm_campaign=SpitfireOptin-EN

[Jennings]

I'm not a CAD designer, but I can tell you that after many years of drawing airplanes in 2D, with very few exceptions you can't trust any plans you may run across. If your aim with a CAD design is accuracy, there is absolutely *NO* substitute for starting (as I do in 2D) from manufacturer's manuals with detailed dimensional data and *****lots****** of photographs of the real thing. Manufacturers rarely give you all the dimensions you need, so having access to the real article helps an awful lot too.

You can tell in a New York minute which CAD designer started with a set of 2D plans he found online somewhere, vs. one who started completely from scratch. Examples of the former abound (and many rhyme with "Trumpeter"). Examples of the latter are exceedingly rare, but three that come to mind are the Tamiya 1/32 Zero, Spitfire, and P-51D.

[vince14]

One thing to remember is that blue prints in themselves are not designed to show an accurate representation of the real object - they're designed to show the person making the object what it should look like once it's been built. Agree with Jennings on this one - if you're looking for super-accuracy, then you need to use the actual measurements from the manufacturer's manuals. If, however, you're just looking to get started then using blue prints is a great way to learn.

Vince

[vince14]

I think a big portion of the problem is what's called perceived scale perspective. You can't view a full size jet from say 10' away and it look the same as a 48th scale model being seen from a similar scale distance. It could be an exact duplicate, perfect shape and perfect size with all the details, but the size of the viewer is still the same. You can photograph models and attempt to recreate the view of say a 1/48th scale person, but you can't physically see it the same way that scale person would in real life. That's why sometimes a perfect scale model that nails the shapes still doesn't "look right" when you see it up close.

It's an interesting quandry.

Bill

Quoted for truth. One of the issues that kit manufacturers face is that, whilst they might have accurately scaled-down a full-sized object to a smaller scale, it can still look 'wrong' to human eyes. I have a friend who builds test models for a Formula 1 team to use in their windtunnel and he tells me it's a very real issue - quite often the 'full sized' front wing looks different to the scaled-down windtunnel model, even though the dimensions are spot on.

Vince