Since the Photography Guide is such a hit and filled with great tips, I wonder if anyone has tips on creating good assembly guides. First question is what software are people using to create assembly guides? Do you prefer to create docs and PDFs or do you prefer videos? Or both? Do you add them to the 3MF file directly or just attach them when uploading the model?
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I was doing my instructions in Fusion, using the animation tab to pose things for each frame. It can get kind of tedious, but I liked the clean look I can get. I took the raw images from there and adjusted them in photoshop to add colors, to help direct the user’s eye/attention.
I’ve switched to doing my instructions in 3dsmax, since it’s a lot less tedious to set things up. I just pull step files in directly, and can get a somewhat similar look.
I was using flat shaded/white, with edges on.
Here’s a little view of how I set things up. I pull in the raw black&white photo, then have a set of layers I use to color things. Sorry my layers aren’t named. Layer 45 is the line drawing. Fills 1 through 3 are the colors. Group 4 is the lines to show things like where the screws go. I just use the pen tool. I have a mask applied to the folder so I can fade out the line when it’s behind/in something.
Previously, I would do renders or screen gabs, and just draw on top of that. I wanted to lean more into the quality of instructions you’d expect from ikea or lego though.
I need to start compiling my stuff into PDFs that can be downloaded with the model.
If I was doing instructions with a mesh (Not a step/nurbs file like Fusion and other cad software does), I’d look into Blender a bit and doing renders/shots from there.
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I create step-by-step guides using lots of photos. The guides is written up in Pages on my Macbook Pro and exported to PDF, uploaded under the Documentation.
I prefer PDF because I have found that following a video sometimes requiring me to pause the video at different stages during the assembly.
Creating a clear and easy-to-follow guide is a project in itself, taking hours.
For an example of what takes hours to make (including photo taking), see the assembly guide on one of my models here.
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And your lasers?
Did you buy a licence for it or is there some cool free way?
My questionably shaped lasers are hand crafted from the finest shaky hands.
I’ve thought about doing videos for a few of my builds, as there are some aspects I could show better.
The problem I have with build instructional videos often is the pacing. There’s that Block 26 model that was getting some attention. I purchased it too, and kind of regretted purchasing it. One of the things I really disliked about the experience was following that guy’s instructional videos. They drove me mad with how slow paced and tedious they were.
This part has slowed me down often enough! haha. Putting a good guide together is time consuming, no matter which way you slice it.
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I enjoy putting together instructions but they sometimes suffer from lack of time - I haven’t quite decided my preferred way.
Because I work in Blender, I can use that to render out flat-lay images as a parts list & I then mark those up in Affinity Designer or Photoshop:
For assembly instructions, I’ve used photos, renderings & videos depending on the project. In this case, I used step-by-step renderings with labels in Affinity and also made a video. I don’t love following along with assembly videos but I was concerned about it being too difficult to visualize how I was threading LEDs through the design:
As far as video production, it’s pretty bare-bones - I just placed my cell phone above my workbench and then edited/sped up the video using iMovie.
Finally, when I’m pressed for time, I end up taking photos and adding labels using Affinity:
I’d love to have the beautiful assembly diagrams as @Josh-3D showed above but I’m not there yet 
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You are doing very well from what I can see.
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I’ve been doing just little animations for mine, I never considered to just pause those frames and mark them up for instructions
I’m actually annoyed at how stupid I am now!
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I just started diving into assembly instructions recently as well
So far for me it seems Cad screen grabs with snipping tool, and basic edits don’t seem too bad. Not sure how much further I feel like going, time will tell!
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I use Fusion 360 Animations to Drawing technique, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDGP4xrk4nA&t=1504s
Example of result here: Modern Midcentury Birdhouse - Wifi Camera enabled by Michele - MakerWorld
This is some great info. I wasn’t even thinking anything that complicated of an assembly, but this is great. I had no idea Fusion could even do the animation and drawing stuff. I never ventured beyond the design workspace.
The older I get, the more I feel people don’t appreciate the quality that comes from using professional tools to do a job. Sure, they can get expensive. People rarely question the cost of high-end equipment for other hobbies like golf or woodworking.
I completely missed this part of the comment. I was talking to someone here about how much I liked how you did that top blender shot, with the parts laid out. These roads go two ways, haha.
Here’s one of my early instructional works. I use to do renders like this. It’s a great clean way, just as it is with the line drawing approach.
I need to do more part sheets like you have with that one shot. As my builds get more complex, I realize sometimes it’s not always apparent which part is which.
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I have been thinking of using special software to make assembly guides, instead of taking photos. One hesitation has been that I am not sure if using software saves time or adds more time to the process.
@Josh-3D when you have time, and only if you have time, can you go and take a look at my assembly guide in the link above and give an estimate on how many hours it would have taken to make using your Fusion + 3dsmax approach? I think it took me at least 4 hours to craft (draftig, editing, finalizing, etc) that guide using photos and words. If you don’t have time, don’t sweat it 
, it’s ok.
Way ahead of you. I was looking at it yesterday, haha.
I don’t think you’d see a huge time difference. You have the models, so it’d be easy enough to set the shots up. With taking the photos, you have the extra steps of getting them over to the computer and doing any post processing, but I don’t think you really gain/loose much, as going the renders route has it’s own time sinks and time gains.
The part about Fusion that I find tedious is just the way you manipulate objects within the viewports. Setting up a more complex involved model can take some time. (say you have 20 screws, moving all of those into position in fusion is not as quick as in 3dsmax or other such applications). In 3D Studio Max, I just click and shift drag parts around to make copies, and fling them in the general spot I need them.
What are you using these day for your modeling?
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Thanks for the reply. If there is no significant reduction in time then I probably should stay with the photos and words process for now. I can look closer into the software route for more complex models.
I use Fusion for all my models. I used to try Blender, Maya, even looked into AutoCAD, but my need for 3D modeling has never been that demanding to justify spending the time to get good at them. The arrival of AI may change that in the future though.
Is there a free version, or are you paying for it? Thought about using Blender as that’s free, but it might be more of a hassle.
I get it through my day job. I don’t think I’d recommend 3dsmax to anyone here. It’s just a different kind of beast. I’d recommend Fusion or Blender to anyone that’d ask me.
There’s no free version, but there’s an indie version that is like 300ish a year. Not sure the current pricing on a regular version; other than to surmise that your wallet will feel gutted if you did it.
I’d suggest exploring the ideas a bit when you have a simple model you’re working on. Something that has an assembly step of 1. Haha. Simple enough to explore the idea without committing to it.
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Currently working on a 20+ part and 10+ step model with maker’s supply that’s on iteration 9 thus far… might as well give it a shot, what could go wrong
Bookmarking this thread for future reference. As someone whose instructions are mediocre at best, this thread is full of good stuff for me to try.
I looked up 3dsmax after seeing your initial post, saw the price tag and was like “I don’t need leveled up instructions that bad” and closed the tab. Figured you had an in somehow
For simple things, I make an exploded view. For complicated things it’s a Youtube video:
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