Hello,
I am so new to this. what programs are you all using to create with. I thought I heard about Fusion 360. I will be using whatever program for Bambu Studio. I need to create an ornament for my wife job. really nervous but I am up for the challenge. Thank you all for the continued support
You’ll get good recommendations from people here much more experienced in design than I am, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents too. Fusion 360 is very popular and I’ve told myself I’m going to learn it for the last two years… but since I haven’t I do everything in Tinkercad. It’s the most basic of design software but it’s free and the best part is it’s web based so you don’t even have to install anything. I know the goal is to start there and progress to something bigger/better/more advanced… and I totally will, some day 
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Welcome to the community.
If you’re new to 3D design and have no experience, my advice is to start slowly with basic programs geared towards students and learners. Unless you have prior experience, jumping into a powerful program like Fusion 360 without prior CAD knowledge can be a really frustrating experience and is more likely to discourage future learning.
I recommend starting with simple programs. Here’s a partial list of programs that are ideal for unleashing your creativity without overwhelming you with technology. From there, you can branch out. These are active links and are all free:
- Windows 3D Builder - Free and available on the Microsoft Store, but it has recently been deprecated, so your OS may be restricted from installing it. However, if you can, it is a very gentle introduction to 3D modeling. In my view, this is where I would start and just experiment. You will likely quickly outgrow it.
- TinkerCAD - Less of a CAD tool and more of a “tinkerer’s tool,” it has a lot of enhancements and is more of an intermediate program. The advantage is that it is cloud-based, making it completely hardware agnostic. A good jumping off point for learning 3D modeling principles.
- Meshmixer - Also from Autodesk, but far more basic. If you’re making “craftsy” type things like a Christmas ornament, this and 3D builder are probably best suited for that sort of work whereas TinkerCAD is more oriented towards mechanical modeling.
From there, you’ll be able to get a “feel” for what you like and don’t like. If you’re considering and determined to move towards true CAD, you may want to take a look at a recent post to another member who asked the same question. The TL;DR version of this is while Fusion 360 is powerful, the free version is very restrictive in my experience and runs best on fast hardware. I have fast hardware and I have chosen other CAD solutions for my day to day 3D printing work. But know there are a lot of folks here who have over a decade of muscle-memory and will swear by their individual CAD solution. You must judge for yourself what your appetite is for how steep a learning curve you wish to climb.
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For me, since I use it for years, the uncommon choice of Inkscape (a 2D SVG app) has held up so far. You can directly import (auto-extrude) any SVG into Bambu Studio, and then apply 3D positioning and other details in the slicer.
Also, Inkscape can do the bitmap tracing step if you want to create ornaments etc. from some kind if picture. Or you draw half-transparent shapes over the picture of a real world object that has a dominant cross section (i.e. can be mostly reconstructed via extrusion) — the following started out like that:
Not for everybody, but if you are versed in any 2D app with SVG export a viable choice for many models, starting out with a low entry threshold.
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Sir, with all due respect, Inkscape, while a capable program as you mentioned, is intended for 2D design. Its primary audience is needlepoint sewing machines, not 3D printing. Even if the slicer can support an SVG import, that doesn’t imply that a 2D program is suitable for 3D design purposes. Suggesting something like this to a newbie risks sending them down a rabbit hole.
are there any programs that will let you import a picture (badge) and place it on an object. I am trying to make an ornament with my wife’s unit badge on it. Thank you
It has taken some time, but I have gotten pretty comfortable with the free version of Fusion. I have no need for the extra features that come with a subscription, and could not justify the cost for the few small items (mostly repair parts) that I make for personal use.
I’ve learned the value of parametric design for getting my models adjusted exactly right, so I would probably switch to the free version of Onshape if Autodesk ever starts charging for Fusion. I rejected Onshape initially only because the models all become public. I’ve realized that most of my models are of no use to anyone else, so why should I care if someone else wants to waste time with them? The few worthwhile models have been made public anyway.
Whatever program you choose, I have found YouTube to be an invaluable resource… You can find general get-acquainted tutorials and a search for the program name and a function will also usually find specific instructions.
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Fusion is probably overly complex for many but it’s my go-to. Since Inkscape was mentioned, it seems to have excellent bitmap tracing and SVG output capabilities.
I find myself using GIMP, Inkscape, CorelDRAW, and Fusion depending on the task. I’ve used TinkerCAD and it was also good but not snappy enough since it’s web based (the down side of an otherwise advantage). Anything complex would get out of hand in short order (but that was also some years ago).
It’s very confusing at first to sort where these and others fit in, but after a bit of experimenting it starts making sense. Once you get a little fluent in the design chain, you can turn out designs pretty quick with little frustration but it can be a little intimidating and work getting there.
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Fusion does that but I don’t know how well it imports into Bambu Studio for color printing or if it imports at all. I think it’s more to provide certain details in Fusion for the renders it does but might be worth a look. Others would have to say if that can be used with 3D printing.
But if you are wanting to include photos in ornaments, might look at lithophanes and Hueforge prints too. Those are intended to be used with images.
That’s a very complicated question. If you’re referring to a bitmap image, the answer is different than if you’re referring to a vector image. Think of it as the difference between a picture and line art.
For 3D printing, there are algorithms, specifically programs like HueForge, that can take pixels and create an elevation map (colors at different heights, like a color topographic relief map). However, mapping pixels into 3D printing space has many drawbacks, the primary one being that pixels don’t scale well.
On the other hand, if you’re working with a vector format (a line drawing like an SVG file), those files scale infinitely because they are mathematical constructs, not physical ones.
Your next logical question might be: Are there programs that will convert from one to the other? Converting vector to pixels is much easier because it’s just a screengrab. Converting pixels to vectors is really, really hard. I’ve been on that quest for the last 30 years and have used over 30 programs that claim to do this, but in reality, all require many hours of “hand tuning” to get it looking right. AI programs are holding a lot more promise in this field of computer science but so far, none of them have been commercially viable because they all require too much technical acumen and way too much manual tuning.
I signed up with fusion. Then thought I’d try tinkercad. Was surprised to find tinkercad is Autodesk so I use same login for tinkercad and fusion because it’s an Autodesk account.
Going to have to see about the windows 3D builder.