starting out

[pitchbrown]

ok guys, Ive been employed by a company who has a cnc.

I know the flat panel/2dish cutting techniques pretty well, but the boss wants to branch out into 3d shaping/routing - I want to be the guy who takes charge.

Ive always had an interest in 3d modeling (i know how to use some programs) but i need to know the basics of the task.

so many questions but dont know where to start?....

Im most confident with sketchup - but i realize its fairly light weight when it comes to this sort of thing. Ive played a bit with - AND have acess to: rhino3d, mastercam and blender... but no idea how to get started. Ive tried to read the 300pg manual but its 300 pages....

Is any one is an expert out there with a few minutes to spare each night to help a noob get into the 3d world???

thanks

Jarred Wright

[LaGrasta]

I'm just starting out myself (as a hobbyist) and I don't have too much to add yet, but I'm very curious to see the responses.

Perhaps you could give some more detail on the type of parts you will be trying to produce or what kind of business it is. I'm sure that some of these CAD programs are better for certain kind of tasks.

I've seen quite a few product designers using Rhino. I have also seen some very impressive material simulation stuff in SolidWorks.

Also, is there a budget you are trying to stick to?