I have an idea of a very interesting looking and unique flashlight that I like to post but I can’t do 3d. I can do 2d cad but it wont be as clear and interesting as 3d.
Help!
Doesn’t SketchUp have a specific section on easy 3D rendering?
I could try, but it may come out looking like a dildo. :person_facepalming:
If someone wants to help, I can send a dxf drawing.
What kind of 3D are you looking for? Just a visual reference or a CAD/CAM file? If you just want to see what your light would look like, you can use Blender3D to mock it up. If you can draw 2D, you can do 3D as well. It might take you some time to get it exactly like you want it, but you can. Blender3D even can import DXF files (using an add-on).
Send me the dxf mate, I’ll do rendering.
Thank you.
I don’t know if i can send you a file through the forum private message. If you want, send me an email through pm and i will send the file later on tonight.
Again, thank you.
What type of software are you using? CAD, Catia, Solidworks? The 3 D applications are quite easy if you have correct interface.
I normally use Visio because after 15 years and multi thousands of drawings, i am very fast on it. Plus i can copy/paste a vast library of shapes and designs that i built through the years.
Then i export it as dxf files. Or import.
I have Autocad and can grind through it, but not very fast on it.
I’m from the end of the slide rule and drafting table era……
The key is that you must have latest version software for correct interface. Older versions will give you problems. Visio is decent but not the best for interface in today’s standard.
Visio early on started to get into CAD with Visio Technical but turned it’s back on the technical side. I just stuck with it because while I needed it for my business, as an owner, I had other priorities. Past tense of course.
Working on the drawing as I’m writing this….and trying to think of a catchy name for it.
“Fleshlight… For Her”, wellp, it’s got possibilities.
You’d need to make a 3D model before you can do a rendering. But it’s a trivial thing to take a 2D section and revolve it around a line to create a 3D model. SketchUp is OK but you need to purchase the Pro version to export the file into something that can be rendered. It will only export an STL in the free version which is basically a point cloud. You can use something like Fusion360 which is free, and is CAM as well as CAD.
I use a mid-level industrial CAD/CAM system that I’ve been running since 2009 and it has served me well; but the package is well over $5k.
Another thing about SketchUp - a DXF export (at least the ones I worked with) are all polylines, no arcs, so editing with another software can be difficult. But I hadn’t used it in a long time so maybe that has changed, or that limitation is not in the Pro version…
Enjoy.
Nice work!
Wow…just wow…
The thing looks as bada$$ and cool as in my imagination.
THANK YOU.
Any opinions guys?
Yes, add stainless steel strike bezel front and tailcap. Make titanium version as well.
That looks awesome. Great renders!
If you want to make a version of that with even better heatsinking. you could do the following:
- Increase the number of fins. Maybe two or three times as many as in the render.
- Have a gap between the battery tube and the head. The fins would keep the head attached to the light.
- Mount a fan at the top of the battery compartment blowing towards the back of the head. The blast would deflect and blow through all of the fins giving excellent heatsinking performance.
This wouldn’t look as stylish as in the render. However, it could be a good solution if you want a multi-emitter light with enough heatsinking to run for extended periods at high power.
All of it possible.
I wanted to throw the idea as a design concept and from there, it could go into whatever direction you guys think.
I think adding just a few more fins would look better, but not two or three times as many as in the render. Maybe 50% more fins than the render.
I don’t like the idea of introducing a gap between the head and battery tube. I think that would look like a cheap child’s toy, and perform like one too. 
I don’t really want a fan. The light looks good as it is. A fan would make it look ugly. Also, a fan is another possible failure point. It’s not even a question of “if” the fan will expire, but “when” because it certainly will at some point.
As for the “stainless steel strike bezel front and tailcap” request: Please don’t. Clean, smooth lines look a lot better. I don’t want to ever even consider using a flashlight like this as a weapon.
I think it was Cereal Killer who suggested in the other thread to make the button easier to find by feel. I say at least make it bigger than in the renders - like double the size or more.
I would like to see it in some interesting Aluminum anodize colors, like blue, green, red, pink, tan, gray. Please not gold!