# Yoyo CAD & Prototyping Adventures

**URL:** <https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547>\
**Category:** Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance\
**Created:** [August 7, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547 "2018-08-07T15:40:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 55

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**Author:** ![hobbygod](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/hobbygod/32/120997_2.png) [@hobbygod](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/hobbygod)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1106 "2020-12-22T00:13:48Z")

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Epic!

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**Author:** ![MarkD](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/markd/32/40845_2.png) [@MarkD](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MarkD)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 3:25am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1107 "2020-12-26T03:25:54Z")

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Been learning [FreeCAD](https://freecadweb.org/), which is actually free (and open source) rather than the restricted personal/demonstration versions of the larger CAD packages.

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/6/9/0/6907fb6570a29a205f4757e08005a1b341cab1a3.png)

Also, POV-RAY for rendering. It’s not nearly as easy to use as Fusion’s built-in raytracer, but I’ll get better at it with time.

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**Author:** ![anon5341354](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@anon5341354](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/anon5341354)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1108 "2020-12-26T03:41:14Z")

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Still can’t find a weight or MOI calculator in it?

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**Author:** ![MarkD](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/markd/32/40845_2.png) [@MarkD](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MarkD)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1109 "2020-12-26T03:55:49Z")

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There’s a macro for doing that, it’s not built-in unfortunately.  
[https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Macro\_FCInfo](https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Macro_FCInfo)

The wiki page links to the actual macro: [https://gist.githubusercontent.com/mario52a/8d40ab6c018c2bde678f/raw/4ff055ff5eb117f75beea5843efca4791990cf62/FCInfo\_en\_Ver\_1-22-rmu\_Docked.FCMacro](https://gist.githubusercontent.com/mario52a/8d40ab6c018c2bde678f/raw/4ff055ff5eb117f75beea5843efca4791990cf62/FCInfo_en_Ver_1-22-rmu_Docked.FCMacro) you can download this and place it into the Macros directory for FreeCad, which for me is under `C:\Users\Mark\AppData\Roaming\FreeCAD\Macro`, then execute the macro from the Macro menu to open the dock with all the info in it.

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/9/b/c/9bc934bfd32c9754e89bccb25f91f104f3981e75.png)

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/4/4/c/44c738a3e38e37ac6beda929dedef50552d3cfc2.png)

For this macro you have to type in the density yourself, but then it calculates everything else.

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/9/d/3/9d377c1a74121f4c5503f5920310fe44734c2859.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 8:41am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1110 "2020-12-26T08:41:34Z")

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Hey Mark,  
I programmed tones of POV-RAY and other ray casters in the past so if I can help with anything let me know. In the Moment I am looking into writing a pipeline from FreeCAD into MatterControl.

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**Author:** ![MarkD](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/markd/32/40845_2.png) [@MarkD](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MarkD)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1111 "2020-12-26T15:14:30Z")

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I’d love any tips for anodized/blasted aluminum finishes.

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/1/9/6/1966808b1717e95992eaf710b8c7a95b6d9c5dc6.jpeg)

```auto
#declare StdFinish = finish {
 ambient 0.01
 diffuse 0.6
 reflection .05
 specular .3
 roughness .1
 metallic
 brilliance 1.0
};

object {Pov_Body
 texture {
      pigment {color rgb <0.3,0.3,0.3>}
      finish {StdFinish } //definition on top of the project
  }
}

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1112 "2020-12-26T17:02:54Z")

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Hey Mark,  
I would not recommend using POV-RAY for product visualization. Very old school and only make sense if you like coding a lot! But if you wish to do so I would say easiest to get some more blasted looking material would be some noise generator to ur albedo or specular channel or create some normal/bump maps.

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**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1113 "2020-12-26T17:31:52Z")

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Hey Mark,  
I did not test the code since I have no pov install right now.  
But that is an simple example to get some “micro structure/blast” going. You need to play around with the numbers to get the look u want.

```
object { Pov_Body
texture {
	pigment { color rgb<0.3,0.3,0.3> }
	finish { diffuse 0.9 phong 1 }
	normal {
		bump_map{
			image_map{ png "noise.png" }
			map_type 0
			interpolate 2
			bump_size 10
		}
		translate<0,0,0>
		rotate<0,0,0>
		scale 1
	}
}
}

```

Here a random noise map for the code example above to use:

 ![noise](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/d/5/8/d5833708464094d1daa65b4909d8910445c858df.jpeg)

Here an example which is way over the top but just to get an idea of the effect, please fin tune the bump and normal values to your liking:

 ![Screenshot 2020-12-26 at 18.38.39](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/8/f/c/8fcad9879f38692209751634a6040efbae37b2d1.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1114 "2020-12-26T18:37:49Z")

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Here Mark,  
You can also use presets which makes it easier:  
[http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.6.1/485/](http://www.povray.org/documentation/view/3.6.1/485/)  
Creating custom materials can take a while to get perfect.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MarkD](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/markd/32/40845_2.png) [@MarkD](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MarkD)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1115 "2020-12-26T20:31:05Z")

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Here’s one that feels a lot closer to me! Thanks for the assist!

 ![test-ray](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/3/a/d/3ad1143798f40a04a80cbbd9d66be61301779f8a.jpeg)

Is there a different package I should be looking into for product visualization? One of the other formats I can export is LuxCoreRender, which looks more recent.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1116 "2020-12-26T20:39:28Z")

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Hey Mark,  
Yes all of them are better/newer/easier :wink:  
LuxCore is physic based very good. Blender cycles is also a good choice since the community is huge and you find everything you need to download or people who can help you easily. Furthermore it has a node editor which makes your life way easier! Right and Appleseed also very high quality ray tracer.  
It boils down to taste.  
Quality wise I would say:

- apple seed
- LuxCore
- cycles

But this is only important if you are really able to visualize so good that you are able to see smallest details (which I am definitely not). I tend to go to the product with the biggest community since you will find what you need and you can always improve if necessary. And cycles has extrem good results anyways.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MarkD](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/markd/32/40845_2.png) [@MarkD](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MarkD)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1117 "2020-12-27T16:56:14Z")

</div>

![yoyo-purple](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/6/e/2/6e231069bb6c0461c57d36f56d7436d012916a49.jpeg)  
This one is in Cycles 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1118 "2020-12-27T16:58:14Z")

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Yes way better, or?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MarkD](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/markd/32/40845_2.png) [@MarkD](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MarkD)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1119 "2020-12-27T17:05:03Z")

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It was a lot quicker to get much better results that are easier to tune and adjust. Thank you for the recommendations!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1120 "2020-12-27T17:06:20Z")

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Happy I could help. Like the exchange of knowledge. Looking forward to further results.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MarkD](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/markd/32/40845_2.png) [@MarkD](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MarkD)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1121 "2020-12-27T18:55:00Z")

</div>

57x46mm, 64g, 7068 monometal design.

 ![yoyo-purple-4](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/0/5/1/051854e5149a4c7f97663f484ca8938f135f5ee1.jpeg)

Fixed the focal distance and added another copy of the yoyo object.  
I still need to make the FreeCAD → Blender workflow smoother, but this is still very good. Thank you for all the help!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1122 "2020-12-27T18:58:49Z")

</div>

Hey Mark,  
If I can help you let me know. Maybe I can write a plug-in to make it seamsless.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MarkD](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/markd/32/40845_2.png) [@MarkD](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MarkD)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1123 "2020-12-27T19:00:16Z")

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I think there may already be one for FreeCAD. I will let you know what else I discover!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1124 "2020-12-27T19:01:27Z")

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Sure no hurry, I enjoy working on these kind of side projects if needed.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kray](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kray/32/92176_2.png) [@Kray](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Kray)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547/1125 "2020-12-27T19:13:49Z")

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@MarkD here what I am working on right now for my 3D printer. Working title “cocoon”.  
It is a counterweight which you can lock by rotating the inner part.

 ![Screenshot 2020-12-27 at 20.11.59](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/d/0/a/d0aea28c0105009cc5473611c3edbf1ecd445cf9.jpeg)

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