12-30-2020, 04:16 PM
Hey Joe, thanks for the comments! I feel your pain on the CAD software migration - I started out in Autocad 2D on a 286 machine way back when, and I've matriculated through Unigraphics, Pro-Engineer, Solidworks, Creo, back to Solidworks, tried a bunch of freewares, and now I'm in Fusion 360. Fortunately, the STEP file format is pretty exchangeable between most solid modeling utilities (IGES can also be handy). The only bummer is that you lose all of the parametric relationships (or history, in Fusion 360) that you construct during modeling. So while you retain the final model geometry, you lose much of the ability to easily modify it through relationships.
So to answer your question directly, yes, you can save your files off to your local hard drive to back them up. As you said, the working model exists in the cloud, but you can choose to export the file(s) in their native format (*.f3d) or *.stp. I have backed up both file types to my local hard drive to ensure that I have my bases covered. Ideally, I would like to continue working in the native file format in the cloud, but we'll see what they do with the new restrictions on the free version.
Good to hear the confirmation on the 5 1/4" ball. I see that Jason (moffeaton) in the RPF thread referenced by vectorzero above got his hands on some original ANH TIE casts and also confirmed 5 1/4" for the outer ball and 5 1/8" for the inner ball form. His picture of the overhead instrument panel cast is coming in handy as well since I'm working on this area inside the cockpit. I'm still walking that fine line of trying to replicate the studio model appearance for details right up against the cockpit window, and then I'm transitioning to details seen in the full size mock-ups with the pilot actors. Some of the footage in the recent Mandalorian series has amped me up to keep plowing through this. The TIEs launching from the light cruiser scene was great - all the juicy TIE details were there, including seeing the red cockpit glow through the back hexagonal window and decent close-ups of the seeing the pilot's relative size and sitting position through the front cockpit window. My only complaint would be that they kinda goofed up the cockpit window size on some of the full-size mock-ups used on set, like during the junkyard scene...
Alright, back to modeling for now!
So to answer your question directly, yes, you can save your files off to your local hard drive to back them up. As you said, the working model exists in the cloud, but you can choose to export the file(s) in their native format (*.f3d) or *.stp. I have backed up both file types to my local hard drive to ensure that I have my bases covered. Ideally, I would like to continue working in the native file format in the cloud, but we'll see what they do with the new restrictions on the free version.
Good to hear the confirmation on the 5 1/4" ball. I see that Jason (moffeaton) in the RPF thread referenced by vectorzero above got his hands on some original ANH TIE casts and also confirmed 5 1/4" for the outer ball and 5 1/8" for the inner ball form. His picture of the overhead instrument panel cast is coming in handy as well since I'm working on this area inside the cockpit. I'm still walking that fine line of trying to replicate the studio model appearance for details right up against the cockpit window, and then I'm transitioning to details seen in the full size mock-ups with the pilot actors. Some of the footage in the recent Mandalorian series has amped me up to keep plowing through this. The TIEs launching from the light cruiser scene was great - all the juicy TIE details were there, including seeing the red cockpit glow through the back hexagonal window and decent close-ups of the seeing the pilot's relative size and sitting position through the front cockpit window. My only complaint would be that they kinda goofed up the cockpit window size on some of the full-size mock-ups used on set, like during the junkyard scene...
Alright, back to modeling for now!