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Learner Reviews & Feedback for 3D Printing Software by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4.6
stars
526 ratings

About the Course

This course will demonstrate how to use 3D printing software to create digital designs that can be turned into physical objects. It will also demonstrate how 3D scanners work to turn physical objects into digital designs. This course is hands-on in nature and will provide step-by-step instructions to guide you through two popular 3D modeling programs, Tinkercad and Fusion 360. Learners who complete this course will be able to use 3D software to design a wide variety of objects for both personal and professional use. In addition, learners who enroll in the course certificate will receive extended free access to Fusion 360 (provided by Autodesk). Please copy/paste the following links to your browser's search bar to view the requirements for each of the following software elements used in this course: Sketchbook: https://support.sketchbook.com/hc/en-us/articles/209671938-SketchBook-Desktop-System-Requirements Tinkercad: https://support.tinkercad.com/hc/en-us/articles/205849108-What-are-Tinkercad-s-Browser-and-Platform-requirements- Autodesk Fusion 360: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-Autodesk-Fusion-360.html Sketchfab: https://help.sketchfab.com/hc/en-us/articles/203059088-Compatibility 123D Catch: Same as Tinkercad...

Top reviews

DS

Mar 22, 2018

This is the best course I have made on this year. This course give to you a chance to create objects from reality or just using your imagination. Enjoy this course, guys. Thank you for all.

PK

Mar 30, 2017

Excellent course , i finally learned how to use Fusion 360 and make something that can be 3D printed , i also learned about 3D scanning techniques .

enjoy this course , best of luck :)

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101 - 121 of 121 Reviews for 3D Printing Software

By Sean K

Aug 1, 2018

Fun course with a good deal of hands on activities.

By Andre B

Oct 6, 2020

Updated information and software tools needed

By Nirmal C S

Apr 30, 2020

3d scanning was not up-to my expectation.

By Karuna R P

Mar 31, 2022

Very Amazing Course

By Bipin K

May 4, 2022

good learning

By Renu G

Dec 29, 2021

very good

By Shannon H

Aug 28, 2018

This course was fairly good. The videos were in-depth and the assignments were pretty enjoyable. You won't learn a huge amount of 3D printing knowledge from it as the course focuses more on learning how to model in different software. It's not until Week 5 that you learn more about 3D printing, scanning, and post-scan editing. Week 5 really needs to be re-worked as it still has a video on 123D Catch which has been taken off the market for awhile now, and the two other phone apps they now recommend both cost money. Trnio is only available for iOS and isn't free on the App Store, while Scann3D makes you get a monthly subscription in order to export/download your scan to put on SketchFab (which is required for the assignment).

The peer review aspect can be challenging as well, especially towards the last couple weeks when the course is coming to an end. Many students don't continue on past the first few weeks which can make it difficult to find enough people to mark yours at the end. It might not be as bad if you're taking the course for free, but if you decided to pay to get a certificate it can add a lot of stress. A huge number of posts in the discussion boards are people asking others to review their assignments, and a majority of them are unanswered. The moderators don't respond to a large number of questions/software issue/grading issues etc. people have, which makes it difficult if you run into a problem at any time in the course. Jeff has never actually posted or responded to any discussion thread in the entire time this course has been available for people. The only posts you see by him are from the session introductions for each intake and the optional discussion post questions.

Overall, this course has its pros and cons. The videos are very well done, but there will probably be a lot of stress in other sections when you're completing it. If you're fine resolving issues that come up while taking it on your own, then it should be a good course.

By Billie L C

Mar 6, 2017

This particular module (week 3) is written for those students who are already have at least a nodding acquaintance with the software.

The videos move so fast that I am not able to detect what is going on. Please believe me when I say that I run a copy of Fusion 360 at the same time as a particular instructional video is playing. I toggle from one to another, taking notes from the instructional video when possible. Still, it takes me weeks, not days, to understand what the professor is doing.

It is true that there are several online tutorials with regard to using the sketch tools contained within Fusion 360. I have been reviewing the tutorials that I am able to find -- and I have learned quite a bit of "how-to" information that this particular module does not provide.

Why is it that some of us who are new to the Fusion 360 environment have come to understand that we need to spend hours of our time to "fill in the blanks" of week 3?

Are we to keep searching other sources so that we can learn what has not been taught in Week 3? If so, why?

Bill Clark

By Williwaw

May 9, 2018

This course gives a quick overview of 3D printing SW, it prioritizes a high pace over deepness.

After the course you will gain some knowledge about 2d sketching, 3D Tinkercad and 3D Fusion 360 but don't expect to master 3D Fusion, one week per module for Fusion 360 (2 modes total) is much less that necessary.

By Tim F

Jan 28, 2017

The instructor does an excellent job, but realistically there is no way to be proficient enough in a 3D software program after a week or two to earn a certificate. The certificate is worthless in my opinion. I liked the class but it seemed more like intro vs. a class of any proficiency required.

By carlos b

Sep 2, 2019

its good course, but it need a update, because some programs that use the course are not longer available for the provider and the interface for fusion has change with the update, then its difficult to accomplish the task

By Betty D L

Apr 16, 2021

The material was good, i learned quite a bit. But the assignment submission process along with incorrect peer-assignment ratings are so clunky that it makes it very difficult to overlook.

By Vitor V

Apr 4, 2019

Very inspirational course but I need to research a lot on the internet in order to complete the exercises. The videos are barely helpful.

By Douglas K

Sep 10, 2018

Peer reviews are terrible because there are not enough submissions.

By Andrew P

Feb 12, 2019

Week 1 is great, and I learned things that my criminally negligent arts teachers never bothered to cover. Weeks 2 and 3 start to show a decline that is hinted at in week 1, however: students seem unable or unwilling to count, and my grades depend on their ability, in some cases, to count 5 sketched objects. When I see a row of 3 and a row of 2, I get 5. When this problem intensified in later weeks, including having one of my projects dismantled by a student grading it (and then scoring it down as not having 5 holes, when I was looking at 14), I started to lose hope. When I tried contacting a mentor, coursera, or anyone affiliated with the class or the site, I found nothing except a loop through pages promising that the next one would do what I wanted if I only clicked a link.

In the meantime, I have managed to teach myself more than I need for my own purposes, have switched gears into the patent search, and have walked away without bothering with the last two weeks. If I had paid for this, I would be demanding a refund, plus damages.

By Seyyed F A N

Dec 10, 2021

There is nothing amazing about this course! Videos were out of date! Many apps were unavailable. Assignment were really frustrating!

By Ute D

Jan 5, 2017

the introduction to Fusion is more a customer presentation to advanced CAD user than a tutorial for newbies.

By Greg B

Apr 9, 2018

vidoes do not provide enough information to complete peer reviewed practice.

By Sukhdeep S

Apr 27, 2021

plz check there is problem in software

By Deleted A

Nov 22, 2023

I am only in modular 2 and have found many broken links to sources that are no longer available why are you still taking new signins for this class?

By Chandan T K

Nov 3, 2023

i thought of somethig and the content is something