Know the part number?

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Astronouth7303

Ok, everyone here who actually helped gets rep because I love LDraw and Lego so much.

Ok, I have been a long time actual lego maniac for quite some time now, but what the heck is LDraw? I know it is a virtual lego system, but is it worth it? What can you do with it?

<Realize that I am a CAD/Drafting major, and have been making some 3d CAD lego models for about a month now for the heck of it, and to not lose my CAD skills for the time I have been out of work.>

Will LDraw let me make something in VR pretty quick with a full parts library available to me and then print out a list of what I need to actually make the thing? <Please say yes!>

[Astronouth7303]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

Ok, I have been a long time actual lego maniac for quite some time now, but what the heck is LDraw? I know it is a virtual lego system, but is it worth it? What can you do with it?

<Realize that I am a CAD/Drafting major, and have been making some 3d CAD lego models for about a month now for the heck of it, and to not lose my CAD skills for the time I have been out of work.>

Will LDraw let me make something in VR pretty quick with a full parts library available to me and then print out a list of what I need to actually make the thing? <Please say yes!>

I'm not going to try to make a long story short.

While most of the LDraw-based software is not as expansive as AutoCAD, there is a fairly complete parts library. It just so happens that my dad runs the site and wrote LDraw Add-On.

The original LDraw (and LEdit) were written for DOS by the late Australian James Jessiman. Now a days, most everyone uses MLCAD.

I also know the guy who owns Peeron.com (and provides the hosting for LDraw.org).

The LDraw format itself is fairly simple. It's in plain text. Each line begins with a number (0 through 5) and a collection of arguments
0 is a comment or meta command.
1 is a part (imported from a file). it allows for color, position, and transformation matrix.
2 is a line. color and 2 points.
3 is a triangle. color and 3 points.
4 is a quad. color and 4 points.
5 is an optional line (used to highlight the edges of curves). a color and 4 points.

Check the Specifications page for details.

The LDraw parts are named after the part number found on the part. (eg, the file Ryan was referring to is 32125.dat.)

If you need an exhaustive introduction (yes, an oxymoron), try the book Virtual Lego (Primarily written by another friend, though my dad did write the chapter on parts authoring).

The parts library is maintained by volunteers. If you feel brave, feel free to join their ranks!

The LDraw-related tools don't provide a real expansive set of features (I don't think MLCAD will even check for over-lapped parts!), but they are simple and, whence you learn it, fairly easy. (Unless you're a die hard and decide to use LEdit or Notepad.)

And, oh yeah, it's free! (but not all open source )