Wanted - Video session Shape3D $$

As a summer project I have started to design a board in Shape3d. I am interested to have some video sessions with someone knowledgeable to complete the design with focus on the rocker, foil and rails so I later can send it for machine cutting. Let’s agree on a reasonable compensation and start soon. Someone here interested to offer this?

Cheers

Hey Wil,

I’ve never used Shape3d but I’ve done two boards in AKUshaper and I found that copying existing boards for many of those attributes works well, or at least using them as starting points. AKU has the ability to import images of boards that can help with rocker and foil. Images from sites like Firewire generally work well, as they tend to be setup well and have minimal distortion. Ideally you want an image taken directly from the side at distance (to minimize distortion due to fisheye and viewing angle). An image of a board you’ve actually ridden can be great too as you can associate feel with design. 

Rails are probably the most complicated when done in software, especially since (at least in AKU) you use slices to shape the rails, so you define them at a few (3-5?) points along the board and then the software handles the transitions. I ended up measuring the thickness of the rails of existing boards at 1/2", 1", and 2" depths and subtracting about 1/16 or so off the thickness to account for lamination. The other thing you can do is just have them cut a little oversized and then sand them to your desired shape. I may try this on my next board, as I’m becoming a bigger believer in how it feels in my hand over how it measures with every board I build.

A final thought, if you don’t find someone to help you live, see if someone is willing to review your file and give feedback. I would assume the shop you are having it cut at also probably shapes so they may even be able to provide feedback and suggestions.

Good luck!

Randy

Thanks Randy for your many good advices. From what you describe it seems like Aku works in many ways like Shape3d. It will definitely be a good way forward to find inspiration from existing designs and import them into the software.

I will try to get some feedback from the shop but their high order load might make it limited. Crazy times.

You don’t  necessarily need to get a highly refined cut.   One cutter refers to that as the princess cut.   You might be able to get a lesser cut that dials in your rocker and foil and a couple rail bands, then finish the rest off by hand.  

It’s one thing for an experienced shaper to send a blank out to a CNC with their own file.   It’s another thing for a builder with no shaping skills or experience to be doing that with someone else’s file, whether they modified it or not.   

Akushaper is much more user friendly than Shape3d

Designing boards should be the approached the same way - doesn’t matter if it’s on a computer or by hand/analog. 

Best to start with what you’re familiar with for first designs - ie boards you have and like 

Take a bunch of measurements and use those measurements to recreate a board in Aku.  Make a copy of that file and make any refinements or changes. The more boards you measure that you’ve ridden the sooner you’ll start to figure out what you like and don’t like.

 

images from the internet of boards never seen in person or ridden can be useful as a secondary check on what you’re doing but a fool’s errand to design a board from IMO. I’d advise to NOT use any of the freebie files you may be able to find. Do the work yourself - that’s the only way you’ll learn & the ones I’ve looked at on shape3d website are garbage/useless IMO. 

 

I’d also recommend sticking w one board and refining it one change at a time- that’s how you learn what design change causes what result. 

Over on the Standupzone.com forum there is a tutorial thread for Shape3D

https://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,27553.0.html

 

Thanks everybody for your insights. I have now received the pre-shaped blank and wanted to share what I did.

I hoped to design a mid-length and found some designs that I imported into the software. It was fairly straight forward to replicate the outline and rockers. I did not really know what to do with the rails and bottom contour so I just left it as default by the program. Rails 50/50 and the bottom contour is concave in nose to flat/slightly vee in tail (in my interpretation).

I just do it for fun, let’s see how it rides if successfully put together. Unfortunately there was a crack a few inches by the stringer in the nose as seen on the pic. Will need to figure out how to handle it…

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I can’t really see the crack in your photo.  If it is a case of the foam pulling away from the stringer you can usually  push a little glue down into and between the stringer and foam with a popsicle stick.  Get as much into the crack as possible.  Use water based glue.  White woodworkers glue preferred.  You can wipe off excess with a wet rag.  Squeeze the foam and stringer together and wipe off excess glue.  Then using masking tape or rubber strips cut from a bicycle tube and wrap the blank gently pulling the two pieces together.  Don’t pull hard enough to dent the rail.  Leave it to dry overnight.

Thanks Mcding. The crack starts by the stringer but goes a little bit inwards. Maybe this picture is able to show it. The crack is all through to the other side. The intial concern is that it will crack more when I saw off the stringer to the board length. It did not feel straight forward to push it together when I tried with my hands. Perhaps just pouring some resin in the crack and push together as much as possible? Or is still glue preferred as suggested?

Oh yeah! I see it.   Squirt some wood workers glue into it and squeeze it together if you can.  Don’t put enough pressure on it to dent the rails.  Hold it together with tape or inner tube.  Wipe off all excess glue with a damp rag.  Let it dry 24 hrs.  Then cut to length and finish shaping.  You can probably do that with sandpaper, a wooden block and a foam pad.  Maybe finish it off with 220 sanding screen and pad.  Mix some spackle and EPS sanding dust with a dash of distilled water.  With a hard plastic squeegee fill any holes along the crack.  Then mix another batch of spackle and distilled water with no EPS dust.  Get this batch about as thick as mayonnaise, ketchup or mustard.  Then spackle the whole board, filling the voids between the beads.  Another 24 hrs dry time.  Then carefully screen the entire board with a dedicated piece of semi worn out 220 sanding screen(aka; gauze).  You’re now ready to paint and glass.  I recommend a pastel solid latex paint job and then glass.  For a first or second board, a paint job will look great and cover any mistakes, screwups etc.  resin tints will just accent defects.    Lowel

Thanks for that link.  Maybe I can finally master virtual shaping.  No joke.  Seriously.  Mahalo.  Lowel

Mcding, thanks again. Will try it