Overview

Virtually create and build any LEGO model you can imagine with any LEGO part ever made! This hands-on guide shows, step-by-step, how to create just about anything from LEGO blocks using the latest version of LEGO Digital Designer. You will find out how to download and install the software, navigate the LDD user interface, and get up-and-running on your own design projects. Other popular open-standard LEGO CAD programs like LDraw and Mecabricks are also fully covered. Building with Virtual LEGO: Getting Started with LEGO Digital Designer, LDraw, and Mecabricks features start-to-finish projects that illustrate each design tool and technique. The book teaches simple CAD concepts that are applicable to any design program—even professional software like AutoCAD. You will discover how to publish and share your creations online and explore some of the best projects that others have already built. • Shows how to use creative and freely-downloadable design programs • Teaches computer-aided design concepts that can be applied to any software • Written by an experienced author and LEGO/DIY expert

Full Product Details

Author:   John Baichtal
Publisher:   McGraw-Hill Education
Imprint:   McGraw-Hill Education
Dimensions:   Width: 21.30cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 27.40cm
Weight:   0.757kg
ISBN:  

9781259861833

ISBN 10:   125986183
Pages:   208
Publication Date:   16 January 2017
Recommended Age:   From 14 to 17 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

1 Building with Virtual LEGO What’s Virtual Building All About? Virtual Building Robust Brick Palettes Physics Sharing Is Virtual Building for You? Reasons to Build Virtually Reasons Why Not to Build Virtually Overview of Virtual Building Options LEGO Digital Designer LDraw Mecabricks Summary 2 Gallery of Cool LDD Models Keytar Great Temple of Odan A Gentleman’s Tank Death Angel Mecha Chocolate Milk Maker A15 Comet Alien vs. Predator Diorama Pentagon Ford Pinto Robot Chassis Pumpkin Factory Antarxa Summary 3 Choosing Between Software Options General Editor Limitations System Requirements LEGO Digital Designer LDraw Mecabricks Ease of Installation LDD LDraw Mecabricks Brick Palettes LDD LDraw Mecabricks Maximum Build Size Community LDD LDraw Mecabricks Summary 4 Installation and Overview of LDD and LDraw Downloading LEGO Digital Designer Download the LDD Application Choose Your Platform Downloading LDD for PC Downloading LDD for Mac Downloading LDraw Choose Your Package Quick-Install Option Downloading LDCad for Windows Downloading LDCad for Linux Downloading Bricksmith for Mac Legacy LDraw Software Bricksmith LDCad MLCad LDD Summary 5 Brick Palettes LEGO Digital Designer (LDD) Identifying an Element Exploring the Palettes Classic Bricks Round Bricks Miscellaneous Bricks Technic Bricks Slope Bricks Control Panel Bricks Additional Slope Bricks Arch Bricks Rectangular Plates Circular and Triangular Plates Miscellaneous Plates Windscreens Architectural Elements Wheels Mindstorms and Technic Technic Beams Thin Technic Beams Pegs and Axles Gears Car Parts Flex Elements Street Plates Hero Factory Body Parts Hero Factory Accessories Outdoor Furnishings Vehicle Parts Boat Parts Train Parts Mechanical Parts Minifig Torsos and Legs Minifig Heads Minifig Hair Minifig Hats Alternate Figure Parts Minifig Torso Parts Minifig Accessories Food Animals Mecabricks Finding the Right Brick The Palettes Animals and Accessories for Animals Beams (Six) Bricks (Nine) Connectors Constraction Cranes and Scaffolding Decoration Elements Doors and Windows Electric Parts Fences and Ladders Food Stuff Functionnal Elements (Two) Interior Minifigs (Nine) Plants Plates (Six) Rubbers and Strings Signs and Flags Stickers Support Textiles Transportation (Four Subcategories) Tubes Tyres and Rims (Three Subcategories) Various Parts Wheel Based Wheel Bases Windscreens and Cockpits LDraw Unusual Elements Summary 6 Building with LEGO Digital Designer Exploring the Application Choose the Theme The Three Modes Menus Preferences Show Information Field Show Tool Tips Enable Sounds in the Application “Keys for Turning” Shown Along with Cursor Repeat Inserting Selected Bricks Show/Hide Brick Count Invert Camera X-Axis Invert Camera Y-Axis High-Quality Rendering of Bricks Placed in a Scene High-Quality Rendering of Bricks in the Brick Palette Advanced Shading Compatibility Mode Reset Preferences File Edit Toolbox View Help Checking Out the Workspace Navigating in the Workspace Camera Controls Using the Mouse to Move the Camera Zooming Reset View Panning Hiding the Palettes and Camera Control Building Basics Finding an Element Adding, Moving, and Placing an Element Colorizing and Decorating an Element Attaching Two Parts Attaching Multiple Parts The Physics of LDD Interacting with the Grid Advanced Building Techniques Templates Groups Bending and Flexing Summary 7 Building with LDraw LDraw Editor General Features LDraw Library Color Selector Multiple Views Precise Placement Submodels and Steps Complexity Building with Bricksmith The Top Menus The Workspace Building with LDCad Scripting and Animation in LDCad Summary 8 Building with Mecabricks Navigating Mecabricks The Home Page The Workshop The Library Parts Forum Building in Mecabricks Set the Grid and Ground Camera Control Adding New Bricks Cloning Rotation and Translation Grouping Hinges Flexing Snap Interacting with Other Platforms Saving to Mecabricks’ Library Importing Exporting Summary 9 Building Instructions Creating Instructions in LDD Autogenerating LDD Instructions Disadvantages of the System Steps Make a Web Page Differences Between the Two Versions Parts List Printing Instructions LPub: Building Instructions for LDraw Advantages of LPub Disadvantages of LPub Download LPub Manually Generating Instructions Generate Step Images Work in Google Slides Summary 10 Community Websites Peeron Bricklink Lego.com BrickJournal Software Viewers Creating New Parts for LDraw .DAT: The LDraw File Format Subfiles Example .DAT File Modify a Part Get Certified 3D Printing Parts Summary Index

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Author Information

John Baichtal has written or edited over a dozen books, including the award-winning Cult of Lego (2011 No Starch Press), LEGO hacker bible Make: LEGO and Arduino Projects (2012 Maker Media) with Adam Wolf and Matthew Beckler, Robot Builder (Que 2014), Maker Pro (Maker Media 2014), and Hacking Your LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Kit (Que 2015). John lives in Minneapolis with his wife and three children.

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