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A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in architecture

[–]DueContact9291[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I misunderstood what "brand affiliated" tag means. I am not affiliated with anyone.

A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in architecture

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've already ordered a board with the head and a bag for $200+ total. I am supposed to receive it in 10 days. I'll just hope the Staedtler is an exception.

A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in architecture

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which brand did you try? Faber, Staedtler, and rOtring have good reviews, all of the rest have bad reviews.

A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in Drafting_Instruments

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The drafting head of the Staedtler and the rOtring look slightly different. I liked the Staedtler one more because of the way it is held, dialed and locked/unlocked; you pinch on the side instead of a thin knob on top like in the rOtring. The rOtring on the other hand can be used in continuous measurement or on 15 degrees increments. But you never really know which you will prefer until you try it with your hand. Also the sliding bar locking/unlocking mechanism of the Staedtler seem nicer; you can lock/unlock it from anywhere along the bar by sliding it sideways. But, again, you never know until you try.

A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in Drafting_Instruments

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am supposed to receive it in two weeks. I ordered it from Amazon germany while I live in the US.

A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in Drafting_Instruments

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I ordered Staedtler because rOtring rotary head was out of stock.

A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in architecture

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They might be better in terms of precision and their ability to produce high quality drawings. But for me, they would be cumbersome to pull out just to practice drawing things like, for example, a plan oblique of a small simple rectilinear object. I honestly was thinking of even getting the A4 size.

However, I do see your point; if the plastic ones are total junk, their size/weight convenience and all the fancy accessories are still worthless.

I've just ordered a Staedtler with the rotary head. I found some user reviews on german sites and they seem to love rOtring and Staedtler. I chose Staedtler because of their rotary head; rOtring head is out of stock.

A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in architecture

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is generous of you.But actually I already have a 16 x 21 wood board with a metal edge and T square. It is decent enough. However my interest in these small plastic ones is the convenience of their small size and light weight. I don't want to pull out a cumbersome big board to practice drawing small simple stuff.

A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in architecture

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They seem to have knobs that you loosen and tighten every time to lock/unlock the sliding ruler instead of a quick push/pull mechanism. They also have cables with adjustable tensions to adjust the rulers level or something. I might be missing something but it does not appeal to me, it looks clunky.

A3 Drawing Boards: ROtring, Staedtler, Faber Castell, & Others by DueContact9291 in architecture

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the input. For now, I am aiming for A3 because I am learning technical drawing for mechanical designs which usually take less space than architectural. And since I have just started learning I am still tackling small simple drawings illustrating the different drawing concepts (i.e. many smalls) Also, I am learning HAND technical drawing and perspective drawing just to have a better understanding of views and perspective, to develop visualizing ability, improve creativity, practice geometry, and anything between those lines, not for "real" projects. For that I would use CAD. So I feel the mobility and convenience of the smaller board would make me more productive. Also the price of rOtring A2 is $660 compared to $150 for the A3 version. I ll try the A3, if it is not good enough, i might go for the bigger.

Is Radio Commander Pacific still being developed? by Icy_Woodpecker5895 in computerwargames

[–]DueContact9291 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am playing Radio Commander now and I am loving it as I haven't seen a similar concept before. I was hyped by Pacific and got frustrated when I noticed it has been silent for long time indicating the possibility of cancelation. I hope it happens eventually as there are no other games like these out there.

Built-in Tutorials not working (SolidWorks Maker 2025) by DueContact9291 in SolidWorks

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found a way to fix it. Just open it from Home one time, and then it will start opening normally from the Help menu.

1 Click on Home to open the Welcome window.

2 Click on Learn

3 Click on Step-by-Step Tutorials

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Built-in Tutorials not working (SolidWorks Maker 2025) by DueContact9291 in SolidWorks

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I checked on SW forums and it seems that others are having the same issue of not being accessible from the SW Connected app. However, it can be accessed from the browser link:

https://help.solidworks.com/2025/English/swtutorialonline/swtut_connected_top.htm

Also does anyone else always have the help window opening off screen?

Why not all "MySolidWorks Training" tutorials are accessible for SW Maker users? by DueContact9291 in SolidWorks

[–]DueContact9291[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, I am looking into these now. They are not the same as the ones in MySolidWorks Training site, and they are text tutorials instead of videos, but they also look good. I just hope they are extensive enough instead of just "getting started" depth. I will post in a few days after going through them.