LeoCAD is a CAD program that uses bricks similar to those found in many toys ...
This one is for Windows or Linux Systems ...
OK: Yet another Computer Aided Design (CAD) program like
Bricksmith or
LEGO Digital Designer ...
Welcome
LeoCAD is a CAD program that uses bricks similar to those found in many toys (but they don't represent any particular brand). Currently it has a library of more than 1000 different pieces, most of them were created by James Jessiman (the author of LDraw). If you have any suggestions, comments or if you found a bug, please send an email to the mailing list.
Thanks to everybody who have helped me over the last couple of years, if it wasn't for you the program wouldn't probably get this far.
Keyframing
Each object in a LeoCAD project can have a different position and orientation for each step or frame that it appears. This feature is called keyframing, and works differently if the program is in Instruction or Animation mode.
This is very useful when creating instructions because it allows you to have a door open in one step and closed later, or have the camera display the model from a different angle on a certain step to show details from another section of the model.
If you're in animation mode, LeoCAD automatically interpolates the value of the previous key with the value of the next key to calculate the position of the object at each frame. This makes the creation of animations a very simple thing because you only need to set the start and end positions and LeoCAD will take care of the other frames.
When the Key Button () from the Animation Toolbar is depressed, a new key is added at the current step/frame each time you move or rotate an object, if a key doesn't already exist. When the icon is not pressed, the changes are made to the key immediately before the current step/frame.
Instructions and Animations
LeoCAD can be used to create building instructions and animations, making it a very powerful editor. When you start the program you're placed in Instruction mode by default, you can switch between Animation and Instruction mode using the Mode Button () from the Animation Toolbar.
Each program mode stores the position and orientation of all objects in separate places, so changing the position of an object on one mode does not change it on the other mode. To easily copy the position from the other mode, choose Copy Keys From ... from the Pieces Menu.
When you're in Instruction Mode, each time unit is called a Step and when you're in Animation Mode, each time unit is called a Frame. The most important difference between the 2 modes is how Keyframing works.
http://www.leocad.org/ Categories: What is it? - Lego Bricks - 3D Animation - 3D Modeling - Educational - CAD - Create Models Pictures - Create Animated Video - LINUX - Windows