[Wolves] Linux and CAD type programs

[Jono Bacon]

Kevanf1 wrote:

>Unless you are an angler you may not know what I'm looking for, but
>here goes.  Is there a program - obviously for Linux - whereby I can
>see the relation between the thickness of a material and the amount of
>curvature it goes through when under pressure?  Think of a fishing rod
>bending.  I've been asked to make one out of split cane.  In order to
>do it properly I need to work out the thickness of the cane all along
>its length.  With a fishing rod it is not merely a case that it bends
>I also have to think about where the bend starts, tip or middle
>section.  So I think I am looking for some type of CAD program.  It
>must be a graphical output not just mathematical.
>
>Any ideas?
>  
>
You could probably do this by using Blender and scripting the algorithms 
in Python within Blender. See it at http://www.blender3d.org/. You can 
also build interactive 3D scenes that you could use to the test the rod. 
A guy at the Blender conference used Blender for a similar purpose, but 
for testing robots before they were built. Prototyping on the cheap. :P

    Jono