Alastair Pilley
SchoolCAD team (NSW)
I make SchoolCAD and teach Design and Technology in Sydney. Ask me anything about SchoolCAD, or suggest what we should build next in Feature Requests.
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Phone stand design: model a bent acrylic phone stand and laser cut it
A bent acrylic phone stand is a classic first design project: one flat piece of acrylic, laser cut, then bent on a strip heater. This guide shows the phone stand design process in SchoolCAD, from a flat sketch to a folded 3D model and a…
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Free CAD for woodworking projects: real joints, cut lists and plans
SchoolCAD is free CAD for woodworking projects that runs in your browser. It was built around the school workshop, so it knows about real timber: woodwork joints, standard DAR pine sizes, cut lists, cutting plans and AS 1100 drawings. This…
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Exploded view drawings and assembly instructions for school projects
An exploded view drawing shows how the parts of a design go together, pulled apart along the lines they assemble. In SchoolCAD students can make an exploded view, an exploded assembly drawing with numbered balloons and a parts list, and…
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How to make a DXF file for laser cutting, free in your browser
This guide shows how to make a DXF file for laser cutting in SchoolCAD, free and in your web browser. A DXF is the 2D drawing file laser cutters and CNC routers read. SchoolCAD turns each part of a 3D design into a flat outline with its…
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Laser cut box generator: make a finger joint box and download the DXF free
Looking for a laser cut box generator? SchoolCAD can make a finger joint box for laser cutting in your browser, for free: set the width, depth, height and material thickness, and every finger works itself out again. Then download a DXF…
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Getting started with SchoolCAD in your classroom
SchoolCAD is CAD that runs in a web browser, so there's nothing to install and students don't need accounts. This guide covers what you need to know before your first lesson: what students see, how to pitch the level of help, and the links…
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Set a task for the whole class with a class link and QR code
A class link starts every student on the same task with one link. Post it in Google Classroom or Teams, or put its QR code on the board. Each student who opens it gets their own copy of the starter, with your task shown at the top of their…
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Collect and mark student work without accounts: hand-ins, versions and the Marking view
SchoolCAD lets students hand in their designs and lets you mark them, with no student accounts and nothing uploaded to a server. Work comes back through the places you already use, such as Google Classroom or Teams, as a link or a file.…
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Quick design: a finished project for every student, even before they can model
Quick design is the fastest way for a student to reach a finished, makeable class project. Instead of modelling every part, students work through a few design steps and change only the parts you've opened up: sizes, shapes, colours and…
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Timber cutting list calculator: what to buy and where to cut, for a whole class
SchoolCAD has a free timber cutting list calculator built in. From a 3D design it works out a cut list of every part, which standard boards and sheets to buy, what they'll cost and where to cut each part from each board, leaving room for…
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