Good evening everyone.
I’m looking for some suggestions for software used to create 3D models. Needs to be Mac native. I tried doing the typical lookup but keywords are getting more bogus sites than anything useful.
Thanks in advance for your help.
I use shapr3d on ipad. I know they have a mac version that uses a mouse. Its super intuitive and you can just kinda let your ideas, well, flow. It has all the capabilities you need without feeling overwhelming, so definitely look into that as a solid option!
Thanks! Downloaded. installed and tinkering. So far its looks like a good solution.
Alright, good luck! If you need any help with using it let me know! Once you know the ropes, its super powerful!
Mac actually has some solid 3D options — depending on how deep you want to go:
Beginner / Fast Design
Shapr3D — total Mac/iPad native, super intuitive
(Apple Pencil + iPad combo is chef’s kiss)
Tinkercad — browser-based, basic but great for quick shapes
Serious CAD
Fusion 360 — great all-rounder, runs on Mac
(Not fully native but works really well, especially for mechanical parts)
Onshape — browser CAD, surprisingly powerful, team-friendly
FreeCAD — free/open-source, a little clunky but capable once you get it
Organic / Artistic
Not sure what your LLM means by this – Fusion is fully Mac native and supports Apple Silicon. Great free choice for personal use.
Yes, but fusion is expensive and complicated. I suggest shapr3d any day.
OnShape for sure. I was never trained in computer drafting software, but picked this up in no time. There are plenty of good creators on You-Tube with excellent tutorials. Don’t go with TinkerCad just because you think it will be easier. Invest the time with OnShape. You won’t be disappointed.
Art - aka kartcon
Never forget OpenSCAD.
It is perfect for the following user types:
This is not for everyone and many of the ease of use features simply do not exist. You have to do everything manually, basic things like chamfers, bevels or fillets, they all become parts of your model rather than settings on a primary shape.
That said, I have published over 850 models and have created over 900 using just OpenSCAD. 30 odd have yet to be published.
These range from the simplistic to those with over 40 million triangles and several upcoming complex CyberBrick models.
It is NOT for everyone. I turned to it in part to 35 years of professional software development and primarily because of Aphantasia.
Another thumbs up for FreeCad, totally new to printing and for sure new to CAD and FreeCad is pretty amazing. Runs local, and the new version that just came out is much friendlier compared to what I have seen the old versions are like. Hundreds of tutorials on YouTube make the learning curve not really that bad.
Fusion runs on Apple Silicon very nicely, but being a QT-based app, it’s not even a little bit Mac-like. If you use a Mac because you like consistent, well-designed interfaces, Fusion is not your friend.
That said, I have found it worth putting up with Fusion’s, ah… unique… interface because once I started to understand how to use it parametrically, it became crazy powerful for me. Designs require a lot of planning, though – it’s not as flexible and ad-hoc as something like TInkerCAD, where you just mash things together and stretch and squash and cut until you get a shape that looks right.
Complicated, absolutely. Expensive, not necessarily! I use the free version. There are a few things I can’t access, like prismatic STL to solid conversion (when I want to modify someone else’s work), and a limited number of editable files (so I toggle old ones to read only mode).
I gave Shapr3d a try on my iPad, and it’s pretty great, especially with a stylus. But I kind of had to pick something to focus on and learn, so I stuck to Fusion. I’ll probably circle back to Shapr3D later this year.
I’m using Mac and I absolutely love how fusion works on it. Might be a bit steep in learning curve, but that’s up to you to decide.
If you are creating million-dollar futuristic models that could change how the universe works
or you’re quietly planning to take over Greenland because you already control several other countries. I strongly recommend fully local, offline software like Rhino , OpenSCAD , or FreeCAD .
Once you invest the time to learn them:
Right now, most free cloud-based CAD tools are free because you are the product.
They let you design, watch what you do, sometimes limit commercial rights, and politely ask if they can:
Don’t feed the beast.
That said… If you truly don’t care, value convenience above all else, and just want to model cool stuff use whatever works. Install 5–8 different apps , poke them all, and keep the one that feels right.
No judgment.
Just don’t be surprised when your toaster starts recommending fillets and parametric hinges via Alexa.
Long time Mac user here (used to work at Apple back in the 80’s and 90’s). I’ve been using the free version of Fusion 360 on my Macbook for a couple years now and I like it a lot. You are limited to 10 “editable” projects at one time but you can just make the ones you aren’t actively changing read only and then change them back when you do. There are a few quirks to work around such as them not installing in the correct place, they install in /applications instead of the real applications directory. Once I stopped fighting that and just launch from that directory things got better! I used to use FreeCad but never liked the user interface and it was always crashing so I ditched it.
I think others have covered the conventional recommendations so I’ll through some unconventional ones your way.
Both are more geared towards ease of use and artistic modeling. So if you’re looking for parametric based stick to the CAD recommendations.
Freecad is very good now and very much like Solidworks but free. Tinkercad has its uses but if you want any degree of accuracy, Freecad parametric is the way to go.
I use the free version of Fusion360 on my Mac. Shaper3d on the ipad.
Why do you have a closed source printer? (I assume you do, as you’re here)
Because it gives me the best results while still allowing me to maintain full privacy.
If Bambu ever makes the cloud mandatory, I will stop using their products. I would sell my printers the same day and move to a different solution.
I don’t care whether software is open-source or closed-source. In fact, I often prefer closed-source software, because those companies usually have more resources and can develop faster. What matters to me is control.
Rhino is closed source, and most of the tools I use are closed source as well. As long as I have control over how the software operates, I’m fine with it. I’m even willing to jump through a few extra hoops to keep that control—LAN mode is a good example.
I used Adobe products for 12 years and paid a significant amount for closed-source licenses. The moment Adobe shifted to a mandatory cloud-based model, I walked away and found alternatives. I’m happier now. They lost a customer, and they probably don’t care—and that’s fine. I don’t either.
The day Fusion 360 offers a true local installer, I will gladly pay the full license fee. I genuinely think it’s an amazing piece of software. I’m not against the cloud as an option, but I strongly oppose it being mandatory. If everyone shared this view, the software landscape would likely look very different.
As you can’t examine the code, you only have the vendor’s word that that data is private, which is exactly the same as for a cloud system (however it is possible to reverse engineer the code).
Also even if it is open source, you would need to build the project yourself to be sure that the binary you were given was actually built from the same code. (Some people got hacked that way from video game tools that added a backdoor into the prebuilt binary).
The way to ensure privacy would be disconnect the machine from the internet. Which I think you’re probably doing, but I think it’s important to mention that the privacy of a connected cloud system is really no different from proprietary code (the only difference being that you can unplug one).