FreeCad is free. https://www.freecad.org/
Well in that case I would say free Autodesk Fusion or Onshape are good candidates to start out with and get a feel for it. User interface is intuitive and learning curve is not that steep IMHO.
Negative part they both are cloud based, no perpetual licenses available so you are always at their mercy if you want to go for the paid subscription services.
FreeCad is completely free but for me at least the user interface and workflow is not that intuitive also a bit confusing thus has a steep learning curve, the ONDSEL FreeCad version helps a bit with the workflow but I still don’t fancy it.
Fusion 360 free version + Youtube and Udemy instructional videos. I have no inclination to try anything else. Good luck!
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Best to not waste anytime in TinkerCAD. That time is better spent learning a real CAD program that is so much more powerful, precise, and modifiable (parametric CAD). Just like vintageb3, I have models stranded in TinkerCAD that I will need to recreate in Fusion if I need them again.
Fusion 360 is the best in my opinion. Its drawbacks are that you have to pay, and it’s a relatively steep learning curve with its many features and dreaded timeline that frequently breaks the design when you adjust something…
Other tools I have tried are:
Blender (not ready for proper CAD)
TinkerCAD (too simple and babyish)
Google Sketchup (no comment, but soon stopped using it when I discovered Fusion)
Free CAD (hopeless - maybe it will improve one day)
I guess, the right answer would start with who are you in general and if you need your files/project always be local.
If you are by chance related to any University, they typically have campus-wise licence that you might be able to use unless you plan to make 3D printing a main income. Than it may become issue, but in a meanwhile it will let you become familiar with various commercial-grade tools.
I prefer Solidworks because ALL my projects are kept LOCAL. Previously I was using Autodesk Inventor. Both are nice, Autodesk Inventor seem to have a bit prettier visual look and render, but it is question of personal preferences.
If you are hobbyist, I would take a look to software that is by default free-ware even if the learning curve is steeper. First in mind, is FreeCAD. A lot of complains regarding familiarizing with it from people who are transitioning from other tools, but it seems to be very popular among hobbyists-entrepreneurs in Germany (many youtube tutorials are made by Germans).
Fusion 360 may be an option (a lot of plug-ins, ready models, etc.) but when I tried, there were limitations on how many projects are allowed on local computer and everything else was in cloud. I didn’t like that aspect.
Perhaps, update the starting post with more details of do you actually need.
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I use FreeCad for all my engineering models. It can produce .stl files for your slicer. In my case Orcaslicer. My printer is a BBL A1
FreeCad is an open source program that runs on Windows and Mac. In this case “free” also means “no costs” unless you wish to donate.
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Does it do everything you want? You obviously like it well enough to be using it, but for some people that can be a pretty low bar. How well do you like it generally? How steep was the learning curve? It would be great to hear from an actual user of that program.
I started with Freecad about 3 years ago. Most of my 3D printed objects are the engineering type of stuff. I looked at different Cad programs but every time I returned to Freecad. It’s open source and development is pretty active. Obviously it has a few problems (that can be worked around) and the learning curve is steep. Fortunately there are a lot of YouTube movies that explain many topics and tricks. Mangojelly is the one that I use most.
I’m in no way an expert, Freecad has a lot of functions I have not even tried yet. But until now I’ve always been able to design the things I want such as parts for R/C planes (wings, motor mounts, wheels, etc), all sorts of brackets, stands for my wife’s glass-art and replacements of broken parts in the house.
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I used to used open scad, then migrated to Fusion360 which was OK until there was a reduction of editible models to 10. I found I was constantly turning things editible/uneditable and there were some restrictions on add ins.
Now I’m happily using OnShape, unlimited models (but they live in their cloud and are available to others). After a bit of a confusing start I’m finding it extremely easy to use and to modify. The updates are frequent and it’s improving incrementally.
I still keep fusion as it’s simple to import an STL, convert it to a solid model and then edit it. OnShape can’t do that which is a huge shame.
Else I’ve found it to be really handy and easy to use.
Try some of the free parametric modelling platforms, try Fusion and OnShape. Give each a week or two at least and for each take a fixed design for a ‘something’ and see how easy or difficult it is to (a) design and (b) edit parts.
Whatever you end up with it needs to be parametric … for example I’ve made this complicated object and I find that one hole is the wrong size. Can you easily and simply change that object without everything else falling apart.
My test pieces are a one way valve block that works using a few ball bearings and a few internal and blind linking holes. The other is a section of submarine hull built from cross section profiles, the lofting on this can be quite amusing.
I use SketchUp. I should probably look at something more geared for 3D printing.
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It’s not so much gearing towards 3D printing honestly, slicers simply use file types that have been around for many many years but used in different applications. Slicers were the new development because they utilized those files which was [.STL]
Many famed designers like cinderwing3d & flexi factory only push out [.stl] files because that’s their user bases go to. Otherwise I’ve request Flexi Factory to release them in [.STEP] which is able to compress and allow for more polygons which in return allows for a high resolution model to be sliced/import/exported easily versus (.3mf/.stl) but he stated his software only allows him to export .stl
The software you’ll find will be preference pretty much. Like I could model within MasterCAM but that’s specilized in (Computer Aided Machining) and costs $11,000-$13,000/yr license so obviously you wouldn’t choose that to work in.
Solidworks came after Fusion 360 (now Fusion) which is around $45/month
BUT a non-commercial license so you can’t distribute any work outside of it.
Then Fusion which is basically an all-in-one application aside from autodesk’s “AutoCAD” where they implemented (CAM, CAD, RENDER, and Drawing) in a bundled payment but they also use microtransaction “extensions” that drive up the costs per function.
So you’ll have to decide what best suites your need and want.
I just now checked, and they have a version for maker’s that’s only $48/year. I don’t know whether the maker version is missing key functionality or not compared to whatever the $45/month version is that you’re referring to, but if the maker version is substantially the same as the full professional version, then that is an incredible deal. At that price I would switch to Solidworks in an instant if fusion360 ever decided to shut-down its free version. A lot of people (or at least the buzz I previously heard, which is admittedly no longer current) thought Solidworks is better than fusion360. I had looked into Solidworks years ago, but back then there was no separate offering for makers and it was multiple thousands of dollars to get even the most basic license, plus a hefty annual rate to keep updated.
This is really quite good news!
Serious designers use professional software.
I stated the critical fact that the $48/yr price is a “NON-COMMERCIAL” license.
You cannot distribute any designs for profit.
You’d need to ask them but I’m pretty sure uploading to MakerWorld would fall under those terms due to the uncontrolled distribution of files. Not to mention the reward system
Not an issue for me, but maybe that’s huge for other people. Could I post models on, say, github if there’s no chance of any financial upside? That would be allowed, right? That’s good enough for me. I’m just surprised Makerworld would be the deciding factor in deciding which cad software to use… Honestly, that is so far from my considerations that I just can’t imagine choosing to use, say, freecad over Solidworks just so I could have a chance of getting a free spool of filament. I had a good laugh even thinking that, but, yeah, sure, everybody has their priorities, and I try not to judge.
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And?
Its like image software, there are many people who dabble in photography and can utilise pro software. Functional software that fits our niche tends to be hard to find and so it interesting to hear these viewpoints.
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That is not true. Solidworks was first released in 1995 and inspired Autodesk to create Inventor, which was released in 1999, as a direct competitor. Fusion 360 was released in 2013.
I’ve also looked at freecad over the years and could never figure out how to use it properly and because I always had something else to use I left it. Now I use it for everything, it was a steep learning curve. Start small it took me about a month to learn it short comings. There are still things that break the model:-
Zero thickness faces, you can’t put a 5mm fillet on 2 edges of a 10mm wide part. 4.99 works though. Drawing threads, you need to left the profile cut into the part or the models break.
Topological naming errors, when drawing a sketch on a face of a cube it will be referenced as being attached to a face on the cube (i.e. Pad001.Face3). If you make a chamfer in the sketch so that the resulting solid now has 7 faces, then the sketch may not end up on the same face again depend on how it calculates. There are ways to prevent that from happening but involve extra steps to place a driven workplane instead.
I use the realthunder version of Freecad as it allows multiple bodies in a part which is a huge help because you can draw the general shape as one body then split the bodies and then create driven bodies from the original that will update when you change the master shape. The sketcher also allow you to use projected/referenced geometry directly with having to trace over external references.
Things that make it slow down, Knurls, honeycomb cut outs etc. those things are best left to add at the end of the modelling process.
The main draw back is it’s single core 3d engine when you drawing really complex things.
Save often and you’ll be ok.
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Ahh I see I was mislead on the history… This is correct.
- Still prefer Fusion over Solidworks when it comes to Solid Modeling. Then MasterCAM over everything else.