First time user. Best Cad software is?

[Olias]

The simplest answer is; Whatever CAD works for you.

However, since I use a number of CAD products, I did post about this topic some time ago.

Anyone still using Sketchup to create their models?

Great question. In my personal opinion, I think you would be far better served learning one of the more contemporary CAD tools. But I definitely appreciate the attraction to a tool that your mouse-muscle-memory just knows instinctually. It is hard to break away. This coming from someone who had the friggen rug pulled out from them upon the release of Excel 2007 and had to relearn all the hotkeys. It really put a damper on my productivity for a while because I used to navigate the Excel keyboard …

Last week I took the plunge and started down the path of learning SolidWorks, the Maker’s license. I still favor Onshape as my go to resource but my company has recently asked people in my role to start using SolidWorks more. So now I figure that I can use this hobby to enhance my professional knowledge. So far, I can say the learning curve is very steep but I also am starting to see the appeal of a well made piece of software that runs locally. I do not hold the same opinion of Fusion 360. While it is adequate, I am unimpressed by AutoCADs commercial practices and it shows in how they really set up road blocks to user enjoyment of their software. That is typical of the company who’s software I first started using in 1989.