I’m using Fusion360, and I dislike it for a lot of reasons, but it’s easy to use. I tried FreeCAD, but it was very janky in comparison. Shapr3D was surprisingly good, but there’s no way I’m paying monthly for my hobby usage. I need precision prints, so I can’t just use Blender or similar.
Is there some magical unicorn software I’m not finding?
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I use Microsoft 3D Builder for most of my modeling stuff. Mainly for things like hardware type stuff. Or simple modifications to existing models if I need.
It has a simple interface, really easy to use. Builds models from simple shapes, no needing to learn a programming language or weird clunky interfaces.
Everyone is wrong. OpenSCAD is so much better than anything else. It’s so much easier to just write code. I regret wasting so much time learning Fusion.
FreeCAD. Anything that’s not opensource is basically using you for some nefarious purpose. You’re a product or a product in the making or you’re making a product for them…you could be training a CAD AI to end all CAD.
FreeCAD is us. You use it, if you find a problem you report it or fix it. That simple. Your CAD files don’t die because the company changed CEO or died.
FreeCAD, and I recommend you give it a second try, while watching the excellent tutorials from Deltahedra and Mangojelly on YouTube. Lots of the jank can be avoided if you only know how, so the tutorials are extremely useful.
FreeCAD has gotten exponentially better with each release the last few years, and both active developers and funding/donations from users have increased exponentially. The future is bright. And unlike the “free” commercial programs, FreeCAD is immune to future rug-pulls and enshitification.
You might also want to try https://dune3d.org/ , a relatively new 3D CAD software
I absolutely love freecad. There are dozens of us that actually really like it
I was learning with freecad.
Tried to defeature the screw holes on Steam Controller model and it crashed the application :/
I’m still learning so I have no idea how to do that manually :<
FreeCAD and OpenSCAD. FreeCAD is steadily getting better and better.
FreeCAD, but basically because it was free and open source when I started learning (which wasn’t long ago anyways)
OpenScad because I do simple things like funnels or part bins.
Yep. I wasted so much time learning Fusion and getting it to work under Linux. Writing code is so much easier.
OnShape. If you’re familiar with Fusion360, OnShape requires almost no additional learning. Workflows are pretty much the exact same. It’s free under the guise that everything you make is OnShapes IP. But if you’re looking to model casually and aren’t making things you wish to patent, it’s great.
Not open source if that’s a requirement.
I think the free version is more nuanced then that. By using the free version you agree to:
1.Use it for non commercial projects.
2 Place your designs in the public domain for anyone to use. Any design created from a free account is made public and may be used by others.
I didn’t dig too deep so I’m not sure what restraints are placed on anyone using your design.
But at no point is Onshape claiming ownership of your design.
It’s free under the guise that everything you make is OnShapes IP.
This sounds insanely predatory and messed up. Is this not as absolutely nuts as it sounds? O.o
Just make a tool, and take someone else’s work with that tool as your own? For real? This sounds really sus.
Yes, that’s the deal. Pay for it or give up your stuff
Ya agree with ya there
OpenSCAD. Nothing for the faint of heart, you need to know what you are doing, but it is perfect for programmers like me.
FreeCAD, runs on a damn potato. Fusion bakes it into charcoal instead. At least that is my experience on a kinda low-end laptop.
Oh, fusion is a heavy beast for sure. I just can’t stand FreeCAD’s interface.
I just wish someone would make an open source project with sketch based modeling and…. That’s all! I don’t need materials, rendering etc. I literally only need STL export.
But it needs to be as easy as shapr3d—which is marvelous, but $38usd/m for some stupid reason.
What sort of precision are you not getting from blender?
Once you set the parameters (I set mine to mm), I have found it to be accurate enough to make additional tools with which to measure.
Mind you, I don’t need accuracy down past a mm.
I like using Blender too. Granted, I’m already somewhat familiar with it for art purposes. But just for STLs, if you know what you’re doing you can actually get away with quite a bit using a boolean CAD-like workflow!
FreeCAD for most things. Microcad for anything I need to script. I hear OpenSCAD is promising.
90% fusion
9% tinkercad
1% dicking around in OnShape, getting frustrated, and giving up
I use autodesk inventor, which is like the more professional version of fusion360. But there is no free version and it is very expensive, i have a free student licence.
I like it way more than fusion360, and it is much better at Assembly’s. Still clumsy sometimes.
It doesn’t run on linux so i just remote into an old windows laptop when i need it.
I have tried freecad and onshape a lillte but i am just so used to inventor that its harder to use them.
