RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
[...] This makes it sound like they are adding a new feature that allows archiving on a per design basis. If this is what they are doing then it may be ok since it should be somewhat easy to switch among 10 active things.
So it sounds like:
- Autodesk will turn on a feature that allows archiving designs within project folders.
- On a date coming soon, EVERY document in your project folders will be archived. (I assume then that the folders remain unarchived? Not sure.)
- You can go into project folders and unarchive up to 10 concurrent designs across all of your project folders.
I wish they'd said "design" instead of "document" to avoid all the confusion. I can see where this might be restrictive. Still usable for many hobbyists, but disappointing.
I'm having a change of perspective. I can understand Autodesk's position, but I really need to throw my support behind the open source projects. Blender is a big boy package and can do anything I want for modeling. I have reservations about FreeCAD, but can probably do what I want with it. Must figure out how to do parametric designs.
Thanks for the good info all!
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
Will stop procrastinating on learning Blender and check out FreeCAD in more depth.
I have been using freecad for a couple of years. It's good enough for me that I don't need anything else.
Sorry for my poor English. I try to do my best.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
FreeCad is the absolute worst 3d drafting program there is, except for all of the others. 😉
Seriously, though, it's my primary drafting program and has been since I took my first course at our local 'makerspace' so many years ago and they recommended it, mainly because it will do almost anything you need and also because it will run on all of the major platforms and nobody will be left out because they do not run a Win/Mac/Linux machine.
I do admit that it's not perfect, is bloated, has some quirks, and has so many tools that you can easily hang yourself or shoot yourself in the foot.
I mostly use the Part and Part Design workbenches, but I did learn to use some of the more esoteric stuff, like taking script text and rendering it to be 3d printable.
One of the most handy functions it has is the ability to take many/most .stl files and convert them to editable shapes and solids. I've found that the flow in the last sentence will correct many (but not all by any means) wonky .stl files and render them usable, and with greater success than many of the 'fix it' programs. It also does have a mesh repair section, but again, it will not correct everything.
I've also dabbled in OpenSCAD, but I find it to be too much work for many simple jobs. It's also very easy to produce corrupt .stl files unless you're very careful.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
FreeCad is the absolute worst 3d drafting program there is, except for all of the others. 😉
100% agree
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
I use FreeCad as well. It works for me but there is a learning curve. It's also hard to find a decent guide that isn't outdated, though they have a good forum.
I guess I would recommend it over anything else I've tried.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
That's one of my beefs with it too. I've tried using it before and it's not intuitive compared to all the other CAD software I've used.
Fair enough, I then spent time searching for how to do $thing. Only to get pages of results suggesting a menu item/button/method that did not exist, moved or simply did not do what I wanted.
... I gave up after several attempts; my time is worth more than an artificially steep learning curve. "Ask and wait for an answer" is not really practical for every little thing.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
Another interesting suggestion for an alternative that was mentioned:
SolveSpace - looks to be quite feature complete based on the description...
http://solvespace.com/tutorial.pl
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
Don't know if anybody mentioned DesignSpark, still free.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
While not surprised at this move by Autodesk it's still annoying. They have a habit of bringing out a really useful program for hobbyists, then later rolling it into one of their pay only packages and thinking that everyone will jump to paying. Where it all falls down is the prices they charge. £54 per month (£438) a year is way beyond 99% of amateur hobbyist means. Most people don't make any money from their hobbies so this kind of pricing is ridiculous.
It is becoming VERY like Adobe in it's methods.
All my models are in Fusion360 as it's the ONLY package I've ever been able to learn so this kind of change could mean the end of 3D printing my own designs.
Serif's Affinity range is good as far as it goes, but for me (who uses their old DrawPlus) it lacks too many vital features that were in DrawPlus (3d effects, glass effects, etc.). It also can't do measurements. It is just for graphics artists now not people who want to do blueprints etc.
To be honest I wish Serif would make a package like Fusion 360.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
Yeah, removing most of the export methods just screams vendor lock-in
And then they crank up the prices and keep it more and more restrictive so you have no choice but to pay if you want your stuff.
I'm exporting my stuff and jumping ship out of principle. Currently trying to get SolidEdge running under WINE/Crossover.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
Someone in the Reddit post also mentioned Seiemens SolidEdge, also free for hobbyists/makers
Apparently it's local, no cloud BS either- so once you have it, you should "have" it.
https://solidedge.siemens.com/en/solutions/users/hobbyists-and-makers/
This is looking good:
This free download:
- Is available to any active maker, CAD enthusiast, or design challenge competitor interested in using CAD to bring their ideas to life.
- Is intended for personal use, and may not be used for commercial purposes
- Has a license that does not expire
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
Yes - it looks very powerful. I tried using FreeCad again for a small STL mod and immediately ditched it when I found out that you have to model threads manually. Unfortunately, I have not yet figured out how to import and work with an STL in SolidEdge yet. I can open the file but can't find the referenced "Manual region definition" that lets you turn the mesh into actual faces you can work with.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
I would not consider STL for import in any CAD software; there's just no usable geometry to work with. That said, the community is missing a state-of-the-art open CAD & PDM system for collaboration.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
Yes - it looks very powerful. I tried using FreeCad again for a small STL mod and immediately ditched it when I found out that you have to model threads manually. Unfortunately, I have not yet figured out how to import and work with an STL in SolidEdge yet. I can open the file but can't find the referenced "Manual region definition" that lets you turn the mesh into actual faces you can work with.
You should be able to get a workable solid model of a reasonably sane .stl file by using the part workbench, importing the .stl, convert mesh to shape, refine shape (maybe more than once), and convert to solid. I've done countless remixes this way over the past three years or so.
Remember that this will not contain the information that was in the original draft. Learning to work with these is somewhat of an acquired art and requires some getting into the mind of the original designer.
That workflow above also is a quick and dirty way to clean up some (but no way all) iffy .stl files that will not slice.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
Yes - it looks very powerful. I tried using FreeCad again for a small STL mod and immediately ditched it when I found out that you have to model threads manually. Unfortunately, I have not yet figured out how to import and work with an STL in SolidEdge yet. I can open the file but can't find the referenced "Manual region definition" that lets you turn the mesh into actual faces you can work with.
You should be able to get a workable solid model of a reasonably sane .stl file by using the part workbench, importing the .stl, convert mesh to shape, refine shape (maybe more than once), and convert to solid. I've done countless remixes this way over the past three years or so.
Remember that this will not contain the information that was in the original draft. Learning to work with these is somewhat of an acquired art and requires some getting into the mind of the original designer.
That workflow above also is a quick and dirty way to clean up some (but no way all) iffy .stl files that will not slice.
Your instructions are for FreeCad - I was referring to STL import issues with SolidEdge.
My Freecad gripe was that something like threads still must be done manually.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
@bodo
dxf for 2D and step for 3D are most common one and widely supported.
Often linked posts:
Going small with MMU2
Real Multi Material
My prints on Instagram
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
@vintagepc
I'm very much a novice with Freecad, so not sure if this will help you with your usecase, but this video from Joko engineering help shows a way of producing threads.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
@vintagepc
I'm very much a novice with Freecad, so not sure if this will help you with your usecase, but this video from Joko engineering help shows a way of producing threads.
That's one of my beefs with it too. I've tried using it before and it's not intuitive compared to all the other CAD software I've used.
Fair enough, I then spent time searching for how to do $thing. Only to get pages of results suggesting a menu item/button/method that did not exist, moved or simply did not do what I wanted.
... I gave up after several attempts; my time is worth more than an artificially steep learning curve. "Ask and wait for an answer" is not really practical for every little thing.
Thanks for proving my point about an artificially steep curve. I'd searched manually on how to do it and all of the results I clicked were "you have to model them yourself. " I have better things to do with my time than sift through tons of outdated stuff to find what's current/relevant.
Not saying it's a bad product, but the lack of cohesive reference guides is absolutely killing it from a usability standpoint.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
@vintagepc
No disagreement on the learning curve here! I've only just started learning 3D design, so abandoned F360 and looked for the "best of the rest" but it's not an easy journey. Hopefully the F360 situation drives an increase in users and will also increase the number of people willing to help with development and documentation in the coming months.
RE: PSA: Fusion360 free getting a major nerf
Well, that's a catch-22, isn't it? The lack of reference info is offputting, so you scare away users that would otherwise potentially contribute.
I can't help but feel that I'd be a solid user if that wasn't the case.