Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations  

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

I am using freeCad which I found easy to learn once I forgot everything I knew about 2-D cad. Some people like Fusion 360 which is free for some until Autodesk decides it isn't. Solidworks is another option. I believe it's cloud based though, which may be desireable to some folk.

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

Hi ElectroFrank,

you can use a number of packages, the trick as you have already found out, is to find one that you 'get on with' 

for engineering components Fusion 360, is a good package. there is a 'non commercial' user license available for free. 
another option is freecad. 

If you are more programming orientated you could try OpenScad

I use 123D Design, which is a discontinued program, but I get on with it... 
regards Joan

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

I second the recommendation for FreeCAD.  It does about everything I need.

It runs on most platforms and is reasonably well-behaved.

Tons of tutorials out there if you need some help.

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

In terms of ease of learning CAD software, TinkerCAD is as easy as it gets. I use it now and then, mostly for simple modifications to existing STLs. I for one am not a real fan of FreeCAD, its UI feels to me like a throwback to the days of Windows 95.  But I'm sure as far as functionality is concerned, it's fine. I mostly use Fusion 360. There are thousands of YouTube videos that make it fairly easy (I think) to get the hang of it. I also use OpenSCAD, which feels more like a programming language—but it really isn't, and for someone with a software development background like myself OpenSCAD can at times be excruciatingly irritating.

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

Regarding FreeCAD UI, there is a simple reason for that -- initial release was 2002 ...

Posted by: @jsw

I second the recommendation for FreeCAD.  It does about everything I need.

It runs on most platforms and is reasonably well.

+1

And it runs on my Raspberry Pi400 64bit PiOS, together with PrusaSlicer!

https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?p=1984706&hilit=Prusaslicer#p1982692

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

I also got both of them to run on the RPI 400.

When the PC down in the train room died, I replaced it with a RPI 400 (basically a Pi 4 in a case with a keyboard) and it works fine for everything I do down there, mostly SSH-ing in to other Pis, but casual web surfing, document editing, and occasionally pulling up CAD documents to edit them and test slice them.

And, LOL, OpenSCAD is too much like work! 🙂

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

Posted by: @jsw

And, LOL, OpenSCAD is too much like work! 🙂

Digital sundial was first 3Dprint I saw years ago you want to do in OpenSCAD than in eg. FreeCAD:

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

I use DesignSpark, free sponsored by RS. Definitely and engineering package. Produces valid .STL files with no artifacts unlike some others. I suspect it's not widely used in the 3d community.

The problem is that which ever one you pick, you're going to invest a lot of time climbing a pretty steep learning curve but of course at the time you picked it you didn't know anything about CAD. kindda circular realty.

Fusion 360 seems to be the go to for engineering type CAD, personally wouldn't use anything cloud based, but thats just me.

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

Yeah, FreeCAD is probably the worst CAD program there is, except for all of the others!  😉

For one of the very first classes I took in 3d printing, so many years ago, they recommended FreeCAD because (duh) it's free of cost, and it runs on any computer (Peecee, Mac, and Real Computers) (HHOK) that anyone taking the class might have and use.

The machine in the home office, where I have the printers, is Windows, my bedroom desktop is Ubuntu, and my train room computer is a Pi 400, and it runs on all and I can access the 3d print files via a network share from any of them.

One thing I really like is that you can take a (non-corrupt) .stl file and convert the mesh to a shape and then to a solid which makes it very reworkable.  All bets are off for .stl files coming from Thingiverse, however.  😉

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

I highly recommend Autodesk Fusion 360. I have been building complex 3D models for 20 years with another package, and I am just blown away how well Fusion performs. It has taken my modelling to a whole new level. It has so many features built-in which automatically generate things I had to do manually in the past. 

An amazing feature I just discovered is the timeline. I can adjust the size or parameters of a part I made two hours ago, and it automatically updates everything I've done since. It supercharges my productivity.

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

Posted by: @electrofrank

I am intending to buy a Prusa i3 MK3S+.    I want to start my journey by getting to grips with 3D CAD sofware, to design the things I want to print.

I cannot find anywhere on the Prusa site that gives information on design software (why is this missing, or hard to find ?).

I had a go at Tinkercad, but found it impossible.   I want to design simple engineering parts for various purposes, including gears.

Please can someone offer advice on where to start, what software is easy to begin learning and designing on ?

 

 

Well its an old post but still relevant today so I will chime in for all the current Newbs to 3D printing and design.  3D Printer Mfrs and Retailers don't mention CAD software because (for most people) its very hard to learn and very expensive.  If you knew just how much so you probably wouldn't buy a printer.  I use TinkerCAD for most everything and it works for most everything but is horrible if you need to go back and make changes to a dimension and for large projects with many parts and for designs with curves.  You are just manipulating premade building blocks in TinkerCAD.  I used Fusion360 Free Version for a couple years and made up some pretty nice functioning RC boats, including hulls, gear boxes, etc. and custom furniture that I could not have done in TinkerCAD.  Then after a few updates or so all my files were gone, the app would no longer open on my PC.  Well over a year's worth of work gone (the unfinished projects not yet converted to STL and downloaded to my PC).  Fusion360 wants to be a power player for business and does not want to bother with individual home users any more.  Now its $680 a year for one person - too rich for my home RC hobby.  I tried FreeCAD and al the other Free CADs around the net and didn't have much luck learning them without a class and an instructor.  Fusion360 was the best IMO but like I said, at $680 a year, way too expensive for anyone not making good money off their designs.  Maybe some company will step in to fill the void left in the hobbyist market by Fusion360 and provide a similar product for home use at around $99 or so a year.  Meanwhile, use TinkerCAD while it lasts and start learning something else like FreeCAD with no expectations of making anything complex, like your imagination envisions, for at least a few months, maybe even a year or more.  Yup, that's why they don't mention design software, they only mention downloading what others have already designed.

RE: Basic 3D CAD Design Software Recommendations

Cheapest (free) option is JSCAD, you have to program like in OpenSCAD, but in JavaScript and it runs in your browser (with doc and example):
https://jscad.app

Since recently it has animation sliders like OpenSCAD.
I use it for 3Dprinting with my Prusa MINI+, but as 3D graphic backend as well:
Select a graph and then press "stereographic projection", that makes JSCAD open with stereographic projection of the planar embedding:
https://hermann-sw.github.io/planar_graph_playground/