Hi all, can you recommend a good CAD program for a occasional / casual user like me who wants to design small parts for 3D printing or on-line machine shop (e.g. eMachineShop)?
I see various Autodesk versions (Inventor, Fusion 360, AutoCAD, TinkerCAD).
There's also 3D modeling software like Sketchup. Also lesser-known choices like Aliebre or QCAD.
I'm looking for something that's relatively easy to use because I'll use it infrequently.
What other features do you think are important?
What software are you using?
Please let me know what you think!
-- Pete
I'm an old guy and tried to bring myself into the modern world with Sketchup. After a few evenings I decided it was quicker to just go make stuff the old fashioned way.
T.J.
MegaDork
7/30/17 4:23 p.m.
I've been using Fusion360 for the past few months to make stuff to 3d print. It seems easy enough to pick up and it is free.
I would start with Sketchup since it is the simplest and move up to Fusion 360 if Sketchup ends up being not powerful enough for you (not likely if you are just an occasional user). Sketchup is entirely
free while Fusion 360 has a free trial followed by a $300 per year license... in the 3D CAD world that is condsidered very cheap.
Edit: apparently you should be able to use Fusion for free indefinitely if you are a hobbyist: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/really-free-for-hobbyist-enthusiast-or-business-that-make-less/td-p/5576176
I would still start with Sketchup since it is simpler.
I use sketchup. I've designed quite a few small (less than 10" cubed) parts on it and I like it. I keep meaning to try fusion 3d, just keep forgetting.
Online course for Fusion 360 including how to get the hobbyist license for free:
Samples
Classes
I use freeCAD a bit.
It's clunky, seems powerful, but is not really intuitive. I took a whole semester of solid works in college so I'm not 100% green either.
