CAD software recommendations

[vk327]

Hey all the tech boffins

 

probably  been asked before but my searches aint delivering 

been a while since iv had access to cad software (previously done a bit with  auto desk for electrical drawings)

Whats the go to for home use modelling software thats user friendly  and not "one million dollars" *insert dr evil*  a year?

looking for ability  to 2d/3d model good enough to  3d print prototypes brackets (guess il be going down the i need a 3d printer wormhole) & send files for cnc machining /cutting

have a top model HP envy laptop so  shouldn't have a problem running most software

[ThePog]

Onshape ftw

You can pay for the collaborative stuff but there is a free version that is fully functional.

The only downside is that all your cad files are public.

$1500us a year for the first paid tier with private files.

Its all online so the laptop specs are not so important.

Otherwise a cracked version of Solidworks.

[rusty360]

Fusion 360. Take a look I'm pretty sure there's still a free version or a start up company license. The full blown version was about 500 a year?

[Muncie]

After seeing @Roman exhaust collector he had 3d printed I want in on this as well. Bugger fabrication when i can can sit and model a part send as a file then get straight to fitting.

 

 

[Stu]

I can't recommend a free software but I use Rhino everyday all day which is fantastic for simple 2d right through to large 3d textured models etc.

We also use Rhinocam for CNC programming.

[Willdat?]

6 hours ago, rusty360 said:

Fusion 360. Take a look I'm pretty sure there's still a free version or a start up company license. The full blown version was about 500 a year?

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal I haven't used Onshape to be fair. But Fusion is free for education use and allows me to do everything I want...

 

[vk327]

got setup  with fusion 360, free for 3 years personal  use -starting to get the hang of it, have to  unlearn all the old auto cad 2010 electrical stuff

[rusty360]

One good thing I've found is there's heaps of you tube videos if you get stuck on how to do something.

[igor]

Best of luck with that. After 27 years I'd be fucked on anything other than AutoCAD.

[ThePog]

I have been using Solidworks for something like 25 years, I had to learn onshape for a contract and it was amazingly easy to switch over. 3 days and I was basically up to speed....

[HumberSS]

On 26/06/2024 at 17:00, ThePog said:

I have been using Solidworks for something like 25 years, I had to learn onshape for a contract and it was amazingly easy to switch over. 3 days and I was basically up to speed....

Been finding the more I get on in the CAD world the easier it is to pick up new stuff.. that said, I would still never go back to Creo/ProE..

I find Fusion downright aweful, the way the model tree works is a fuck up and my brain doesn't like the common modeling environment for assemblies. Fusion is however great for rendering and the HSMworks plugin great for CAM direct in Solidworks. I pay for Fusion for those two reasons alone (about $600/yr from memory). Using SheetCam for the plasma ($140 perpetual license), has been fairly good too.

Good to know Onshape is useful, particularly as I'm sure those Solidworks pricks will make it harder and harder to keep running old licenses that are off subscription...

I guess one recommendation for the OP is don't be shy to pay for something if it's more usable - battling shit software that doesn't 'click' for you (which might be different to what clicks for others) is one way to become rapidly discouraged... most will let you trial these days so give a few of the known ones a bash. 

[BlownCorona]

On 29/06/2024 at 19:49, HumberSS said:

I would still never go back to Creo/ProE..

I find Fusion downright aweful, the way the model tree works is a fuck up and my brain

i use Creo daily now, to be honest i quite like it but there are alot of grumbles in the office about it. im about 90% sure most of the stress actually comes from windchill, i was quite happy scooting along on creo untill i had to get onto a project that used windchill for management. holy fuck its horrible. using creo for me became quite a bit easier once someone mentioned to be that its roots are from a time before 'windows' was a thing, mean just because youre looking at something doesnt mean its active. this is an extremley foreign concept to more new/young engineers who are also unaware of how windows even operates beyond the search bar. for me, it was a simple mindset shift which made alot of things make sense.  

Creo has also made my Fusion experience quite a bit worse, nothing feels right with regards to the model tree because it used a history based approach which is fucking excellent for learning but makes zero sense when trying to do serious things. one thing that absolutely blew my mind and accelerated workflow immeasurably (but its not really a secret, im just not actually an engineer) is that you can do maths, even complex maths in dimensions window where you may be punching in a number, in fusion too. 

instead of having to crack out a calculator to find out what dimension the circle you want to place one third of the way offset on the 174.5mm square and breaking out the calculator you can just select the dimension and type "174.5/3" or i think fusion wants an = sign so "=174.5/3" you can also do more complex math such as "(174.5/3)+10" for 10mm offset from a third of the way across the width. Like i say, every engineer will have been taught this week one at the engineering learning place. but if your couch taught like myself it was awesome and truly sped up the way i work. 

 

[HumberSS]

15 minutes ago, BlownCorona said:

i use Creo daily now, to be honest i quite like it but there are alot of grumbles in the office about it. im about 90% sure most of the stress actually comes from windchill, i was quite happy scooting along on creo untill i had to get onto a project that used windchill for management. holy fuck its horrible. using creo for me became quite a bit easier once someone mentioned to be that its roots are from a time before 'windows' was a thing, mean just because youre looking at something doesnt mean its active. this is an extremley foreign concept to more new/young engineers who are also unaware of how windows even operates beyond the search bar. for me, it was a simple mindset shift which made alot of things make sense.  

Creo has also made my Fusion experience quite a bit worse, nothing feels right with regards to the model tree because it used a history based approach which is fucking excellent for learning but makes zero sense when trying to do serious things. one thing that absolutely blew my mind and accelerated workflow immeasurably (but its not really a secret, im just not actually an engineer) is that you can do maths, even complex maths in dimensions window where you may be punching in a number, in fusion too. 

instead of having to crack out a calculator to find out what dimension the circle you want to place one third of the way offset on the 174.5mm square and breaking out the calculator you can just select the dimension and type "174.5/3" or i think fusion wants an = sign so "=174.5/3" you can also do more complex math such as "(174.5/3)+10" for 10mm offset from a third of the way across the width. Like i say, every engineer will have been taught this week one at the engineering learning place. but if your couch taught like myself it was awesome and truly sped up the way i work. 

 

I was actually quite proficient at creo for some years and enjoyed it too once mastered, but as soon as I stopped using it and tried to go back 6 months later i just completely lost it and never bothered again. I reckon it's probably the most powerful parametric program there is, even for complex surface modeling. But that godawful usability... yeah doing math inside the CAD is very helpful. I can't Imagine the pain you're having going from Creo to Fusion.. 

[Willdat?]

13 minutes ago, BlownCorona said:

instead of having to crack out a calculator to find out what dimension the circle you want to place one third of the way offset on the 174.5mm square and breaking out the calculator you can just select the dimension and type "174.5/3" or i think fusion wants an = sign so "=174.5/3" you can also do more complex math such as "(174.5/3)+10" for 10mm offset from a third of the way across the width. Like i say, every engineer will have been taught this week one at the engineering learning place. but if your couch taught like myself it was awesome and truly sped up the way i work.

Not an engineer either, Fusion doesn't make you do = first.

One of my favourite Fusion things is setting variables, so as you tweak a design it updates everything for you. Ie material of v1 was 3mm thick, everytime you're referencing that thickness in the design just call it 't', if in v27 you want to increase that to 6mm you can just change the value of 't' and your design is updated without having to tweak each dimension.

To be honest I'm only moving from Inventor to Fusion, so it's not a huge leap and a tonne more user friendly at the level of complexity we do at school. Moving away from parts and assemblies has been awesome.

Two things I can't do in Fusion yet. Multi 'color' sketches within a single sketch, this is great for using with the laser cutter. And a gear calculator that lets you keep the centre distance fixed, while changing the gear ratio which is awesome for prototyping. I'll keep Inventor for those two tricks before I completely jump ship.

[BlownCorona]

38 minutes ago, HumberSS said:

I can't Imagine the pain you're having going from Creo to Fusion.. 

I rarely use fusion now but I learnt all the ins and outs of CAD on it and it remains one of the best newbie friendly options.

one of the biggest mindset hurdles was changing the creative process to 'growing' the part, where as I had been used to starting with a chunk of larger physical material and removing bits until I had the part I wanted which doesn't work so great in CAD. 

 

[ajg193]

Freecad is getting better by the day. The CAM side of it is superior to Solidworks included CAM.

Bastard of a learning curve though 

[Benno]

Has anyone looked into  3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS for Makers? I've seen a couple of videos online, it looks ideal. I had mastered SolidWorks at uni, I've never quite clicked as well with Fusion 360. Seems I can't buy a license directly from Dassault as a New Zealand user. I've asked for a quote, waiting to hear back. 

[Willdat?]

6 hours ago, Benno said:

Has anyone looked into  3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS for Makers? I've seen a couple of videos online, it looks ideal. I had mastered SolidWorks at uni, I've never quite clicked as well with Fusion 360. Seems I can't buy a license directly from Dassault as a New Zealand user. I've asked for a quote, waiting to hear back. 

Good luck with that let me know how you get on. My last dealing was something along the lines of "we can get you a seat for $2.5K/year, +$500/student machine". They couldn't understand why I didn't want to spend 5 times my years budget on just the software I'd need to teach my courses.

[ThePog]

I looked into it and the reviews were almost 100% negative.

[Bearded Baldy]

On 03/07/2024 at 08:16, ajg193 said:

Freecad is getting better by the day. The CAM side of it is superior to Solidworks included CAM.

Bastard of a learning curve though 

With no cad experience whatsoever i downloaded freecad 6 months or so ago. Watched all the youtube vids i could.

Still can't figure out how to make a box, let alone input my flowbench plans to check if my converted measurements will actually line up.

After 2 weeks of an hour or 2 a night i threw in the towel. Fuck that program lol