FreeCAD

[Criticalhammer]

Its been a while since I used any kind of modeling software. Last I used was Maya, 3D Studio Max, and Bryce. That was 10+ years ago. I'm looking for something free that I can model objects in for 3D Printing

My thought was to use https://www.freecadweb.org/

Its not the most intuitive software, but can support a multitude of file formats and runs close to how CAD works. Has anyone used it before?

[Alexndl]

I am using it.
There is a learning curve especially on how to create more plane and axis but overall I like it. I was used to cad with Catia and had a hard time transfering to Fusion 360, for me I find freecad easyer but its not perfect.
i like the fact its an open source program so there are many free addon you can download directly from the software if needed.
There are several good tutorial on youtube too.

[shooter311]

I use tinkercad.com

Not because I find it to be better than any other, but because I started with that and have yet to transfer to something better.

[Rainmaker]

I'm no expert, but in the industries I've worked with, Solidworks is the industry standard for small component design. But there's not a way to get Solidworks for free unless you can do an educational license (I think?).

Fusion 360 is very similar to Solidworks in many ways, pretty user friendly, feature rich, and you can do a free license for hobby use. I highly recommend 🙂.

Here's a silly video I made, shows a bit of how I made something in Fusion

https://youtu.be/wB4vALNWoqM

[Spider!]

10 years is almost a complete restart on most software. I tried a few other free trials and finally went to fusion. I had done some 3d work in AutoCAD 9 and 2d work in 11, but the interface and overall concepts were different enough in fusion that I felt like I was starting over. You know what you want to do, but finding the right button, check box, or menu still has it's own learning curve.

[Lane]

SolidWorks started a Maker's License program that's $10/month or $100/year. While not free, if it has functionality similar to the full versions of SolidWorks it's a pretty good investment for anyone looking to gain experience in CAD without investing several thousand in a full license.

[ChoSanJuan]

Been a loyal fan of Fusion 360, but have dabbled in other cad platforms. Used to be huge into eMachineShop and still use it a bit from here and there. I just blew away one of my older laptops and threw Ubuntu on it. Started poking around for viable cad programs and found Free ad, myself. Just started watching tutorials on YouTube the past week. Looks like I'll be having fun with this one!

[OpusX]

I am just getting into any level of CAD, and being a FOSS guy I snagged FreeCAD. It is working so far, even though I have very little idea what I am doing.