CAD Software Suggestion

I am currently on win10 but have been toying with mint and liking it. I intend on fully switching over soon. I have also been toying with the idea of some simple 3D modeling, like making custom parts for projects around my house. Maybe using a CAD software to generate stls for a 3D print or using it to spec out parts for a design made out of aluminum extrusion (like 8020) little things like that. I was thinking about getting a solidworks hobbyist license for 45 a year but solidworks doesn’t support Linux. I could keep a Windows dual boot HDD, but fuck that. Any suggestions on a CAD software that fits? Have a gaming PC with a 3060 and some beefy hardware.

bloodfart,

Everyone said freecad.

If you already know cad then it will work fine*. If not, you will not have an easy time getting going in it. Start with something that’s widely supported with a million tutorials like 360 or solidworks. Consider skechup or whatever.

Cad is not straightforward unless you have training in design/drafting. Do not make it harder on yourself.

Hadriscus,

Plasticity looks nice

blenderartists.org/t/plasticity-cad-nurbs/

possiblylinux127,

FreeCAD works pretty well once you learn the UI

umbrella,
@umbrella@lemmy.ml avatar

the whole point of cad software is the ui though. last time i needed it i tried it and went for an online one instead. even a chamfered box needed an inordinate amount of learning on freecad.

KindaABigDyl, (edited )
@KindaABigDyl@programming.dev avatar

I like FreeCAD, but I’ve heard people complain about it.

I’m not an ME, so I certainly don’t make use of all the CAD features needed, so maybe that’s why I don’t get the complaints. Still, it suits my needs which mostly involve modeling PCBs and building enclosures around them.

I have also been toying with the idea of some simple 3D modeling, like making custom parts for projects around my house

I think that FreeCAD and Blender are probably fine for this.

Example of something I’ve made and printed the enclosure for via FreeCAD: Fight Key Wide. It uses parameter-based design and includes some design touches like screw-holes and bezels which aren’t purely simple geometry, so FreeCAD gets a pass in my book.

If you look at the GitHub linked on the project page, it has the enclosure files which you can check out in FreeCAD if that helps you get started.

Umbrias,

Freecad has improved considerably in the last year, to a point where I’ve gone from saying I will wait to use it, to recommending it. It may actually have been designed for humans now.

possiblylinux127,

Assuming you can figure out the UI

Umbrias,

With about a half an hour of reading documentation it became very clear a couple versions ago what work benches were, which were useful to me, and how to use them. That’s maybe longer than going from inventor to solidworks or visa versa, but hardly that bad. For a beginner it will be taking a long time anyway and there will be essentially no difference, except that you’ll learn a much more robust understanding of how parametric modeling works.

TerraRoot,

If you want solidwork or fusion : github.com/cryinkfly/…/releases

I’d love to use and suggest blender/freecad, but I struggle with the workflow.

I still use Inventor 2017 in a windows VM.

Andromxda,
@Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Perhaps FreeCAD? There’s even a community for it: !freecad

mnemonicmonkeys,

As an engineer, I’ve tried FreeCAD and it’s awful. Just get a hobbyist license for Fusion360 and run it in WINE

possiblylinux127,

It is fine for most people. I think it is more a matter of learning curve. The UI layout is a little wonky

Andromxda,
@Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Does it work well in Wine?

ScottE,

FreeCAD. It’s fantastic but takes some getting used to. I recommend the Ondsel fork - it’s still free and open source except for the cloud storage which you can ignore. Ondsel includes some newer features and some interface changes.

Nebulizer,

I would also recommend checking out salome. It has a parametric CAD module like you would be used to in SolidWorks. It felt a little less finicky to me than freecad , and I also think it has more controllable STL generation compared to freecad.

stoi,

Ondsel is great. It is an engineering focused branch of freecad. They have solved a lot of the issues and have made the UI/UX a lot smoother.

Finally libre cad that actually is usable!

mortalic,

The thing I’m struggling with is finding beginner videos for ondsel. The ui is super different, so freecad videos don’t help much. Any suggestions?

stoi,

I found the skill set pretty transferable from FreeCAD (albeit much more usable). That being said I had used solidworks for long time prior.

Main thing I would say is to make sure you are in the relevant workbench and use the tasks menu (starts on the right of the screen)

mortalic,

You may not realize it but you’re kind of making my point. You have prior experience. An Ondsel getting started video is really needed. Especially since they want to charge for it.

KryptonNerd,

BricsCAD is good, but it costs quite a lot. Otherwise the Ondsel fork of FreeCAD is pretty good.

bitfucker,

This. I support their model of one time pricing

BastingChemina,

I would definitely recommend Onshape, this is what I use.

It’s great that FreeCAD exist but I would not recommend it for a beginner in CAD, there is a very steep learning curve before being able to create anything in it.

ikidd,
@ikidd@lemmy.world avatar

Probably better starting on FreeCAD as a beginner because if you have experience with other CAD packages, using FreeCAD requires a major paradigm shift. I started a newbie friend on it with no other experience, and he’s way further ahead on it than I am, because I just can’t wrap my head around it with my preconceptions of CAD.

BastingChemina,

I understand you’re argument but I disagree. If the goal is to use FreeCAD then yeah, it’s probably better to start as a beginner.

If the goal is design parts using CAD then Onshape is a much better option in my opinion.

ikidd,
@ikidd@lemmy.world avatar

So educate me about Onshape. It looks like another Fusion360 where all your work is locked into their cloud service and when they decide to start charging you for it, you’re up the creek.

I have a very robust distrust of these SAAS companies and don’t climbing a learning curve that’s going to end in a product I can’t afford one day. Even if a foss product is no longer developed, I have a version that works with my files forever.

eugenia,
@eugenia@lemmy.ml avatar

FreeCAD is what you need for 3D cad/cam or 3d printing. And for 2D cad, or 2D cad/cam, there’s the free GPL version of QCad (recommended to buy the full version for $40 to get cad/cam and more import/export file support from autocad). Anything else (librecad, openscad, Design etc) are not as well rounded imho. And then there’s onshape, but that’s not Free software.

Prunebutt,

I use FreeCAD, but if you don’t want to learn that stuff (it’s quite fiddly), maybe give Dune 3D a shot.

Or OpenSCAD

rambos,

Im trying to move from windows to linux and from solidworks to freecad completely. Its not easy at all, even SW 2008 is so advanced. Im not giving up tho 😉

IceFoxX,

Plasticity

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