Because I often hear the question "which software should I use to design 3D

3D Printing
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Because I often hear the question “which software should I use to design 3D parts?”.

This article series might help. They design the same part with different tools.

OpenSCAD http://hackaday.com/2013/12/11/3d-printering-making-a-thing-with-openscad/

AutoCAD http://hackaday.com/2013/12/18/3d-printering-making-a-thing-with-autocad/

Blender http://hackaday.com/2014/01/03/3d-printering-making-a-thing-in-blender-part-i/

SketchUp http://hackaday.com/2014/01/15/3d-printering-making-a-thing-with-sketchup/

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thank you!

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Nice, thanks @Jan_Wildeboer , gotta read it right away.

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OK. Neat write up. It realy sums up my experiance so far: Autocad is great if you come form a classic 2D background - and need to supply certain drawings, while Sketchup is just awesome to go ahead and create.

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What about @FreeCAD ?

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It’s all about picking your battles. :slight_smile:

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@Daniel_Wood Ask the author of the series. I listed the articles he has published so far. I don’t know if he is planning on writing more of those.

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@Daniel_Wood He’s asking for suggestions at the end of each write up:

“That’s it for now, next week is Autodesk 123D, and as always your suggestions for what softwares to build a ‘thing’ in are always welcome.”

So tell him.

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Rhino3d is both affordable and professional, I’d pick it instead of AutoCAD

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@Giovanni_Salinas if you didn’t know Draftsight is a free (non-comercial) alternative to AutoCAD

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hi @Daniel_Wood , but how would Draftsight help 3D printing if it’s 2D only? I agree Rhino is not free, but it’s professional. If someone wants to get serious with precision and don’t wan’t to spend 7K for SolidWorks, I still think Rhino can pull a few tricks

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guys, what about giving @Brian_Benchoff1 your input so he can add your choice of CAD to his series? Better than chatting about.

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@Giovanni_Salinas There is no need to spend $1000 to design precise parts.

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@Normand_Chamberland I agree, but at some point your time needs to be factored in as a cost. If you want to quickly and painlessly do some things, the expensive packages are worth while.