@i.materialise compiled a list of the most popular #3Dmodelling software products used to design for a #3Dprinter .
It’s an interesting way to get the data, essentially using mentions so it’s either the most popular data or the software that requires the most support.
So leading on from this. Which piece of software do you use and why? Answers in the comments please.
I started out with SketchUp and also tried Blender, FreeCAD and OpenSCAD before moving on to 123Design where I’ve stayed ever since.
SketchUp was easy to use but you had to spend a long time “cleaning up” the models afterwards as its not really designed for 3D printing. FreeCAD seemed a bit rough around the edges, although I’ve not tried it recently so that could be fixed now. OpenSCAD was great but I felt it would need regular use to get fluent with it and I’m just a casual user. 123D seemed to fit perfect for what I wanted (although I have found it to be worth regularly saving your work due to occasional crashes and also its annoying its not available for Linux).
@Daniel_Bull
the lack of #linux support is an issue with us as this is our chosen OS. We can obviously run non-linux software if we wanted to, we have plenty of machines, there’s Wine and we also use VMs a lot but it always just adds and additional step or drains performance.
Like most things we will hit upon a software solution that fits well with our needs and use that until our needs change or an alternative comes along. We do steer away from platforms that use a cloud though.
I’m in a similar position. I’m currently migrating everything over to Linux and 123D is one of the few bits of software keeping my last machine on Windows. I personally prefer to stay out of the cloud as well - when it comes to 3D modeling anyway.
@Daniel_Bull
People have said good things about OpenSCAD, it just seemed that the model might be a bit limited which is why we decided to pursue FreeCAD, but I am sure others will have a different opinion about that.
This is a skewed report… Blender has hundreds of tutorials, problems, and reports for animation…But it’s support for 3d printing is terrible… There by the rating of blender is artificially inflated by people from non printing backgrounds posting questions about asking how to do the simplest tasks, were open scad is only used in the 3dp community.
@Camerin_hahn
Well, we wouldn’t put any more on the results being very accurate. What their data is actually reflecting probably does not come very close to what they were aiming for.
But saying that, it is our impression that a lot of people do use blender for 3D printing. whether the proportion using Blender for 3D printing is accurately reflected in this data is a whole other question.
@iDig_3D_printing blender is pretty terrible for 3dp hackaday actually tried to make a properly dimensioned part in blender… They gave up and just “made it look right”.
Blender is a rendering engine. It is designed to make things look right, is not intended to make real world objects.
Blender is used to make busts, or other artistic prints… But it is rarely used for real useful things like: brackets, cases, covers, hinges, mounts, wheels, gears, robots, or anything that needs to do more than look good.
@Camerin_hahn the list was compiled by materialized. A lot of people who use their service create jewelry, full color sculptures, etc. These types of models are more likely going to be done on software like zbrush and blender than simple cad programs. I use sketchup and blender pretty much exclusively. Mostly blender these days. The Boolean and subdivision surface modifiers alone make it shine on certain types of models. It is a pain sometes to see dimensions in blender but I have never run into any issues with accuracy when I am trying to be precise. Is any software beter than the other at all things? No. It comes down to what you are modeling and what program you practice with the most. Most new 3d modelers making relatively simple brackets and designs can use almost anything. What is nice about blender is that if you learn to 3d model in it, then it’s not a big leap to learn to make photo realistic renders and animate the models, and that can open the doors to even more things.
@Jason_D Using blender for 3d cad printing is like using a air plane on the highway. It can work but it isn’t intended to. I do concede that this is 3d modeling not cad…
But seriously using number of blog posts and Google hit results to rank modeling software is stupid.
You don’t run a presidential poll that way… Why would finding cad popularity that way be correct.
@Camerin_hahn I agree with what you are saying, just pointing out that as far as 3-D printing is concerned, you probably have just as may people using 3-D printing for CAM as CAD designs. Without a breakdown of the “Modelers v. Designers” ratio its hard to assume that this study is lopsided or inaccurate because Blender and Sketchup topped the list by a small margin.
@Jason_D I don’t know how it is now. But sketch up was terrible. It had problems generating manifold shapes. So you would have to generate your stl, then import to mesh mixer, then repair and export… I did try all of the free ones on here. They each have their pain. I would push tinker cad to new people and 123d. Blender is just a pain.
@Camerin_hahn
have you seen this infographic to help you with your #Blender keyboard shortcut keys. We’re not saying it’s a solution but you may find it of interest:
@iDig_3D_printing I tried blender… It is seriously like using a hammer to cut your fingernails… The program just doesn’t make designing mechanical assemblies easy. I use open scad. I can design parts in minutes, without the need for memorizing an entire page of short cuts.
Blender is nice if I were making a model of a car body, or a face, or something living, but the it just is not good for mechanical parts. It has too many features.
I will say blender has gotten better… But really it is not meant for 3d cad for printing. And the problem is as it is changing toward that it is losing focus. Be really good at one subject, don’t try and be the world’s modeler. Even Microsoft splits word and excel…