What software are you folks using for 2D and 3D CAD?
I use Alibre Design (now GeoMagic) for 3D parameteric modelling and Draftsight for 2D drafting. I’m just curious what else is out there and what’s popular and accessible.
i used to use sketchup but it became so limiting and i was sick of doing work arounds, so im just starting to lean solidworks… wow is it better, but much harder to learn
For 2D I use Draftsight which is great if you are old school autocad user, if not skip it as the learning curve is too steep. For 3D I use @Autodesk_Fusion_360 which is freaking awesome and free for enthusiasts for now. As with all parametric modelers it is tough to start but it is worth it
Is SolidWorks expensive?
I’ve found ViaCAD 2D/3D to be good for the price and not too difficult to learn.
I use an older version of Space claim and love it… I have tried several but none have worked as well for me… look for student versions as well… usually much cheaper than regular versions
@Andre_Roy Solidworks is very expensive you can expect to pay 4-10k for the software and 1k/year for the upgrades. That said I use it and it is by far the best package out there.
Designspark Mechanical @DesignSparkRS , Draftsight, OpenSCAD, FreeCAD
There is very cheap ways of getting it (solidworks) if you know where to look… I think if your not using it to make any money yourself then getting it for free is fine.
I use SolidWorks and it is about $5000 a license. That being said, SolidWorks gives free copies to clubs and organizations. It is very possible to get SolidWorks to sponser OpenRC and maybe get free licenses for people to use to design. I did this for the Protei project which is a group building autonomous sailboats.
I use Rhinoceros mostly for 3D, mostly since it’s free for OSX as long as it’s beta and a “high end” CAD software. No idea were to look after that though, since it’s probably quite expensive when released for OSX
There doesn’t seem to be any one affordable CAD package that people gravitate towards, eh?
@Andre_Roy unfortunately with cad software it is either free or good.
Ideally something in the 150-300$ would be pretty affordable. ALibre Personal Edition filled that need for me. They rebranded to Geomagic. I emailed them to see if they still catered to hobbyists.
I used alibre personal, which they upgraded to design elements last year. While I like it and the added features I am hard pressed to justify the $300 yearly maintenance fees they now want to charge me.
Have a look at ViaCAD 2D/3D. $99.
Do you know if viaCAD does parametric solid modelling? I can’t tell from their website.
FreedCAD would be suitable if the DXF import tools were useable with splines…
http://cubify.com/Products/Design This appears to be ALibre. 199$. Might support my ALibre files too.