"FreeCAD" 3D modeling software - Any users/reviews?

I use FreeCAD every day with satisfaction, on Linux

No experience so this is worth what you paid for it.

But I would look at " 123Design ". It is free but intended for the 3 D printing crowd. So may not be the best for what you want. However it is done by AutoDesk. The web site says it has PC, Mac, and Ipad versions , No mention of Linux.

Dan

Will take a look at it.

I downloaded a copy. I just used 2D when I worked. That is once we had computers. My old brain has trouble with the model used by Freecad. If I keep trying it, I may be able to use it eventually.

If I could find a good 2d system in Linux similar to corel draw, I'd drop windows in a heartbeat.

Pete Keillor

GIMP is more like Photoshop than Corel, but give it a look.

I've used it to design a few of parts, one of which went off to a 3D printer and came back as a solid printed thing in a box (along with many helpful comments on how to design things so they'll 3D print well).

It was an uphill battle all the way, but I think that at least 80% of that was my total unfamiliarity with 3D CAD. Perhaps even 100%.

There is a very active support community out there -- there's been at least one time when I posted a file along with a question about how to do something, and had my file posted back with all my desired changes made, better than I could have done.

It _is_ a bit clunky, and upgrades _are_ happening fast enough that sometimes your best solution to a problem is to download the latest build and live with (perhaps) a different set of bugs than the last time. But it definitely seems to be a usable product.

I've got it -- but haven't attacked it yet to see how steep a learning curve it may have.

A good 2D system in Linux -- check out LibreCAD. I don't know how it compares to Corel Draw, as I haven't used that. But LibreCAD, plus a nice downloaded PDF of a tutorial worked better for me than any of the other free CAD systems I have tried. It is also in Mac's OS-X, FWIW, as is FreeCAD. Just downloaded both for the used MacBook with OS-X 10.9 I recently got.

Enjoy, DoN.

I use it for photo work, but have not tried using it as a drawing program.

If you want an *easy* drawing program for almost any flavor of unix, including linux, take a look at xfig -- yet another free program. I use it for illustrations, and libreCAD for serious dimensioned drawings with the possibility to feed to a CAM program to convert to g-code.

Enjoy, DoN.

Thanks. I'll take a look at libreCAD.

Pete

Its been a couple years since I last tried FreeCAD, but I found it was ok for geomtric stuff if a little buggy and unstable. Save often if you use it. I have heard it has made some improvments so YMMV.

If you want a true 3D CAD program take a look at Fusion360 from AutoCAD. Its cloud based, but its free to hobbyists, students, startups and small businesses with less than a a certain net profitability. I've been playing with it off and on for a little while, and I am still butting up against my own learning curve for the most part, but the problems are mostly my own style of working with solid models I learned working with ViaCAD. It deos demand a modestly current 64bit OS. I am running it on an i5 with 64bit W10 at the moment, but I'll be setting it up on my W7-64-Pro laptop soon enough.

I really haven't found any glaring bugs or had any unexpected crashes yet, but I must admit I have not really learned enough to push its limits yet either.

For me the ideal CAD tool would involve a virtual-reality setup with goggles and gloves with haptic feedback, coupled by a virtual machine shop with "magic" cutters. If I want it cylindrically symmetrical I chuck it up in the lathe (with magic chucks, of course), if I want it free-form I put it on the milling machine, if I need something more I grab the (magic) bottle of glue, etc.

There are versions of QCad that run on Linux. I've got a qcad-3.12.1 in both 32 and 64 bit versions.

Pete Keillor on Tue, 29 Mar 2016 06:27:18

-0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

It does seem to be a good program. Now if I could just carve loose a couple hours to work/play with it.

tschus pyotr

Tim Wescott on Tue, 29 Mar 2016

I understand that such is actually available, but for big bucks (of course).

xfig ???

it has evolved since than and it will soon have its own CAM module