7 ms·

My favorite part of FreeCAD is that it is scriptable. It's very satisfying to define shapes via some math (or I/O) in python, then turn them into a solid in Fr

• ehnto 6y ago
  I need a simple, low brain space but open source solution for 3D printing. Would you recommend FreeCAD? I am a software dev for a living so what I mean by low brain space is I don't really want to be messing about with config files, setup and complicated UIs. I already have far too much brain space dedicated to Blender, but I just can't seem to get it to work well for precise measurements and CAD style work.
  • highmastdon 6y ago
    How about SketchUp?
    • regularfry 6y ago
      It's not open source.
    • ehnto 6y ago
      I have tried the free version, while a bit limited it is the kind of simple interface I want. Unfortunately not open source and you need accounts and to be online to use it. I may end up using it anyway though.
    • LegitShady 6y ago
      they're doing the web app thing now, so the last native version is the last native version ever. Personally I stopped using it then.
    • mauvehaus 6y ago
      They're slowly crippling it. Make 2017 was (I believe) the last semi full featured gratis desktop version. They've been pushing the web version pretty hard for a while now. Also (opinion) it kind of sucks. At least the gratis version doesn't support any sort of parametric modeling. I've been using it because it's gratis, but I've been looking to switch for a while. Now that F360 is off the table, I suppose the decision space has gotten smaller.
    • avhon1 6y ago
      In my experience, SketchUp produces terrible STL files, full of duplicate or non-watertight geometry. I frequently had to manually repair the exported models in Blender before they would slice correctly.
  • samcheng 6y ago
    Unfortunately, FreeCAD has a steep learning curve, with an opaque workflow for beginners. It would be awesome if the FreeCAD developers worked on usability, documentation, and tutorials. I believe the popular route is Fusion. (Decidedly NOT open source)
    • m0zg 6y ago
      > opaque workflow for beginners Here's an example: say you want to punch some holes to mount components on a chassis. Say, furthermore, that you want to mount those components at an angle. Here's what you do in Fusion: 1. Draw a sketch. 2. Rotate the component on the sketch about its center. 3. Subtractively extrude holes through the chassis. In Fusion this is trivial and natural. Believe it or not, FreeCAD does not support #2. Want to mount several components at different angles? Fuck you, you need to draw each one of them pre-slanted already.
      • bambax 6y ago
        What? Maybe I don't understand the problem, but of course you can rotate elements in FreeCAD whichever way you want. Select the object, set orientation in Placement / Axis / x,y,z
        • m0zg 6y ago
          3D? Yes. 2D in a sketch? Nope. It's all parametric, everything has to be defined through constraints, and there's no way that I can see to define such a constraint.
          • bambax 6y ago
            To extrude a complex shape from 2D I usually first draw the 2D design elsewhere (Inkscape or Affinity Design) and import to FreeCAD as SVG. This works very well.
          • bchanudet 6y ago
            Easiest way I've found is: - Create a square via the CreateSquare[0] icon - Put the lines as construction line - Constrain the holes to the corners of the square. - Add an angle constraint on one side of the square as you need. It's easier than constraining your holes on a rectangle on which you have to replace the horizontal and vertical constrains afterwards. And you get to keep all those parametric variables that make changing something afterwards so easy. [0] https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Sketcher_CreateSquare https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Sketcher_CreateSquare
  • cm2187 6y ago
    I used FreeCAD 3 years ago and found it functional but particularly unstable. I had to 3d print something recently and was very happy with OpenSCAD. Not only it is scriptable, but it is script first (and only), with a very simple syntax. For people who write code already, it's a much more natural approach in my opinion. You can create functions, loops, parametrise, comment out part of the code, etc.
    • bambax 6y ago
      I started with OpenSCAD and loved it at first. But there are many things you can't do in OpenSCAD. Fillets and chamfers are impossible. But the big problem is export options: you can't export to STEP or really to any format that a manufacturer will accept. So you need to import to some other program and export from there. That's how I got into FreeCAD. But once you're in FreeCAD you realize you can do everything there.
      • cm2187 6y ago
        I use shapeways and they seem to be happy with stl files, which I thought was the standard.
        • imtringued 6y ago
          STL files are the "standard" in 3d printing but everyone else uses step files. EDA packages like HorizonEDA only accept step files as 3d model for electronics components and every single manufacturer that offers a 3d model so far has always used step. Most CNC manufacturers want you to upload step files.
      • cozzyd 6y ago
        And FreeCad has a OpenSCAD workbench too...
      • kelvie 6y ago
        I've been using BOSL2: https://github.com/revarbat/BOSL2 https://github.com/revarbat/BOSL2 There's a whole fillet / chamfer library using masks and such, but I've found that you can go a looong way with just basic shapes that start out chamfered/filleted, and unioning and differencing them.
  • suyula 6y ago
    OpenSCAD has been all I've ever needed for 3D printing. It's really intuitive for programmers so I haven't bothered learning anything else.
    • jaxn 6y ago
      I second this. As a programmer, OpenSCAD feels like home. Just give me a text editor and docs.
    • ehnto 6y ago
      I love that the example image on the homepage of OpenSCAD has an edge case and comment explaining it. OpenSCAD does look like a good tool for me though, I will just have to hope I don't find too many edge cases...
  • itronitron 6y ago
    FreeCAD is simple and low brain space, just make sure you have the 'Part' workbench selected.
    • jbay808 6y ago
      Yes. It's packed full of random features and modes, like for architects and so on. Once you figure out which workbench to use it's not too tricky. Save often.
    • jstanley 6y ago
      I would actually recommend avoiding the Part workbench and only using Part Design, at least to start with. The Part workbench makes you create your object using CSG primitives which you size and position using the properties editor, which is just super painful. In Part Design, you create sketches of 2d profiles and then pad them up, pocket them in, revolve them around an axis, sweep them through a path, etc. Part Design just seems much more convenient and powerful. The only thing you can't do in Part Design is create 3d paths like helixes, but fortunately you can create these using the Part workbench and still use them as paths in Part Design.
      • bambax 6y ago
        If you're coming from OpenSCAD then the Part workbench is much more intuitive as it works in much the same way: create solids, join or cut them.
  • fla 6y ago
    Have a look at onshape.com. It's a web-based cad tool and I found that it was easy enough to learn in a couple hours using video tutorials. I now use it to make all my 3d printed parts. I mainly work on Linux so the web interface is a big plus for me.
    • LegitShady 6y ago
      if you're going web based you can do sketchup or fusion360 as well. Personally I am allergic to web based 3d design apps - they don't run anywhere near as fast as native applications, there are privacy and future continuity concerns, and I don't have to upgrade to the latest version if I dont want to.
      • bigiain 6y ago
        I suspect the whole reason this discussion is happening is because AutoDesk just announced Fusion360 is becoming crippleware at the end of the month. (If you haven't seen that, and you have projects in F360 formats you're assuming you'll be able to export - you might want to go export them all into some other format now, while you still can...)
        • LegitShady 6y ago
          ...I had not seen that. Luckily my not trusting web apps means I am already backed up in non autodesk formats. But exactly why when sketchypoved to wrbapp I said I wouldn't trust it
    • stjohnswarts 6y ago
      I looked at it but everything you do on the free version is public facing and that's an automatic no from me. I would the option to make a final product "public"/open to all but all my fuckups? no thanks. Also it's just a general matter of privacy.
  • dcminter 6y ago
    FreeCAD can be made to work, but it's very buggy. I've seen frequent error dialogs, redraw bugs, and menu state issues in my trivial usage of it. Since it's not at all intuitive to novices it can be hard to tell if one is using it wrong or it's just not working again. Often saving, exiting, and re-opening the model is the "work around" so it's very frustrating. It doesn't help that each version gets a lot of superficial UI changes so tutorial videos will often get you part way then some menu option no longer exists and you're stuck. I plan to try SolveSpace next as it seems to be a lot more stable - though in principle also a lot more limited.
  • daef 6y ago
    I really like IceSL and think its getting too little attention: https://icesl.loria.fr/ https://icesl.loria.fr/ It uses lua to be scriptable much like openscad, but it's got GPU support, so you can also describe surfaces as signed distance fields - in shader code... It doesn't seem to be open source (yet?), but there are contributors listed [0] (it came out of inria, the french university, sylvain lefebvre being the lead dev[1]) Check out %appdata%\IceSL\icesl-models or thingiverse[2] for examples. edit: formatting [0] https://icesl.loria.fr/about/ [1] https://www.antexel.com/research [2] https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=icesl
    • MayeulC 6y ago
      Looks pretty nice, but not fully opensource yet. It seems to be mainly a slicer, so maybe the non-open part is just the slicer? Some parts are open and available on their github account: https://github.com/shapeforge https://github.com/shapeforge
  • sugarkjube 6y ago
    If you're a developer have a look at openscad: you can "program" your model. if you need fancy features like fillets however, that's rather difficult in openscad. Fusion360 used to be free but that appears to be ending, also cloud-based lock-in(files are on server). freecad used to be quite buggy, but latest versions are quite workable. I mself started with one or 2 tutorials in fusion 360 (they appear to be more clear to me compared to the freecad tutorials, and concepts are the same). Then switched to freecad, and this seems to work fine. The parametric sketching (although a simple concept) took for me the most time to really grasp and understand the significance.
    • cassianoleal 6y ago
      Or CadQuery as an alternative to OpenSCAD. I haven't used it but it's been popping up in other threads since the licensing changes for Fusion360. https://github.com/CadQuery/cadquery https://github.com/CadQuery/cadquery
      • jpettersson 6y ago
        wow, thanks for getting my attention to CadQuery. It looks really promising! It has some of the things I've come to depend on in Fusion 360 which makes it hard to go back to OpenSCAD: workplanes, construction geometry, fillets, etc
    • sk2020 6y ago
      To be fair, you have to tolerate bugs in commercial products as well. The AutoDesk products I use for work crash daily. If you look at the developer documentation, though (https://www.autodesk.com/developer-network/platform-technologies/autocad https://www.autodesk.com/developer-network/platform-technolo...) you kind of get an idea of how mind-blowing complicated this software is. Any particular part might be implemented in C++ or .NET or VBA or a custom Lisp. There's maybe 30ish years of layers AutoCAD is built on. After a few weeks of learning F# and the ACAD API, I concluded that I would much rather just do everything manually than ever write a plugin. Bear in mind, though that everything else (Microstation, DraftSight, etc.) Aren't much better. For a problem domain like roadway design, the difference in productivity between something like freeCAD or LibreCAD and AutoCAD Civil3D is like the difference between having a printing press and a lump of charcoal. I really admire the effort, but there is a moat between industrial and FOSS software for the AEC industry that takes more expert developers and more man-years than hobbyists can provide.
  • thdrdt 6y ago
    I think the only real options are: * FreeCAD - Very powerful, very buggy/unstable. * SolveSpace - Very powerful, takes time to understand the interface. * OpenSCAD - Great for simpler objects. * Blender - Not very good for CAD modeling, but with non-destructive modifiers and the new Extrude Manifold it can be used. Personally I use Blender all the time for 3D printing. There are some tricks that can help a lot with precise modeling. For example you can draw a plane, but instead of extruding it you can use the solidify modifier to give it thickness. Then the thickness is non destructive. You can also view all edge lengths which help you to check if everything is ok. Since v2.9 you can now use Extrude Manifold which is not precise but works a little like Sketchup making some modeling much easier. And a lot of time my workflow is: Create something in FreeCAD/OpenSCAD -> export to Blender (STL) -> add finishing touches -> 3D print.
    • win_ini 6y ago
      Thanks for explaining your workflow, I’ve been focused on using one program to create/export/print but you’ve inspired me to try Using CAD + Blender.
    • ehnto 6y ago
      I think your workflow is what I will end up doing. I am usually making parts that have precise dimensions which Blender doesn't facilitate well, but I also want them to look interesting which is where Blender gets fairly intuitive.
    • frafra 6y ago
      Do you use Precision Drawing Tools (PDT) released with Blender 2.82?
• bambax 6y ago
  Well yeah, but Solidworks costs anywhere from $5000 to $10,000 per user per year... not really comparable ;-)
  • LegitShady 6y ago
    fusion 360 is free to most people and is good. Unfortunately its a web app and I don't trust autodesk enough to spend time investing in it.
    • Squonk42 6y ago
      And you are right to not trust Autodesk: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/changes-to-fusion-360-for-personal-use/ https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/changes-to...
      • LegitShady 6y ago
        Oof good thing I stayed away
      • dTal 6y ago
        Which is undoubtedly why so many free CAD programs are hitting HN today.
  • ddingus 6y ago
    End of quarter promos can take a good license under 5k, and once you have a license you do bot have to rebuy it every year. Updates come with annual maintenance, roughly 20 percent of license. People can and do get a license and just run it for a long time.
    • jbay808 6y ago
      Unfortunately, SolidWorks "encourages" you to upgrade by not providing any way to save/export native files that earlier versions can read. If you're receiving files from a 3rd party, you need to have a version that is at least as recent as theirs. This is unlike, say, Excel 2007, which can export .xls files that Excel 2000 can read.