• @[email protected]
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    fedilink
    401 year ago

    For electrical engineering there is KiCad, which is pretty good overall. Only reason I’m still using proprietary software is because I’d have to recreate my libraries and it will be a huge pita.

    For mechanical design there is FreeCad, which is usable for simple geometries, but if you come from a proprietary CAD software you may find it lacking.

    • @[email protected]
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      fedilink
      231 year ago

      I got into the 3D printing hobby a few months ago and FreeCAD is pretty much useless. I can be more productive by writing JavaScript code with Three.js library, lol.

      • Domi
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        fedilink
        71 year ago

        For 3D printing, did you try OpenSCAD? If you’re already a programmer it’s much easier to get into than it is to get into any classic CAD software.

      • Terrasque
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        fedilink
        31 year ago

        I’ve made some great and somewhat complex designs using freecad, it’s certainly capable.

        I eventually switched to fusion 360 because of the UI and it’s more easy to find help. And less need to find help

        • @[email protected]
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          fedilink
          21 year ago

          Yep, that’s my experience as well. It works, but man… You’re just wasting time fighting the app instead of designing your models.

        • @[email protected]
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          fedilink
          21 year ago

          Not really. Blender is NOT a CAD. It doesn’t ensure that your bodies are solid, it doesn’t provide any analysis tools, it doesn’t support working with blueprints/sketches, it’s not parametric, etc. Basically, it doesn’t do anything CAD at all.

        • @[email protected]
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          fedilink
          11 year ago

          Yeah, it’s a great tool for the job. Not as good as Zbrush, but I used it for print prep several times and it just has all the tools you might need.