Recommendations for decent CAD software?

I've been a pretty faithful Google sketchup user and I recently tried FreeCAD but wasn't all too thrilled with it. What else is out there that's free and that seems to be both user friendly and have some useful features? The only reason I'm really trying to transition out of google is because I haven't been able to really convert the files to .stl. If anyone knows of a good way to print the google files then I'm all for that. I've also started using Solid Edge for my 2D drafting and absolutely love it even if it drives me batty sometimes.

---

Bringing 3D printing to America's classrooms.

Follow my efforts at TheChicksNest.blogspot.com

FWIW, There's a plugin for sketchup that allows export of stl files from sketchup. look here for the ruby plugin. Directions for use are there as well. If you're not aware, there are quite a few useful plugins available for sketchup.

Note: I was warned early on to use only the export function from the "plugins" menu, and to import stl files from the file menu.

Also make sure to set the units to mm.

Don't get me wrong, I love sketchup and think it's great software for what it is but I figure it's also time to familiarize myself with some other types of CAD software. I'll probably still use sketchup as my primary but a backup would be nice, too. I know many peope use AutoDesk but even through my school it is still a bit out of my price range. Is there some kind of a middle ground? Something that is free but not as steep a learning curve as some other programmes out there?

---

Bringing 3D printing to America's classrooms.

Follow my efforts at TheChicksNest.blogspot.com

Fair enough. But wait. You mentioned autodesk...(yes, like some you work with, I too own a license for autocad, albeit only for 2000)

This!
Autodesk 123D is as far as I know, free. Not low priced. free. Have a look. You are ultimately the judge.

I'm sure there are other solutions, but I'm not in a position where I can test out every freecad proggie anymore. I usually work a 12 hour day, (night actually) screw around a bit for the remainder and do chores, take care of garden, etc. Wish i was still in college...

good luck.

Is 123D parametric? AFAIK, the cheapest parametric CAD is Alibre, starting at $199.

Oh. I didn't see any specification that required a parametric CAD program, just the ability to output stl and preferably free, so I tried to contain my answering the question she posed.

"What else is out there that's free and that seems to be both user friendly and have some useful features? The only reason I'm really trying to transition out of google is because I haven't been able to really convert the files to .stl. If anyone knows of a good way to print the google files then I'm all for that"

xiando Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh. I didn't see any specification that required a
> parametric CAD program, just the ability to output
> stl and preferably free, so I tried to contain my
> answering the question she posed.

Oh, you're right. I missed that. So many people are looking for parametric tools.

123D is not parametric, but for the beginner (me) it fits the bill quite nicely.

---

- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

[myhomelessmind.blogspot.com]

OpenSCAD is different, but I think it is worth it. I makes you think in 3D then you just write down the object.

Dale Dunn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is 123D parametric? AFAIK, the cheapest parametric
> CAD is Alibre, starting at $199.

Cubify Invent is a stripped down version of Alibre. It's parametric and $49.

Andy

Hello to all. First time here, Rap on order Whilst I'm waiting I am trying to get a handle on the whole toolchain. I'm running a mac (which isn't really helping in this regard) and I'm looking for software (of course) that will assist me in the production of primarily mechanical as opposed to organic models. Money is an issue, but I may have to bite a bullet. Thus far I've looked at:

Blender

Freecad

OpenScad

BRL-Cad

and one or two others I think. But nothing really seems to fit the bill. I'm currently downloading Autodesk Inventor Fusion to take a look at. Something I'm trying to keep in mind whilst looking at these packages is that I'm not overly familiar with CAD software generally and so things I find confusing could be down to that or could be due to bugs.

Perhaps not a really helpful post, but thought it was worth adding to the conversation.

Sigh

Elsewhere I have mentioned the Salome platform. Good, easy parametric geometry module that exports *.stl files ready to print (which is more than I can say for Sketchup).

I just started using solvespace. It is about as parametric as you can get and it is freeware (not oss). I just used it to design a laser cut enclosure and every time I screwed up all I had to do was change a value and it changed everything else around it to make it work. The interface is simple, it doesn't try to do to much and it just works.

[solvespace.com]

A heads up to the ones considering blender. (It's not a pure CAD program per se, though, but more of a jack-of-all-trades in 3D kinda tool)
I have been using it exclusively for creating STLs for printing and although its main focus is CGI/animation, the tools and features make it quite easy to create complex forms using a mixture of mesh manipulation and constructive solid geometry (boolean operations; like in OpenSCAD). Non-destructive re-arrangeable object modifiers are especially helpful in this regard (for example to create the teeth in pulleys).
Also, I like the mesh analysis and repair tools, like showing non-manifold edges and vertices, normals recalculation etc.
Sure, the learning curve seems to be very steep at the beginning, but compared to the old (pre 2.5) versions, the current interface is rather intuitive.
For the programmers among us, blender is coded in Python and contains an interpreter/console, so that you can add modifications or script your model (haven't really tried that out, yet).

The drawback: I haven't researched it much further, but blender's floating point numbers are supposed to be less precise than those of "real" CAD programs; you will "only" get 0.001 units precision (and there are some rounding errors because of the nature of floating point numbers), but then again, RepRaps are unlikely to achieve 0.001mm precision. Just keep that in mind if you also want to use blender to create output for CNC mills etc.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2012 06:09PM by uGen.

just following up after checking out those programs; FYI in case other mac users come through here:

solvespace is windows-only.

salome has precompiled binaries for linux and win32. which means it's probably possible to do your own mac build, but the instructions on the salome forums are defunct, and it looks like it'd be a real hassle.

so unless you're happy to use a virtual machine, and either of them run in one, these two are not immediate mac solutions.

i'm using sketchup and maya for my 3D modelling needs, but have not used either for 3D printing yet (waiting eagerly for my xmas reprappro mendel).