Best freeware 3D design software that can be used offline?

Hi all,

Hope this finds you all well.

I am trying to find 3D "CAD" modelling software, for Mac OS X, that has a free version and can be used offline so my files aren't saved on the "cloud" or owned by the software company etc. so I can work on my prototypes safely offline and save only to my offline computer. I am a hobbyist at the moment and only doing this in my spare time which is why I want freeware, if I get some good designs happening I will then look at buying a program (like rhino or something like that) as I am hopeing to turn this into a business eventually, but that is just a dream at the moment... So...

I have SketchUp Make which is easy as to use and great for designing things that I am not going to print in 3D or CNC etc. I use it for designing timber and steel designs (furniture, guitars, speaker cabinets, work benches/tables, etc) and just use it to make the plan of every piece/component I need to make by hand and fit them together, ie using it to make a plan only. It won't how ever allow me to make "perfect circles for 3D printing and or CNC so isn't good for my designs I now am designing. For "square" straight edge stuff it will be fine but not for circles or round objects. AFAIK?

I have looked a Fusion 360 but I believe this is a online software only and is not free to use either? Is this true?

Through my searches I have stumbled upon Designspark Mechanical free version, but I believe this will only work on Windows only, not Mac OS X? Is there another program I can download or similar to get it working on my Mac? Or does it work on Mac already? (I've found most Mac programs can export to Windows based file formats etc.

I've downloaded Blender, but it's not very user friendly at all and still doesn't allow to design "cleaner" or "perfect" circles/round objects. Basically takes me 20 hours to design one thing that I can design in SketchUp Make in 60 seconds... It probably has a lot to do with myself not knowing the software that well though.

Are there any other programs that can be used on a Mac and offline? I switched to Mac after loosing 3 Windows laptops to viruses (no, it wasn't from looking at porn!

) and loosing tonnes of documents and files in the process. I could by a cheap Windows based computer that will only be used offline if that's my only option, but getting the freeware will mean I have to go online to download it unless I download the file to my Mac then burn the file onto a DVD or CD then upload it to the Windows based computer that way I guess.

So what do people suggest as good 3D modelling freeware that can be used on a Mac to make more organic objects etc?

Thanks in advance for the help and info you can provide!

Kind regards

Steve

Won't touch best, but some options are listed at: [www.shapeoko.com]

- K3D
- OpenSCAD (not really organic)
- FormZ Free (not opensource)
- Antimony

If you're willing to consider commercial, [moi3d.com] is supposed to be quite good.

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WillAdams
Won't touch best, but some options are listed at: [www.shapeoko.com]

- K3D
- OpenSCAD (not really organic)
- FormZ Free (not opensource)
- Antimony

If you're willing to consider commercial, [moi3d.com] is supposed to be quite good.

Hi WillAdams! Awesome! Thanks for the tips and advise! Yeah I know freeware isn't going to be great but as long as I can get it pretty close to what I need, it's all good for the time being. The tolerances of what I am designing don't need to be that tight yet so can get away with a bit. I'm also thinking of printing them out as close as I can then running the part in the drill press with a lathe surfacing tool clamped down to the bed in a vice then slowly "shave" the printed parts to be more "round" (not that the drill press has awesome zero backlash/runout but it'll do for the beginning). I've downloaded OpenSCAD and it seems to be doing what I want ok thanks for the tips! Am still yet to check out moi3D and FormZ Free, they all have their own pros and cons!

Designing the bulk of something with one program first then dumping the file across to another to "smooth it out" seems to be working great so far! Just need to finish my FT Kossel Build so I can get printing!!! Need to build an enclosure for it too for ABS... Parts are only 180mm OD (X, Y axis') and 16-25mm thick (Z axis) so printing with ABS should be OK without a full enclosure for that height/size parts I'm hoping... The room I have for printing is fully draft fee and climatised apart from breathing (I use it for reloading ammo) so I'm hoping that as heat rises and with no drafts, it'll keep the part warm enough until it's finished.

Thanks again for the help! I'm going to check out FormZ Free and moi3D this arvo when I get home!

Hello Suitable,

If you're interested in parametric CAD, you may want to look at FreeCAD. It is not only free, it's also open source. In other words, you can be sure there are no strings attached, and it's not intentionally crippled like many free CAD software out there. There is no EULA, no online registration like free proprietary (commercial) software.

It's a different paradigm (think SolidWorks or CATIA), if you are not familiar with parametric modelling you may find its learning curve steep (although I'd wager it would be not as steep as Blender). Yet some people with no prior CAD experience manage to pick it up quickly.

FreeCAD is developed by volunteers, so it is not as polished or complete as commercial software. The lack of learning material is offset by a small but quite active community. Questions on the FreeCAD forum are answered quickly.

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Suitable
I've downloaded Blender, but it's not very user friendly at all and still doesn't allow to design "cleaner" or "perfect" circles/round objects.

This is because Blender, just like Sketchup, is a polygonal modeller which produces polygon mesh. Purists (like myself  ) don't consider polygonal modellers as CAD software. Modern CAD software are based on boundary representation (B-rep). B-rep describes mathematically precise models. [en.wikipedia.org]

But don't forget that for 3D printing, you need STL files - and an STL file is actually a polygonal mesh. So even if you use a CAD software that generates perfect cylindrical surfaces, they will be reduced to polygon faces when exported to STL. Still, you can control the smoothness of the mesh by setting a higher resolution that produces a higher count of smaller polygons.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2016 10:04PM by NormandC.

I use 123D Design for most everything, it's free, works on MAC and will work completely offline. [www.123dapp.com]
Also OpenSCAD for parametric modeling. [www.openscad.org]
-- VAXHeadroom

I am not using a Mac, but a linux-pc, and have made some tests with design software. I have made some tests with Freecad, and blender.
For my hobby (i want to create rc-pplanes), freecad is not useable. I need to import 2D-files for the airfoils and create wings from it.

Blender is much more useable for this, but needs some experimentation.
Blender is a polygonal system, but it has some boolean functions that can deal with parts almost beeing volumes, when you take care how to design them.

I don't have a printer at the time, but the things produced in blender and sliced via Kiss-Slicer look good.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2017 03:54AM by Minihawk.

SolveSpace is what you seek.

Eric Buijs on youtube even does all his tutorials on a Mac.

free and open source.

only current drawback: it wont do threads.
if you need that, then I fall back to SCAD or FreeCAD as suggested.

I second solvespace, it's got a clean and simple UI and it's focused purely on mechanical CAD. The downsides are it doesn't have the make pretty buttons (chamfers and fillet), but these aren't hard to add even without a special button for it. Another downside is it doesn't get support the use of variables as constraints, but this is on the to do list and there are some hacks to get this going.

Freecad is wonderful and very powerful, but not very 'focused' in its UI. It's sort of a jack of all trades which leaves the workspace a bit cluttered with the things you don't use. It's functionality is top of the line for open source CAD programs, though.

OpenSCAD is cool, I do all my modeling in it. It's very powerful and takes "parametric" to a whole new level if you know how to use it correctly. Downsides are again, no easy fillet/chamfer options. The "it is a polygonal modeler" being a downside is absolute garbage for 3d printing, anyone who says this obviously hasn't even glanced at what an STL is made up of. OpenSCAD is actually one of the few programs that lets you easily and precisely choose the accuracy of the polygonal mesh rather than using some vague sliders with "low/med/high quality" labels.

How can you lose a laptop to a virus?

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Trakyan
Freecad is wonderful and very powerful, but not very 'focused' in its UI. It's sort of a jack of all trades which leaves the workspace a bit cluttered with the things you don't use. It's functionality is top of the line for open source CAD programs, though.

I tried FreeCAD years ago, and it worked OK, with an excellent sketch interface. The deal breaker was there was no assembly mode, and still isn't I don't think. Fillets were also hit and miss.

As I mentioned in another thread, Fusion 360 can be had for free in most cases:

Fusion Free License

And works offline:

Fusion Offline

It's not open source, but its the its one of the best low cost (or free) commercial offerings out there at the moment.

Back in 2018, gmedlicott said:

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I tried FreeCAD years ago, and it worked OK, with an excellent sketch interface. The deal breaker was there was no assembly mode, and still isn't I don't think. Fillets were also hit and miss.

O.K., I know that I am responding to an thread last touched more than 6 years ago, but Freecad has now got an assembly workbench along with having reached release 1.0.

There is a lot of tutorial material available, of which my favorite is [www.youtube.com]

At the moment I use Turbocad Professional, but only because I have sunk a lot of money and uncountably hours of learning. I suspect that those of you who know Turbocad will also know why I am abandoning it. From what I have seen and read; from the opinions expressed on various forums, and from working through tutorials, Freecad seems a breath of fresh air.

Mike