Searching for a easy free CAD

L

Livnpaintball

Registered
Registered
Joined
Mar 8, 2017
Messages
87
Well I started out trying to learn Fusion 360 and now they want money, plus I never got far enough with it to justify spending bank on a limited use hobby item. So now I’m thinking of FreeCAD and learning how to use it. My goal is to use it on my 3 axis cnc mill that I am building, it is controlled by an Acorn board. Any other suggestions out there?
 
hhhhmmmmm...........I am still using Fusion-360 and have not paid them a cent.

Did you get a 30-day trial, or did you find the place where they say it is free for use if you make less than some amount a money from it a year?

I will try to find a couple references.....stay tuned....

-brino


Alternately, FreeCAD was recommended here:
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/gear-drawings-for-a-3-d-printer.84037/post-742225
(I have never tried it!)
 
okay I found something.......

This thread discusses a few CAD options:
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/alibre-design-opinions.66993/post-559203

and specifically my post here:
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/alibre-design-opinions.66993/post-561736
shows the dialog where you can choose "enthusiast" and make less than $100k a year.

I did just go thru those older 2018 links, here's what I found:

Perhaps you just hit the end of your first free year, and you just need to go thru the free renewal process shown below.

This link:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/supp...-or-educational-licensing-for-Fusion-360.html

mentions the "personal" license:
1590594538490.png

and also shows this:
1590594643811.png

That last link brings you to here:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/supp...bbyist-enthusiast-license-for-Fusion-360.html

where they eventually show a similar dialog box:
1590594754225.png

Good luck! and please let us know the outcome.

-brino
 
brino said:
hhhhmmmmm...........I am still using Fusion-360 and have not paid them a cent.

Did you get a 30-day trial, or did you find the place where they say it is free for use if you make less than some amount a money from it a year?

I will try to find a couple references.....stay tuned....

-brino


Alternately, FreeCAD was recommended here:
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/gear-drawings-for-a-3-d-printer.84037/post-742225
(I have never tried it!)
Click to expand...
I had the hobbyist account and then they turned me off, I had it for about six months.
 
brino said:
okay I found something.......

This thread discusses a few CAD options:
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/alibre-design-opinions.66993/post-559203

and specifically my post here:
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/alibre-design-opinions.66993/post-561736
shows the dialog where you can choose "enthusiast" and make less than $100k a year.

I did just go thru those older 2018 links, here's what I found:

Perhaps you just hit the end of your first free year, and you just need to go thru the free renewal process shown below.

This link:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/supp...-or-educational-licensing-for-Fusion-360.html

mentions the "personal" license:
View attachment 325589

and also shows this:
View attachment 325590

That last link brings you to here:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/supp...bbyist-enthusiast-license-for-Fusion-360.html

where they eventually show a similar dialog box:
View attachment 325591

Good luck! and please let us know the outcome.

-brino
Click to expand...
Thxs brino, I may attempt to start up my account again using the above step. I will also give FreeCAD a look as well. For me Fusion is great but was a pain at times to Log In.
 
DavidR8 said:
I'm not sure "Easy" and "CAD" can be used in the same sentence....F360 user wanna-be here :D
Click to expand...
You’re right, it’s like oil and water don’t mix. I just started to kinda work my way around 360 and then I took some time away from it and when I came back to it they updated it. Now If I go back to using it I will be at square one.
 
Livnpaintball said:
You’re right, it’s like oil and water don’t mix. I just started to kinda work my way around 360 and then I took some time away from it and when I came back to it they updated it. Now If I go back to using it I will be at square one.
Click to expand...


Not really. They move things around, in my mind for no good reason, but HOW it works is still the same and applies to most similar CAD tools. I originally taught myself on Onshape and can do most of the same things on F360. I think it's more about learning the workflow and how to make 3D things with sketches/extrudes than anything else.

I would really like an open source CAD/CAM, but I'm not aware of one that can do what F360 can. I guess some people were abusing the generous terms Autodesk had for the free license, so they changed it. That side of it has been more annoying, but I can see where they are coming from. It is still free for hobby users, though you have to jump through more hoops as a result. And I think some of the more advanced stuff is paid now, but I always figured that was going to wind up being the case. Hopefully the basic stuff hobby users use remains available.
 
There is a series of youtube vids where the presenter gives a side by side of Fusion and FreeCAD. Just found it again, Joko Engineering.




He also does some Solidworks vids. If you do go looking for FreeCAD tutorials, make sure they are for version 0.17 or later; current is 0.18.
 
A few months back, I tried both FreeCAD and Fusion360 looking for both CAD and CAM software that I liked and which was easy to learn. (Neither is easy to learn!) Initially, I decided to go with Fusion360 since FreeCAD had some issues in CAM (Path) that I didn't like. FreeCAD is still at version 0.18, not even 1.0! After playing with Fusion360 for a while, I kept getting the "message" that this software would no longer be free. I never liked all my files in F360's cloud either. Rather than keep using it and getting proficient at it, I decided to jump ship and go to FreeCAD. It is free, free, free! Is FreeCAD as good as F360? No, but it gets the job done and I've done quite a few projects successfully with it. Every time I use it, I learn something new.

There are tons of tutorials for FreeCAD and it has a good following. You have to be careful with the tutorials though because a lot of them are for older versions that don't apply. I would suggest trying FreeCAD for a bit and see if you like it and get the hang of it. The worse that can happen is you lose a little time and delete it off your PC.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top