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Thread: Best (cheap/free) Homeshop CAD Program?

  1. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Tim M Tuttle View Post
    SketchUp free is garbage unless you have zero desire to make printable plans.
    I have no problem printing plans from the free SketchUp.

  2. #17
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    Hi Tim,
    Do you think Fusion 360 will remain free for hobbyists? SketchUp has been awkward for me coming out of 3D Studio Max but I'd hate to put in the time if Fusion 360 goes to a pay version.
    RD

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tim M Tuttle View Post
    SketchUp free is garbage unless you have zero desire to make printable plans.
    No problem here either. What's the issue?
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  4. #19
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    Smile

    I am leaning towards SolidWorks which apparently is available on a DVD to veterans at a cost of $20.

    Not sure this is the best solution, but might work for me, all things considered...

    Certainly a complex individual issue. No doubt there.

    Actually I don't mind spending $20 to prove myself wrong...

    Bill
    Too much to do...Not enough time...life is too short!

  5. #20
    Note that that license for Solidworks is a one year license, and has to be renewed (for the new version) each year:

    https://store.solidworks.com/veteran...?command=Step1

    Note that it's their Student version, and may have the same non-commercial license limitations (which is why my copy only gets used by my son for his schoolwork --- I can't be bothered to learn software which has licensing issues if there's any other choice).

    Eventually I'll find the time to learn to use Solvespace if I need more 3D modeling than OpenSCAD affords.

  6. #21
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    Several people left ProEngineer to found Solidworks. It was the original "cheap" 3d CAD at $3995, which was about the same as AutoCAD2d at the time and 20% the price of ProEngineer. That ended when Dassault bought them 20 years ago, who have CAD products where a typical small customer is spending $100,000+ per year on licenses.
    They have some strange policies.
    I bought a company that had 4 Solidworks licenses. Since the previous company closed, the licenses went "poof - gone".
    Another one had 3 licensed Solidworks designers and we added a student working as an intern. It got ugly when his student copy was communicating "home" thru the same IP as the licensed copies. Nearly required getting an attorney involved when all licenses were disabled stopping work.
    I've played with Solidworks on and off for 30 years and would need to spend an entire day working on it to not be completely frustrated. Don't think it is going to be stupidly easy like SketchUp.

    I think you will find the Veteran copy is like an Educational copy, designed to teach you the program so you can get a job using it at a customer that is paying Dassault $$$$$$.
    Last edited by Greg R Bradley; 03-15-2018 at 5:32 PM.

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Dooling View Post
    Hi Tim,
    Do you think Fusion 360 will remain free for hobbyists? SketchUp has been awkward for me coming out of 3D Studio Max but I'd hate to put in the time if Fusion 360 goes to a pay version.
    . I sure hope so. I think Autodesk hit a homerun with their approach for licensing Fusion 360. it's been out a while and they havent changed so hoping they stick to it. Or at least make it a monthly subscription so it's a little easier to swallow. I really like Adobe's subscription setup. It allows people to start professional services for this kind of stuff without a massive investment. I, for example, started filming my projects for YouTube, made a website and want to sell plans. Back in the day I would have to buy Photoshop ($600), Premiere Pro ($1200), After Effects ($600), SketchUp/Autocad ($700-3000), and MS Office ($350 ish?). That's a lot of money. With subscriptions I can go all in for about $100 a month and don't have to worry about upgrades.

    There is no way in hell I am going to spend $700 on SketchUp so I am going all in on Fusion and, honestly, I think Fusion is a better program.

  8. #23
    Which resources do people recommend to learn Fusion 360?

  9. #24
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    Nice job on the shop model, Mike. I did something similar, but not near as nice. Like you, I can print from Sketchup.
    Grant
    Ottawa ON

  10. #25
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    As others have said, DeltaCad is an inexpensive 2D program. It is also the easiest CAD program to learn that I've ever used. However, if you think that, sometimes you may need a 3D drawing, then SketchUp would be a good choice. It's free and there are a lot of resources available to assist in the learning process if needed.

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Sayen View Post
    Which resources do people recommend to learn Fusion 360?
    Lars Christensen does almost daily videos/streams on Fusion. The majority arent tailored to woodworking but they are definitely informative. - https://www.youtube.com/user/cadcamstuff

    A couple of weeks ago Jay Bates did an hour long video showing how he built a table in Fusion. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J22j8RfETjs

    Paul Jenkins has done a few videos on Fusion. His arent in depth but you can pick up a few things.

    Those are the ones I have watched. I am sure there are more. - https://www.youtube.com/user/vikingcode

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