Mac Design Software Options

[roger wiegand]

Not really sure what you mean by this, Fusion does not run under a simulated Windows environment on the Mac.

Fusion 360 is still free to the hobbyist and runs natively on IOS. It does use cloud storage for your projects, so internet access is required.

So if you have a Mac, internet access and are deemed hobbyist, you have no further expense in using F360.

I think we're talking different Fusions? I was referring to VMWare Fusion, the Parallels competitor. Not a graphics program.

[Jim Becker]

I think we're talking different Fusions? I was referring to VMWare Fusion, the Parallels competitor. Not a graphics program.

Fusion360 is a CAD/CAM program from Autodesk. It doesn't need Parallels or VMWare Fusion to operate on MacOS. Neither of the virtualization solutions are yet up to speed for supporting the M1 chips in the latest Macs (it's an Apple produced ARM processor that's replacing Intel/x86 processors going forward) anyway.

[Andrew Seemann]

Hi all,

Thanks for the info, I will need to check out some of those programs. In my specific situation, it would be helpful to be able to do some design work on the computer. I normally have most of the design worked out in my head before I draft things out on paper, but I can see some advantages to being able to manipulate the design on the computer. Also one of my main sources of mistakes in woodworking is messing up the dimensions on the drawings; while I am good at geometry, my basic addition and subtraction skills leave something to be desired

[Tony Latham]

Hi folks,

I looked through the archives, but didn't see anything recent on this. I'm going to break down and try to learn how to do furniture design on the computer. I have a small fleet of Macs, and no desire to pick up a Windows machine. What do other folks in the Mac world use for design?

I'm not interested in using the free SketchUp Make from 2017; the thought of 4 year old unsupported software isn't appealing, and I don't know that it would even run on my M1 Mac. The more promising ones I have seen so far are potentially SketchUp Shop and MacDraft PE. Right now I am just doing hobbyist work, so I don't need to worry about commercial licenses yet.

Thanks!

Just for the record, Sketchup 2017 works fine on my MacBook M1.

T

[Peter Kelly]

The freebie version of Fusion 360 has just about everything a hobbyist would need.

[Randy Heinemann]

@Andrew Seeman (OP)From your post, I'm not sure how sophisticated you want to get with a 3D design program. Sketchlist 3D (not Sketchup) sells both Mac and Windows versions of the software. For about a year I have used the Windows version and found that it was relatively easy to learn and allows you to design and build furniture, cabinets, or really anything just as you would build in the shop. It seems to be made for woodworking more than most (if that is what you are looking for). Sketchlist has just released a new version for both Windows and Mac (Version 5) and I found that it was even easier to learn and use than the previous version. As far as I know the capabilities of both of these is the same with whatever changes are required for Macs.

It might be worth checking out. The older versions permitted a trial period so I would imagine that the new version does also. I found that, in comparison to other 3D design programs, Sketchlist 3D was relatively inexpensive (but I'm not aware what the new version sells for to new users as I bought my new version as part of a Kickstarter project for developing the new version).

[Brian Tymchak]

Fusion 360 and Sketchup are both cloud (web) based and both work equally well on MAC or PC.

Our woodworking group just saw a demo this morning by SketchupSchool of Sketchup Pro on a mac. The instructor said that Sketchup Pro is a local application. Sketchup Free is web based.

[Jim Becker]

Our woodworking group just saw a demo this morning by SketchupSchool of Sketchup Pro on a mac. The instructor said that Sketchup Pro is a local application. Sketchup Free is web based.

Yes, that's true...SketchUp Pro is a large, local application and always has been.