looking for new 3d cad

hi

I realise this may have been covered before but spent a couple of hours trawling through threads, got severely distracted and ordered a couple of new tools then decided that modifying my 3d printer was overdue and forgot to cook tea.

Until recently was using Autocad, as a drawing package to produce drawings for general engineering and for 3d printed parts, now i can no longer access autocad so am looking for suggestions to replace it..

Unfortunately because of where I will be using it I will have no access to the internet so any programmes that use cloud storage are out, can bring workshop pc back to house temporarily to load programmes but its too much hassle to do it repeatedly and I also need to be able to open and modify previously produced dll and dwg files

Tried onshape but seemed completely alien and could not even produce a simple object and access to internet seemed necessary so it would be wonderful to find something that uses a similair interface to autocad

Oh and heres the hard bit, it needs to be free, some I have looked at run into thousands of pounds per year and to be honest would rather buy an old fashioned drawing board and spend the rest on (more) motorcycles

I realise this may have been covered before but spent a couple of hours trawling through threads.

You are certainly right there, many opinion on software on here, ....and most other subjects lol.

Tried onshape but seemed completely alien and could not even produce a simple object.

With all packages there si a steep learning curve, I understand your difficulty, its frustrating, I am not an expert but like Onshape

access to internet seemed necessary

It is, but that is an advantage to me working on a chromebook, as I have not found any software that works properly on it, not even librecad?

Oh and heres the hard bit, it needs to be free,

I really get that bit.

honest would rather buy an old fashioned drawing board

If it works for you go for it, but things have moved on for most people?

and spend the rest on (more) motorcycles

I get that bit.

Good Luck

Pete

I am a very happy user of Solid Edge Community Edition Paul.

Rather than repeat myself, I previously laid out my reasons for adopting it here:

Solid Edge CE

I'm now usingthe latest version (SE 2023) quite happily. If you are a Windows user, don't like Cloud based applications and want a fully featured 2D/3D parametric CAD system, then I don't think SE can be beat.

Regards,

IanT

I would also vote for Solid Edge in your situation. Fusion 360 is, I would argue, a little easier to learn and use (not least because it has a somewhat simpler user interface) but it gets upset if it is cut off from the internet. You can download models to work on locally (I do this if I need to work on my laptop with no network connection occasionally) but it's a bit of a faff. SE is happy to work on an isolated machine and all models are stored locally. Both are essentially commercial products but are free for "home and hobby" users.

I'm sure that there will be lots of votes for something like FreeCAD as well, but I haven't used that for a few years and can only suggest things I actually know.

I can second Solid edge as it is the only one I have been able to use to create a working output for my 3d printer; I am still in the early stages but have produced model (probably of a crude standard) but they worked.

JES

F360 can also produce stl files for printing but it is not necessarily obvious exactly how! It does work, though - I tend to use F360 for simpler 3D printer models and SE for more complex engineering assemblies.

Thanks for the suggestions, solid edge is looking like a good option but tried downloading and installing solid edge last night, after about 30 minutes to download I tried installing it, and after getting past windows defender, which I thought was disabled, tried installing programme was unpacking it and then came up with file is corrupted message, will try again later.

The link I used to download was the one in the post IanT linked to will see if I can find a different one, but for now got a magneto to fit on my douglas and timing belts on the paso and then go for test rides so that will keep me out of trouble for today.

Hi Paul

You don't give any details about the geography regarding why you can't get an internet connection to the workshop. If it is very remote then I understand but if it is say within a few hundred metres of the house and the power supply is from the house then a power line adapter is an easy option to get a network connection. A lot easier than trying to get a WiFi extender up and running and reliable and probably a faster throughput.

If the workshop is very remote then get a 4G SIM based router in the workshop. These are standalone devices that provide an internet connection via the mobile data network. There are all manner of SIM deals available for these as contract and PAYG deals. 4G will give you Gigabits of data and Fusion only needs a dribble of a few Mbps to connect. You can use the rest of the SIM data capacity to watch your favourite YouTube channels.

I have to give a big thumbs up to Designspark mechanical. It's free, it needs to connect to the internet about once a month (Each time I use it I set my system date to the date I installed it. A pain, but I can live with that) I use DS5 rather than the newer DS6 because 5 can import step files, 6 can't. It will produce an stl file for 3D printing, but can't produce a detailed drawing, only simple drawings, which is fine for my needs.

I have to admit that Solid Edge is by far the superior programme, and about a zillion times more difficult! (It could just be me).

Out of all the freebies, FreeCAD is the free-est with a lot going for it. It will produce stl's, drawings and animation. The learning curve is almost vertical.

Alan Wood 4 the workshop is a couple of miles away, and I once got a mobile phone signal there but was sitting on the roof fixing theridge, its quite remote even compared to home, oh and its not even in same country, just across the border into England.

A decent CAD will never be free although you may get a free trial period

Got Alibre Atom a couple of months ago for 250 and it's been a gamechanger, plus everything is on your computer and can be backed up, essential once you start getting hundreds of widgets

I took the free route for quite a few years but if you want to get serious then you've got to get serious, not play at it

With a trial period you can see if you get on with it

This is me within 8 weeks of starting from almost nowhere and I've got a bucketload of stuff on my computer now, I will never be bored ever again

Your licence only needs to be verified once on the net then as long as you don't do something like a system restore it will be fine. If you are going to mess about with your computer then you release your licence back to the Alibre server, sort out your computer, then get it put back afterwards

It's so simple its ridiculous

Edited By Ady1 on 21/03/2023 11:46:25

You can do Alibre as a one off payment if you want and no more than a half decent drawing board would cost.

I also give a vote to Alibre Atom.

I took advantage of the free trial, worked through the free training manual then purchased the package.

This was about 10 months ago, has worked very well with no issues.

I have managed to draw almost a fully detailed tender loco with few problems. Very pleased with the result.

What our forefathers could have done with this CAD thing in the 1940s 50s and 60s kinda makes me sad that they missed out, it just makes it so easy

Hi Paul

OK, understand on the location issue. It might not be dome and gloom.

When in your home region your phone will always look for the service provider you have signed up for and ignores other providers that might have better coverage in the location. This is why when you are roaming overseas the mobile coverage always seems better when in fact your phone is free to hop from provider to provider to always give you the strongest signal.

All the providers have coverage maps on their websites so you can check against postcode. The coverage maps will also change as more services / masts come online.

I said there would be a load of opinions...

I forgot to mention that I don't run windows .......get a slapping if I mention Linux, that limits choice to a cloud based sytem I think?

Another point not mentioned I believe, is the software for home / hobby use, or for making money with?

Pete

FreeCAD meets the basic requirement, which is producing 2D drawings of 3D parts and 3D printing, with no internet connection. It's not like AutoCAD. Also, bit experimental guv', and very broadly scoped, providing a mass of workbenches liable to confuse beginners. Hint: almost everything Mechanical Engineers need is in 'Part Design', and the rest can be ignored. FreeCAD doesn't do Assemblies yet. The licence is truly open - no commercial booby traps.

Solid Edge CE is in a different league because it provides strong support for multi-part designs, Assemblies, and Assemblies of Assemblies. There's not much it can't do. It's a commercial package made available to hobbyists with a few restrictions and the license is on a grace and favour basis. The risk is the CE version might be withdrawn, leaving users in the lurch. It doesn't need to connect to the internet. Also unlike AutoCAD.

Not having the internet at all will cause another problem though - most of the manuals, tutorials and help are on-line. The built-help provided with many CAD packages is reference material, not a teaching aid. Learning to drive a CAD package in the first place is best done with an internet connection. Maybe an antenna on the roof?

I use FreeCAD for almost all my 3D printing needs and designing single parts. Solid Edge takes over as soon as a design consists of two or more parts.

Dave

Since it is almost certain you have a comp0uter at home aswell look for a package you can use at home mostly with the ability to take a memory stick over to the workshop and just do the tweaking of little bits there. This gets over the lack of online help and demos.

Re FreeCAD workbenches. I only heard yesterday from one of James Stanley's blogs. The workbenches are not separate programs but just the same one with a different collection of menus being displayed for convenience because an architect doesn't want the same features as an engineer. You can apparently modify this if you want to add or remove bits you don't want. That's why some icons like Sketching appear in most, as does File, Save etc, 'cos you always need them.

Going a bit off topic is there a next generation CAD working in virtual reality? Where I can pick up a bit of 2x4 virtual wood and put it in mid air, then add more to make a shed, adjusting lengths etc in a very visual but tactile way rather than laboriously defining dimensioned sketches of each timber. Then exit the virtual space to find I have a CAD drawing.

Posted by Pete White on 21/03/2023 12:46:44:I forgot to mention that I don't run windows .......get a slapping if I mention Linux, that limits choice to a cloud based sytem I think?

One of the advantages of Freecad is that a Linux version is available. I would agree that its learning curve is steep but it is very comprehensive.

Russell

Why use a CAD drawing as the 3D print or other CAM ought to be fully integrated?

Mind you I am also getting flashbacks to Tony Hart and Morph!😂😂