Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

Has anyone else started from the machining side, then tried learning design after? My brain is so ingrained in Mastercam that it seems any other UI just doesn't make sense. Any recommendations as to where to start? I like the idea of FreeCAD, but if I start doing well with it, I'd like to be able to output a model that can be manipulated by Mastercam (it'll read an .STL file, but can't really do much else with it.)

I'm not familiar with MasterCam, but I completely understand your frustration with how foreign different CAD programs feel. I learned to draw with AutoDesk Inventor about 12 years ago and hadn't touched CAD since. When I got into 3DP and wanted to design my own parts, I really wanted to play by the rules and use a free or open software instead of pirating professional software. (why isn't there anything between free and thousands of dollar, btw?) I tried Sketchup, FreeCad, TinkerCad, OpenSCAD, 123D, and just couldn't find one that I could wrap my head around. I'd get started with one program and hit a wall, and move on to the next. With FreeCad for example, I'd draw exactly what I wanted but couldn't eliminate all of the degrees of freedom, or I'd have a shape that I wanted to change but I'd break the sketch trying to edit it. I'd usually end up drawing something 2 or 3 times just to learn how to do it without getting stuck in a corner...

I tried DesignSpark Mechanical back in November and it just clicked. I can draw very well with it, and it's both powerful and easy to learn. Something about it is just more intuitive than the other programs that I've tried. It's an awesome program for free, and I definitely wouldn't have been able to design the things that I have without it. Check it out.

http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/el ... mechanical" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would highly recommend Design Spark Mechanical also. Like Jim, DSM just clicked with me. My back ground is a machinist and 2D drawing guy. I tried most of the others also, nothing worked very well.

Nothing beats sketchup for drawing up a quick part and sending it to the printer. It's free and pretty easy to learn. I recommend hitting the free sketchup tutorials, spend about 2 or 3 hours in those and you should be good to go.

Thank you all for the replies! I just spent a couple hours playing with FreeCAD, and yeah, DesignSpark is up next...