Hello from Wisconsin

[Ziggey]

Hey guys/girls,

SOOO I ordered a 3d printer and I'm wonder if there is a good 3d modeling program that people are having luck with. Preferably free because I would like to try it out first.... I have 123 Auto cad but that is a little simple and doesn't quite give me the options that I am looking for. I have also tried to use blender and that is a lot better for options and is still fairly easy to use, but it doesn't have a nice way to make say a object a certain size(like one side 6'' long for example). So if anyone has any ideas it would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Jon

[Eaglezsoar]

Hi Jon and welcome to the forum!
The two biggest Freeware Cad programs are FreeCad at http://freecadweb.org/

Then there is the one that a lot of users on this forum use and it is Design Spark Mechanical and is located here:
http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/el ... mechanical

The one other software is Sketchup and parts of it are free and it is also commonly used. http://www.sketchup.com/

[heathenx]

Try the new Onshape. Free and nothing to install...and nothing to update. It's still in beta but you can model parts and assy's. I've been using it on and off for a couple of weeks.

https://www.onshape.com

[Dale Eason]

What options are you looking for that 123D does not have? To begin with I thought it prettry simple too. However I have since learned how to do complex things with it. It is now what I use for all of my things which are usually cases for electronic things most of which require accurate placement of the plastic parts. I even do dovetail sliding lids and such.

Dale Eason

[jram]

You should check out Form Z free, It has great tutorials and webinars on youtube.

[Ziggey]

Well the 123Auto is not bad I have been getting more familiar with it, but I don't like how you cant draw shapes. Maybe I missed that part on the videos but I'm not a huge fan of having to make multiple shapes to get the end result. Especially if I know what I need with the dimensions and what not. I will look into other software though I just want to make sure that I'm seeing what is out there. Thank you everyone for the suggestions.

Zig

[jprochnow]

Where are you from in Wisconsin? I'm near fond du lac.

[Polygonhell]

To me it's parametric cad or nothing and I have to second the OnShape recommendation it has perhaps 90% of the features I use in solidworks available for free.
I didn't like the way mates worked and assemblies worked initially, but after some persistence and watching a couple of videos I actually think mates in OnShape are better than in Solidworks.
It still has it's warts, but it's really good right now.

[geneb]

Is OnShape the clown-based CAD program? (Yes, I said clown. http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1717 - It's an _excellent_ read and so are the follow-ups at the end.)

g.

[Polygonhell]

Yes it's cloud based, and all that entails. The nice side of that is I can run a decent parametric CAD package on my Mac, rather than having to use the PC in my Office. The downside is the nature of cloud based data. None of what I have on OnShape is particularly important, and they do allow you to download the files in a variety of formats.
There are no ads currently, but it's still listed as Beta.
The free version limits you to 5 active documents and unlimited public documents, it looks to me given their CAM partners and their pricing model they are looking to professional users as their primary source of income, so I assume the free part of the model they are aiming for available public libraries of parts, and having a large user base for employers to draw from.
Though you can't currently easily share parts from other documents, so maybe they have something else in mind.

I guess I got over the cloud a long time ago, I'm done with physical media and I often use Github purely as backup for home projects because I don't care about the public aspect.
Cloud is an enticing model for software because you can easily goto a pay for use or subscription model without the piracy issue, locking content into the system also makes it very "sticky", even if you provide export as OnShape does, a customer choosing to move to another provider has additional cost. You get the added benefit of being able to support the now none trivial Mac user base for "free".

As an end user the obvious downside is about content ownership and availability, who owns what? and what happens when my internet provider screws me? And if I were a professional user I'd be reading the license agreement very carefully, the uptime issue has become much less of an issue in the last few years.
I do think though there are benefits to subscription software for end users, companies fundamentally try to optimize for revenue and with boxed software the bulk of that is the initial sale (though in the CAD space there is a lot in support dollars) you therefore prioritize for new users over existing, in a subscription model, assuming you have some base level of usage you reverse this prioritization this means you tend to fix what's there and adding features you existing user base wants.
There is also the ubiquitous availability of the content, I can literally edit a model on any of my 3 Macs, my 2 PC's or my IPad, when I have an idea I can just sketch it where I happen to be how much value that is to you will depend. Currently I can't get to my office where the PC's are because I'm getting my Kitchen remodeled and half my kitchen is in my office :/ But I'm guessing for most people it has less value.

I'm not a huge fan of centralizing compute for centralized computes sake, it involves a lot of compromises, and I've had sessions in OnShape where solving mates in assemblies was less than instantaneous, but overall it really doesn't feel at all like a web app.

[IMBoring25]

If nothing you're modeling is sensitive in any way and you keep it backed up elsewhere, that can work. It takes a level of care, though, and some people just don't understand or get it. I got drawn into a discussion about cell phones on Facebook recently wherein I complained about Samsung dropping SD slots from the Galaxy line, and when I said there's some stuff you don't want to put on cloud storage I was portrayed as some kind of paranoid nut (but that doesn't mean they aren't out to get you).

[Ziggey]

Well this really escalated. I have tried a few of the given software and I ended up going with Design Spark. I feel like it has a very similar set up as some of the other modeling software that I have used. For the record I was not all that excited about OnShape I didn't like the fact that it was in the cloud (reminds me of the movie Sex Tape). I prefer my work to be on my computer. I will back it up as needed on my own hard drive. I just don't like my stuff being out there. But Design Spark makes it easy to edit dimensions and seems more user friendly.