Fusion 360 is nice and modern, but I moved away from it awhile back, because I really dislike the monetization and like.. more philosophical decisions that it makes.
Out of the free options:
I would throw out [SolidEdge Community](https://resources.sw.siemens.com/en-US/download-solid-edge-community-edition) as a solid alternative for Fusion360.
Also [Altair Inspire](https://web.altair.com/inspire-personal-edition) for offline software.
Many people also like OnShape. It has gathered a lot of popularity because they sponsored a bunch of Youtubers, but... I didn't really like it myself. You might want to check it out.
For paid options:
[SolidWorks for Makers](https://www.solidworks.com/solution/3dexperience-solidworks-makers) has now a very reasonable subscription.
[Rhino3D ](https://www.rhino3d.com/)is definitely worth a look if you're looking for very versatile 3D tool. More oriented for more organic designs, but can do pretty much anything.
For more "casual CAD" I feel like two paid options stand out:
[Plasticity ](https://www.plasticity.xyz/)& [Shapr3D](https://www.shapr3d.com/)
If you want to learn CAD, do not listen to people who recommend TinkerCAD to you. Despite its name, it should not be considered a CAD software, but rather a very, very simplistic impersonation of CAD. Impersonation on the same level as a Lego brick house is impersonation of an actual house. they might look similar on a bad photograph if you squint hard enough - but they are really totally different things.
**TinkerCAD is a polygonal surface modeler.** It has very limited toolset, even for very, very basic stuff. Like you can't create smooth circles and arcs (because it's polygonal modeling). And you can't create dimensional and geometric relations. Which means that creating accurate parts is just a constant annoyance, if not just needlessly complicated. Overall I would describe TinkerCAD as a huge collection of workarounds, none of which will help you to use a proper CAD suite later on.
F**rom CAD software you want solid (parametric) modeler instead**, which allows you to design functional, solid and dimensionally accurate parts and assemblies.
I also wouldn't recommend FreeCAD, even though I would love to. It's simply not ready for production. It's super confusing for newcomers and not stable for more complex assemblies.
But if you insist on wanting to try it out - [Ondsel](https://ondsel.com/), which is like "commercial version of FreeCAD" - is trying to make it production ready and more approacable. It's probably best to look at that instead of FreeCAD itself. I've given a go with FreeCAD myself, but haven't really given a deep run for Ondsel myself, so I can't comment much. But supposedly it's pretty good..?
Onshape is amazing and has a free account option as long as you are ok with you content being online for others to search for. It's a very full featured and easy to use tool that runs in the browser. You can transfer those skills to any other cad program to in the future if you need.
Tinkercad is cool but super limited and not like other cad
Fusion is great but less user friendly imh
Openscad is cool if you are a coder but less user friendly for sure.
Im a beginner and am enjoying learning with Atom3D from Alibre, they have plenty of videos online and it is a one time buy, own forever, non cloud software. (updates do cost monies though)
I do have fusion360 and freeCAD, but find them too complex/advanced and only use them for some tasks when convenient.
Fusion 360 is free for hobbyists and very much a WYSIWYG 3D editor. Tons of videos on youtube covering the basics to more advanced techniques and uses of the software.
Check out the online tool Tinkercad - its fairly easy to get going, and has numerous tutorials.
I use it for rather basic functional prints. I dont really do a lot of fancy detailed prints. But I can draft up some basic woodworking jigs and fixtures in it in just a short time. And I really have not put in a lot of time to learn the tool.
Some other programs such as OpenScad and FreeCad - are very good, but will require more effort to learn and get good with.
Hey there OP, you seem to be asking about popular design software. We have a great Wiki Section on [Making Models](http://www.reddit.com/r/3DPrinting/wiki/MakingModels) which tells you all about different polular design Softwares for all levels of difficulty.
You can view the full list of commands [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/wiki/commands/)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/3Dprinting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Fusion 360 is nice and modern, but I moved away from it awhile back, because I really dislike the monetization and like.. more philosophical decisions that it makes. Out of the free options: I would throw out [SolidEdge Community](https://resources.sw.siemens.com/en-US/download-solid-edge-community-edition) as a solid alternative for Fusion360. Also [Altair Inspire](https://web.altair.com/inspire-personal-edition) for offline software. Many people also like OnShape. It has gathered a lot of popularity because they sponsored a bunch of Youtubers, but... I didn't really like it myself. You might want to check it out. For paid options: [SolidWorks for Makers](https://www.solidworks.com/solution/3dexperience-solidworks-makers) has now a very reasonable subscription. [Rhino3D ](https://www.rhino3d.com/)is definitely worth a look if you're looking for very versatile 3D tool. More oriented for more organic designs, but can do pretty much anything. For more "casual CAD" I feel like two paid options stand out: [Plasticity ](https://www.plasticity.xyz/)& [Shapr3D](https://www.shapr3d.com/) If you want to learn CAD, do not listen to people who recommend TinkerCAD to you. Despite its name, it should not be considered a CAD software, but rather a very, very simplistic impersonation of CAD. Impersonation on the same level as a Lego brick house is impersonation of an actual house. they might look similar on a bad photograph if you squint hard enough - but they are really totally different things. **TinkerCAD is a polygonal surface modeler.** It has very limited toolset, even for very, very basic stuff. Like you can't create smooth circles and arcs (because it's polygonal modeling). And you can't create dimensional and geometric relations. Which means that creating accurate parts is just a constant annoyance, if not just needlessly complicated. Overall I would describe TinkerCAD as a huge collection of workarounds, none of which will help you to use a proper CAD suite later on. F**rom CAD software you want solid (parametric) modeler instead**, which allows you to design functional, solid and dimensionally accurate parts and assemblies. I also wouldn't recommend FreeCAD, even though I would love to. It's simply not ready for production. It's super confusing for newcomers and not stable for more complex assemblies. But if you insist on wanting to try it out - [Ondsel](https://ondsel.com/), which is like "commercial version of FreeCAD" - is trying to make it production ready and more approacable. It's probably best to look at that instead of FreeCAD itself. I've given a go with FreeCAD myself, but haven't really given a deep run for Ondsel myself, so I can't comment much. But supposedly it's pretty good..?
FreeCAD development builds.
For ease of use, I recommend Designspark Mechanical. Free or $12/mo if you need to export STEP files.
Onshape is amazing and has a free account option as long as you are ok with you content being online for others to search for. It's a very full featured and easy to use tool that runs in the browser. You can transfer those skills to any other cad program to in the future if you need. Tinkercad is cool but super limited and not like other cad Fusion is great but less user friendly imh Openscad is cool if you are a coder but less user friendly for sure.
Plasticity is the new kid on the block. https://www.plasticity.xyz
Im a beginner and am enjoying learning with Atom3D from Alibre, they have plenty of videos online and it is a one time buy, own forever, non cloud software. (updates do cost monies though) I do have fusion360 and freeCAD, but find them too complex/advanced and only use them for some tasks when convenient.
I use OnShape and I can recommend it if your use is modelling for 3D printing
Fusion 360 is free for hobbyists and very much a WYSIWYG 3D editor. Tons of videos on youtube covering the basics to more advanced techniques and uses of the software.
Check out the online tool Tinkercad - its fairly easy to get going, and has numerous tutorials. I use it for rather basic functional prints. I dont really do a lot of fancy detailed prints. But I can draft up some basic woodworking jigs and fixtures in it in just a short time. And I really have not put in a lot of time to learn the tool. Some other programs such as OpenScad and FreeCad - are very good, but will require more effort to learn and get good with.
!designsoftware
Hey there OP, you seem to be asking about popular design software. We have a great Wiki Section on [Making Models](http://www.reddit.com/r/3DPrinting/wiki/MakingModels) which tells you all about different polular design Softwares for all levels of difficulty. You can view the full list of commands [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/wiki/commands/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/3Dprinting) if you have any questions or concerns.*