As far as tools go, Fusion 360 is the better hammer. But you can start contributing to FreeCAD right now. You’re probably never going to be on Autodesk’s design team. FreeCAD is offering the chance to help make a CAD program. FreeCad’s foundation is built with C++, but they talk about how most of the functional stuff is written in the programming language Python. I’ve never connected emotionally with a hammer. In the past, as a professional, all the tools I used were impersonal. I was swimming around in support articles and watching videos and it suddenly hit me. While using FreeCad I was met with another unexpected twist. For me, it’s because I’ve never really known what I would add. I use a lot of open-source programs and, while I try to remain appreciative of other people’s hard work, I’ve never once considered contributing. Let’s dive in and see which of these two situations might apply to you.įreeCAD costs nothing. While you can’t argue with free, you can definitely make the case that enough value can outweigh the cost. The two should never be confused with each other. (I would show you a picture of the printed part but my nozzle clogged and I haven’t had a chance to fix it yet.) Price Source: FreeCAD Of course, not every new user is going to have a scowling middle-aged mentor guiding them but, even so, FreeCAD just looked easy.Īs far as I am concerned, utilizing this very scientific approach, FreeCAD is the clear winner. Unburdened by the staggering amount of choices that Fusion 360 offered, he set about using FreeCAD’s basic sketch tools, to instant effect. How could this be?Īs far as I could tell, it was FreeCAD’s simplicity. To my surprise, he had a much easier time with FreeCAD. Anyway, once we got our drawing we sat down and modeled the replacement knob on Fusion 360. He tried hard and I’m proud of him, but I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t have to step in to help out. Then use the remnants of the chewed-up knob and sketch up a new one. His objective? Measure the control post… thingy, that comes out of the top of the fan. I handed my son a pair of calipers, a pencil, and a blank sheet of paper. We needed a new knob and I needed a fairly simple project. Our way-too-energetic new puppy recently chewed the control knob off of one of our box fans. I set up a challenge to test how these programs stacked against each other for the new user. In retrospect, I think I was blinded by my own love of Fusion 360. I believed Fusion 360 would be the clear winner. Either way, you want to hit the ground running.įor me, this was the biggest and most unexpected upset. You’re likely researching free CAD programs because you’re either new to CAD or looking to switch from another CAD program. When comparing Fusion 360 vs FreeCAD the ease of entry should not be overlooked. Many of the extensions like machining, generative design, and simulation, are expensive Ease of Use We’ll go into more detail on this later, so don’t worry if you’re a little confused You can go back and modify any of the changes at any time and those modifications will propagate down the parametric chain. When you use FreeCAD to design something, each change you make stacks upon the last. FreeCAD vs Fusion 360: A Quick CAD Comparison FreeCADįreeCAD is an open-source, parametric 3D modeler. Let’s go over the basics of each program so you’ll have a good idea of what they can do before we drill down into their differences. Come and enter, all ye who would make stuff. To me, the most exciting has been the emergence of free or inexpensive CAD software. In that time I’ve seen many changes come to the industry. I eventually gave up because it was like counting the stars and I kept losing my place, so eventually, I settled on A LOT. In preparation for the research I was about to do I tried to add up the number of hours I’ve spent in various CAD programs over the years. The match-up was far more even and interesting than I had anticipated. Full disclosure, when I was tasked with writing an article pitting FreeCAD vs Fusion 360 I picked the winner before I wrote word one.
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