Hello 3d printing community! I’m a complete newb and I am planning on doing a lot of 3d printing in the coming months.
I wanted to get into 3d printing with the intention of designing a lot of models and printing them for use around the house. So, I wanted to ask what people typically use for designing their own models to print?
Ideally the software would support both Windows and Mac as that’s what I typically use these days. Let me know, thanks!
Update
First of all, thank you everyone for weighing in here!
Set aside some time last night and played with both Fusion 360 and FreeCAD since those two software kept popping up in the answers. My initial impressions of Fusion 360 was not great. I’m not sure if it’s just the Mac version but the software was a bit laggy and at the end of my session it froze. Otherwise it worked fine and I was able to make a prototype with it and I would have finished it if the program didn’t freeze.
Next I tried FreeCAD. I think the UX is definitely worse than Fusion 360, however I will say it was fast and I did not notice any lag. I admit that my initial impression of it was not good. The second I opened a fresh install of FreeCAD it was already erroring. I watched some tutorials. It definitely suffered from the issue some issues pointed out in the comments where the program has a ton of tutorials but none are really for the latest version so you kind of have to figure out the “modern way” to achieve what the tutorial is telling you to do. It also seems to have some weird bugs. I ran into one where sometimes I had to repeat an action for it to work. No idea why. Otherwise I was able to design a decently complicated prototype in it. I could see myself using it long term for sure.
I saw some programs mentioned where you would basically create models by writing code. If I have time, I will try some of those next. I’m not that into programming though /s.
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I have to throw a vote in for Blender. It’s certainly not the best tool for precise CAD work, but for those who are already familiar with using Blender, you can create excellent models for 3D printing, even without plugins. I also love the fact that you can animate, shade, and render your models for presentations or documentation all in the same program. Yeah sure, some of the other programs have a similar capability when you install their add-ons and such, but Blender is free and doesn’t force you into any eco system. And seriously, it’s honestly crazy that Blender is free for how good it is.
Doesn’t seem popular here, but I like TinkerCAD quite a bit. It’s really intuitive if you are good with shapes and you can make detailed and fairly precise models with it without much issue. I’ve made around 20 models in it at this point, some of which I’ve made public. If you want to just learn one program that will carry you into the deep end, I’d probably point you to freeCAD just because autodesk can be dickheads and aren’t above pulling the rug out from under you.
Pretty busy at the moment but I have seen TinkerCAD mentioned a bunch so I will give it a shot when I have some free time.
I’m going to toss out Microsoft 3D builder, strictly to dip your toe in the water. It’s bare bones and basically MS Paint but when I was getting started I used it for very simple stuff. I still use it if I’m making dead simple modifications/combinations of existing .STL files.
Microsoft actually had some cool ideas in the early/mid 2010s. Still had all the proprietary bullshit but there was at least nifty stuff going on.
Didn’t Microsoft drop 3D Builder? I’ve been running Kinonite or some Fedora spin for several years now.
Maybe? It was/is on an old win10 I keep around (and came with it).
There’s a million better options, but I was glad it was there. Good way to get some kid fooling around early the way paint did. You used to be able to scan things with your surface and import them into builder (this was a good while back).
Not to be a stereotypically insufferable Stallman style neckbeard about it, but the only two objectively correct answers to this question are FreeCAD for mechanical parametric things, and Blender for organic shapes or decorative models. (You can also bully Blender into doing parametric CAD work with plugins. And I guess OpenSCAD also counts, if you would rather program your models rather than model your models.)
All of the other available commercial options are some combination of:
- Proprietary vendor lock-in bullshit
- Subscription model “software as a service” perpetual money sinks
- Always online cloud services that either steal your models/make them available to anyone/probably also report you to the Feds
- Loaded with quasi-legal licensing restrictions that prevent you from distributing or selling your own creations made with it
Or for extra bonus points, all of the above!
FreeCAD isn’t exactly slick and it has a rather precipitous learning curve, but it’s also basically the only viable truly free option that won’t spy on you, steal your stuff, or turn you upside down and shake you for money on a monthly basis.
FreeCAD
Looks like there is a consensus with FreeCAD so I will give that a try later today. Thank you!
FreeCAD is a great program for people who know cad. But it’s an awful place to start learning. I know first hand because that is what I tried to do too.
FreeCAD has 2 major issues.
The first is stability. As long as you do stuff the “right way”, it’s pretty stable, but FreeCAD is really powerful and has at least 5 different ways you can do anything, and as a beginner you will constantly find yourself going down rabbit holes that only lead to doom.
The second big issue is documentation. It suffers from both too much documentation and not enough at the same time. The program has seen a massive amount of development over the last several years. When you search for how to do something you will often find a dozen instructions and videos on how to do something, but they will all be for older versions of the program. However, due to the fast pace of developments and improvements to the program there will be nothing about how to do something in the program as a current stands and it will be just different enough that the old instructions don’t work anymore. I do strongly recommend that you download and install FreeCAD. There will definitely end up being things that you will want to try that can only be done in FreeCAD, but you really don’t want to start learning the basics there.The other thing to know is that designing an object is only your first step. You then have to slice it and print it. Unfortunately, there is a fair amount to learn there too. Wall thickness, nozzle sizes, support structure, material strengths, ect. are going to require some learning of their own, so throwing FreeCAD on top of that is just cruel.
I strongly recommend starting with something insanely basic like tinkercad. It will limit what you can create to a certain extent, but you will be able to quickly produce some models that are not complete garbage, that won’t cause the slicer to commit seppuku, and that might actually print without causing your printer to shit itself, and have some success with right away.
Once you hit the limits of tinkercad you can then begin trying out the different CAD programs to see what makes the most sense to you. OnShape was the next step for me, but you should really just give them all a try to see what works for you.
Also, as a beginner, the online nature of many programs is actually a big advantage. Being able to switch from my work computer to my home computer instantly has been really nice. I even use the OnShape app on my phone occasionally. You’re not going to be doing any kind of complex development on the app, but it’s cool to be able to pull it up and do some basic stuff while you are stuck in a doctor’s office or at your in-laws for the holidays.
Plus, your initial designs are going to be hot garbage anyways, so it’s not like you have to worry about somebody stealing your ideas just because the free version makes your projects public.When I got my first 3D printer I had tons of ideas that I wanted to turn into 3D prints. But it took me months to even get to the point where I could print out things of my own design that weren’t garbage.
I have experience with SketchUp which I’d imagine is like TinkerCAD. It was very simple and I was able to learn it very quickly. I think it should be enough to give me a good sense of how tools like these work.
While going through tutorials I definitely found that issue you were talking about where a lot of things are either renamed, moved or absent and I had to go puzzle out the “new way” to do the thing in the tutorial.
SketchUp and 3D printing do not mix well for some reason. TinkerCAD would be a far better choice to dip your toes in designing items for 3D printing.
I personally use FreeCad but it works most of the time can be a real pain, even with proper parametric cad experience. Still it is the only real open-source parametric solid modeler. All the common ones have been mentioned but for a very small basic modeler I’d like to add https://solvespace.com/
Start with tinkercad. Upgrade to fusion 360. For sculpting , blender.
To use blender you need a high end PC. Like a gaming PC.
Fusion and blender are both incredibly complex softwares that do a lot of things and take a lot of invested time to learn but there are tons of tutorial videos and online communities for both.
For a step between Tinkercad and Fusion 360, you can check out MatterControl.
It is like Tinkercad but way more options and runs locally. Works great for more artistic shapes that are hard in CAD software.
Hadn’t heard of this. I’ll check it out. Fusion has been a bit intimidating. Ive made a few things in it but found it confusing and not intuitive like tinkercad.
I think Ive spent all my energy on learning Blender and not much left to dedicate to a better CAD program.
That depends entirely on what you want to print/design.
If it’s organic forms (Think characters, decorative objects, etc) then something like Blender would suit your need.
if you want to go more technical (machines, precision parts) then you’d use one of the various CAD tools, e.g. FreeCAD, TinkerCad or Fusion360
You’ll want to double check me but I think Fusion360 still has a free version buried somewhere on their site. I know last time I opened mine it was working but I thought I’d read something about it going away.
I will mostly be printing functional parts. Eg. mounts, furniture accessories etc.
I tend to open TinkerCAD to make simple things quickly. It’s web based so works on Mac/PC and free.
I mostly use Blender. Sometimes I use FreeCAD instead.
Copied this from a similar question I responded to a while back: I have been using Sketchup 2017 (whatever the last free version was they released) for years to make 3D models for all kinds of purposes, incl 3D printing. For my brain it has proven to be the most intuitive tool to learn, it’s been a really long time so maybe I have forgotten but I feel like the barrier to entry was pretty small. There is a lot of content out there from people giving tips and tutorials. There are plug-ins still flooding around that have really good functionality. I use it with a Connexion 3D Space Navigator mouse that’s prob 10+ years old. That’s been a godsend and adds so much efficiency and flow to the tool.
I don’t know if you can still download it from Trimble but there are sources for it elsewhere.
Have fun, whatever you choose.
Same! I find sketchup so incredibly intuitive compared to the other apps mentioned here, it just vanishes into the background of what I’m creating. Granted, it’s got a few quirks running under Linux, and getting an STL file out if it requires a few hoops, but I can do things I can’t do otherwise - not that the other apps can’t make the shapes, but the parametric paradigm inhibits my creative flow.
Funny enough I actually used SketchUp a bunch in the past for interior decoration. I would create realistic renders of rooms in our house in Sweet Home 3D and I used SketchUp to create all of the funiture, etc. I heard it wasn’t that great for 3d printing which is why I am inquiring if there is something better but if I don’t find anything I like maybe I’ll just stick with SketchUp lol.
Oh that is funny. I’ve had no issues with it, that said, I was content to use a website to convert my .skp files into .stl so I could print but that was less annoying than the learning curve of new software. I tried all the free/OS ones people tend to mention and maybe I’m just an old grump now, but they frustrated me more than just being able to make the thing I’m trying to make and spend no more than 1-2 minutes getting the file uploaded, converted and saved ready to go.
Keen to hear if you find a good solution given we have the same foundation tool. I’d be willing to try a recommendation from someone in the same boat.
Lots of people use fusion360. It has a free license for hobbyists. Although it is a cloud-first software. There is always the risk of them canceling that free license.
But I have yet to find a good enough replacement…
Solid works, a premium software package, has a cheap license for vets. Its the same as a student license.
Only drawback is the files will contaminate a professional love cense database. The meta data will copy the student license onto any assembly made with the student part even if the full professional license has been paid.
Not something in have to worry about
Freecad is pretty good, but unfortunately there’s no foss cad software that’s better. If you don’t care about foss, I would recommend onshape if you’re fine with the “public by default” thing, else fusion360.
For art, blender is great. Plasticity seems neat too, it’s a more traditional software licensing model (pay per version I think, not cheap not insanely expensive)
My summary of MCAD suites is getting pretty long in the tooth these days, and IIRC one or two of the niche ones are simply not available anymore, but it still might be useful.
For what it’s worth, I use Alibre Design in Windows, and do STEP touchups and smaller projects in Linux (where I spend most of my time) on FreeCAD. I just really like the timeline and workflow in Alibre, and it very rarely crashes.