What is your choice of CAD program?

Good morning all, I’d really like to pick up CAD again. Last winter I was playing around with fusion 360 but never really got past the basics. I believe most people use fusion 360? For those who don’t, what do you use and why?

For those of you who don’t use CAD for work or had any formal training on it, how did you learn? When I was playing with fusion 360 I was trying to watch videos and the tutorials on their website but it seems that they updated the software several times and a lot of the functions and buttons were not in the same place.

I'm using FreeCAD, mainly for making 3-D models for my cheap and simple 3D printer. There are many tutorials, both written and Youtube based that I have used to learn 3D modelling.

Thor

Ok
first I started off drafting on a drawing board, the place I worked for (Mt Stromlo Observatory) went down the path of AutoCAD rel 11 (DOS Version). My trade was a fitter and turner, I found AutoCAD flowed on from drafting on a drawing board, best thing was UNDO command when you made a mistake.

Have tried FreeCAD, Fusion TinkerCAD etc but could get into them, maybe AutoCAD corrupted me . So AutoCAD is expensive but I found it transferred from 2D to 3D (for me at least) logically, maybe as a fitter & turner I was able to go from 2D to 3D easier?? Pat

Hi

Quote from: Rledoux313Good morning all, I’d really like to pick up CAD again. Last winter I was playing around with fusion 360 but never really got past the basics.

As you’ve already pointed out, with any software, you need to grasp the fundamentals.

Quote from: Rledoux313
For those of you who don’t use CAD for work or had any formal training on it, how did you learn?

    All my knowledge of engines and mechanics from my father a long time ago,, when I was just 13.
As for CAD, I am self-taught; I learned only the essentials needed to create basic designs and view other designs. I never received formal training in mechanical engineering, and I taught myself 3D design as well—again, enough for model engines.
So, I would say that regardless of the software, mastering the fundamentals is key. Those basics allow you to design quite a lot, and when you encounter more complex challenges, you can learn through the software's documentation or YouTube tutorials....
How do I learn it? By working with the very parts I want to draw—such as pistons, cylinders, and crankshafts.... There is more than one way to draw a given part.

I'll echo what others are saying: You need the fundamentals first. I'l also add that Minh Thanh has a workable approach for hobby work. If you try to model the parts you want to make it seems less boring than doing the practice projects provided in tutorials.

I've learned what I know from several packages and from both informal and formal lessons and can't say any one way is perfect. The main thing is to keep working and use the features regularly.

I'll make a general statement that if you're looking for a designing package the more elaborate, "professional," and expensive packages offer more ways to do each task you want to do and allow more configuration of the software to fit the user's environment and approach. Of course, that means there's more to confuse you and more to have to learn.

I'll also add that 3-D design ("modeling") is a different approach than 2-D drawing in either software or on paper. I'm sold on starting a design in 3-D.

ShopShoe

I use Alibre Professional but their slightly less featured Atom3D would do for most people designing model engines. I do sometimes also use F360 CAD and if it were not for 14years worth of Alibre files would probably go with F360 is starting now.

Basically self taught, watched a few videos and then just got on and used it.

I too have learned by doing.  As mentioned above, creating parts I'm interested in is much more interesting than a tutorial.

I use Alibre Atom 3D and it does all I've wanted in a CAD program for my model engineering and 3D printing.  I've used Alibre for years (even prior generations/owners) and have only good things to say about it (as a non-professional).  The greatest advantage in my opinion is the single up front cost - no subscription; no cloud.

I've been using Fusion for about 10 years, like it though I never spent much time in others to know how it really compares. It has MANY more features that I would never get into (electronics layout, stress simulations, all that sort of thing). It did take a bit to learn, but that seems common with most CAD apps. Watched videos, read tutorials. By now I use it so often that I dont have to think about it.

I may have to dip my toe into the CAD world, are any of these free to download/use - I imagine the Alibre professional isn't?

Fusion does have a version free to use for hobbyists and students, though it does have some restrictions on output formats and numbers of files active at a time. I'm sure all of them have trial versions that you can use for some number of weeks/months to see how you like them. Others are totally free.

I use Siemens SolidEdge, which is free for hobbyists.  It's not got CAM built in.

Wilf

Quote from: Sanjay FI may have to dip my toe into the CAD world, are any of these free to download/use - I imagine the Alibre professional isn't?

FreeCAD is well-featured and completely free although it's way too involved for my simple needs - I use LibreCAD which is free but is only for 2D drawings and sometimes I use SolveSpace for visualization of parts in 3D. Apart from the big boys there are other free online tools for 3D eg OnShape.

I've been using Fusion 360, the free version for hobbyists. I haven't found the limitations of the free version to be much of a hindrance to me.  The biggest issue I find is the limit of 10 editable documents.  And that's not that big of a deal for me.  I find that every once in a while I go through and mark some documents as "read-only", then I can edit the ones I want to.  Though it is an extra step you have to do every once in a while, it's quite easy to do.  And free is a very good price for a package that has a LOT of features, more than I currently know how to use.

My actual biggest problem is just learning how to use the 3D parametric system optimally.  Having followed a set of (really good) training videos, and then done a few small designs myself, I thought I had it all down. Then I started on a large design and only THEN started to learn what some of those training videos really meant when they were teaching me how to structure things.  I usually figured this out when I would get deep into some subassembly and have a problem. That's when I learned I'd laid something out wrong.  Well, not wrong, but far less than optimally.  If I'd really understood what they said, I could have saved myself many headaches.  One example of this is that they say to "fully define your sketches before you move on."  Well Duh!  Who wouldn't do that! I thought I understood that.  But then I started running into problems and discovered that I clearly hadn't understood what a "fully defined sketch" was, or what it meant!  But I learned!  That's just one example.  There are many more!  And I'm certain this isn't an issue specific to Fusion either.

Needless to say, I understand MUCH better what they meant now than I did before. And my NEXT big design will be even better!  But it's all a learning process.  And that's what makes it so fun and interesting, right? 

Kim

I use Alibre Design Expert and have for many years, Alibre Atom is the same basic program with less features. Atom, I feel is a good value and not subscription based, which I like. I used Solid Works at my day job for many years before I retired. Alibre and Solid Works have the same basic work flow and commands so for me learning Alibre was a piece of cake.

Dave

Quote from: uuuI use Siemens SolidEdge, which is free for hobbyists.  It's not got CAM built in.

Wilf

This came up on our local forum. My comment was I wonder why SE is not more popular among hobbyists desiring a free & powerful app along the lines of Solidworks, Inventor, F360 (but where CAM wasnt on the prerequisite list). I'm speaking more from a SolidWorks background. I would love to recommend SW Maker at $50/year which is essentially the full licence seat app, no cloud handcuffs (yay), limited file format exports (expected for non-commercial). But seems like getting at SW-Maker through the Swamp known as 3D-Experience is a royal cluster that just never seems to get rectified going on years now. At least what i glean from forums. Like every day someone says I opened Maker & it blew its brains out, not sure why, maybe an update & no longer recognizes my logon and....

Anyway, just curious if you have prior/other 3D-CAD experience to compare SE? How do you find learning resources, help forums, that kind of thing?