Free CAD for Makers in Woodworking, 3d printing, CNC and laser cutting

Free CAD for Makers in Woodworking, 3d printing, CNC and laser cutting

Free software for making things: In this video we compare the different free CAD solutions that are available for a maker to create 3d prints, laser cut stuff or design furniture.

BLOG: http://wayofwood.com/free-cad-software-for-makers

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50 Comments

  1. TheGuardianofAzarath on January 10, 2023 at 2:38 am

    Well….I was thinking of giving Fusion another look for getting into cad/parametric modeling, but seeing how much they nerfed the free version, that may be a no-go for me. I’m also looking to get a spacemouse soon, and at the moment, those don’t support freecad, plus you said in the video that freecad doesn’t really seem to do assemblies all that well (going by this video), something that’s kind of needed for a model with multiple parts.



  2. Dude Slick on January 10, 2023 at 2:39 am

    Fusion360 has an easy user interface? Are you out of your mind? That is the least intuitive program ever.



  3. Sam Friedman on January 10, 2023 at 2:40 am

    Recently found out about SelfCAD, love the way the software work.



  4. Ahmed Hafez on January 10, 2023 at 2:40 am

    and please advice which is more better for furniture Modeling ( Rhinocesor VS Blender ) ? thank you



  5. t S on January 10, 2023 at 2:42 am

    Absolute gold mine



  6. PixelOutlaw on January 10, 2023 at 2:43 am

    I do a lot of my woodworking projects in LibreCAD and QCAD on Linux. I wish they had Lisp support like AutoCAD does. OpenSCAD was a total failure for me because it’s not meant to produce measured drawings and lack of snap modes is a crime. Total garbage for drafting. If you want to pretend you’re a C++ programmer who never really got interactive CAD it’s the perfect software to play in that cat turd filled sandbox.



  7. Mustafa Birsoz on January 10, 2023 at 2:44 am

    Great job.Thanks



  8. Blue Sky Videos on January 10, 2023 at 2:45 am

    Use Design Spark Mechanical. Good alternative too



  9. Mario Westphal on January 10, 2023 at 2:49 am

    Very good video. I don’t really trust Autodesk products. They are here one day then gone tomorrow. I love blender but it is hard to do any precise work in it. I agree that opensource is the only thing that gives us hobbyists any hope.



  10. Ralph Simpsion on January 10, 2023 at 2:50 am

    Thank you



  11. Brian Mosse on January 10, 2023 at 2:50 am

    Turbo cad is amazing I learned it to where I could design plenty of useful drawings in a few weeks. I have been with it for ten years now.



  12. Amanda on January 10, 2023 at 2:51 am

    Extremely helpful. Thank you!



  13. Warren King on January 10, 2023 at 2:51 am

    I like the way you did this, good video with great comparison. I think you sold me on freecad and blender!



  14. Daniel Diaz on January 10, 2023 at 2:54 am

    Thanks a lot for this video ! 😀



  15. Gerald Trost on January 10, 2023 at 2:55 am

    I missed 3DOrchard and Meshlab
    How about these ?



  16. SoloSailor on January 10, 2023 at 2:55 am

    FreeCAD replaces Fusion360 in 2020 for most parametric uses (truly open source multi platform in active development with 3rd party python modules )
    FreeCAD even has Cad to Cam with Adaptive tool path simulation for milling



  17. Mihai Lazar on January 10, 2023 at 2:56 am

    Blender

    No, really

    It’s the fastest to work with and you get sublime looking renders in real time, right inside your viewport
    YEAH, that’s right : you can EDIT while rendering !

    you can also use Blender’s UV texture packer to optimize the cutting area without having to export it into cumbersome web apps

    As of 2020 you can use the MeasureIT-ARCH to create dimensions right in your viewport and export any kind of drawing from any angle or even overlay the dimensions onto the photoreal rendering in real time

    Blender IS usually used with a highly destructive workflow, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fully parametric

    You can parametrise anything using modifiers, drivers and empties (most people will tell you Blender’s parametric capabilities are limited because they only look at the modifier stack and don’t realize you can combine modifiers with drivers and empties to get truly unlimited power, albeit with ONE MAJOR caveat: they’re gonna be polygonal.
    You can alter the resolution to get as accurate or as simple a model as you want, and be able to easily edit every parameter, BUT you can never export your model to a CAD software because fundamentally, it’s still a mesh and not a NURBS solid. This makes Blender absolutely excellent for hobbyist makers because it’s an absolute joy to use, it’s the fastest and least buggy out of all of them, completely free and you can use it for everything and not need anything else : draft modelling, parametric designing, 3D & 2D animation, sculpting, rendering, video editing, VFX, just the entire production pipeline in one software (also BlenderCAM is a bit old but it’s comparable to FreeCAD’s path workbench)

    whatever you do, be it laser cutting, CNC, 3D printing, just whatever you do, if YOU do it then please learn Blender and thank me later, but if you need to design your stuff and then send it off to somebody, you’re screwed unless an .STL file would suffice



  18. Alex Mair on January 10, 2023 at 2:56 am

    Great video thank you. Every informative and well throughout 👍👍👍



  19. amit kotecha on January 10, 2023 at 2:56 am

    very well explained, the way you categorised the video was very important. I had the same doubt about fusion 360 while designing I never want to get too comfortable with fusion as they can pull the plug any time.haven’t tired free cad yet will definitely give it go
    thanks



  20. Ferdaus on January 10, 2023 at 2:56 am

    Great video; I used to use DraftSight when it was free. But had to move on to LibreCAD and FreeCAD as I cannot afford to pay 100s of US$s for occasional use of these great software. I am beginning to like FreeCAD now..



  21. Spencer on January 10, 2023 at 2:59 am

    Blender with CAD Sketcher is becoming a nice way to do precision modeling. You have to adapt to the Blender workflow with modifiers to maintain psuedo parametric designs but it is very rapid if you are an experienced Blender user.



  22. Pendelf F on January 10, 2023 at 3:00 am

    All you told about license of Fusion 360 has happened



  23. Trivender Ghangas on January 10, 2023 at 3:01 am

    Very Nice



  24. Don T on January 10, 2023 at 3:01 am

    As predicted Fusion 360 is now $495 /year



  25. Skyhawk on January 10, 2023 at 3:02 am

    Thanks,was a very great help



  26. hislittlecuzin on January 10, 2023 at 3:03 am

    I need to finish learning Open GL to make an open-source knock off of Sketchup.

    Nothing could compare to that time Sketchup made its free standalone.



  27. F Huber on January 10, 2023 at 3:06 am

    Looking for something that will just convert STL or other solid model file to a 2.5 C CNC G gode.

    Like a 3D printer but cutting away what I don’t want.

    I’ll deal with designing the objects so it doesn’t try to make something hollow.



  28. Eric Seidel on January 10, 2023 at 3:06 am

    HAHAHA this moment is now cult : "Now you might argue that it is pure paranoia. Why would a respected company such as Autodesk offer a solution for free, build up a community, invest in the product just to dicontinue it or charge money for it ?" YES, they can !



  29. Jonathan Cervantes on January 10, 2023 at 3:07 am

    Well, that assumption about Fusion360 aged well.



  30. Brandon Donovan on January 10, 2023 at 3:07 am

    I use paint 3d noobs



  31. Bruce Welty on January 10, 2023 at 3:08 am

    Fusion is no longer free.



  32. Dus Bus on January 10, 2023 at 3:13 am

    08:00 that day is Oct. 1 2020. they nerfed the shit outa the free version



  33. Gavin Davis on January 10, 2023 at 3:14 am

    Hell of a video bud. Extremely helpful info that’s saved me TONS of time. Cheers man! Keep ‘‘em coming 🤙🏼



  34. Clément CLARISSE Clem en 3D on January 10, 2023 at 3:19 am

    You do a big mistake to include Inkscape as CAD software because it’s not one of these, it’s a vectorial graphic drawing software.

    Even if you can import SVG in FreeCAD by example, that’s FreeCAD which convert it into shapes that can be printed/routed, Inkscape don’t do more once the SVG file saved and imported in the CAD software.

    So Inkscape IS NOT CAD SOFTWARE, be warned everybody, you can’t create functionnal designs with it, nor export STL from this…



  35. Ahmed Hafez on January 10, 2023 at 3:19 am

    this is great Video , thanks alot , i was comparing but you already shortcut it and give me final result , one question left , could you tell me difference between free cad and Solidworks and which you recommend and why ?



  36. Eddie Sanders on January 10, 2023 at 3:19 am

    I’ve been using Design Spark for CNC designs in titanium. I need to purchase their add-on to convert STL to STEP for my CNC people. I’m open to comments, suggestions, and advice, for better solutions, or what ever.



  37. Phil Brinkley on January 10, 2023 at 3:22 am

    need help my dvd is in chinese ?anyone got a free copy ?



  38. retiredsearge on January 10, 2023 at 3:23 am

    Fusion 360 is no longer free.



  39. Leeroy on January 10, 2023 at 3:24 am

    I took the advice of this flowchart called *Which 3D software for 3D printing?* ( https://go.gliffy.com/go/publish/5271448 ) and tried *DesignSpark Mechanical.* The experience is good, it’s powerful and easy to use. It seems to be a freeware subset of SpaceClaim with RS Components parts library. Here’s a table comparing it to SpaceClaim Engineer: http://www.spaceclaim.com/en/Products/DesignSparkMechanical.aspx

    Only one concern has cropped up with the latest update: the software package has suddenly become much larger (2GB+) and a bit slower (more power hungry). Poking around in the files it looks quite messy, I wouldn’t call the craftsmanship elegant. Which makes me wonder about the platform’s future health. Also you have to register to use, if I recall correctly.

    Have you tried it? If so what did you think of it?



  40. David Christiansen on January 10, 2023 at 3:24 am

    Very instructive summary, thank you. What are you using for the CAM part? Say you want to use bigger steppers with driver modules and addressed via parallel breakout board? Thks in advance, David C.



  41. Kivylius on January 10, 2023 at 3:27 am

    Thank you



  42. KOSSI SOSSOU on January 10, 2023 at 3:29 am

    Thank you very much



  43. Bob Mirror on January 10, 2023 at 3:29 am

    I totally agree. I am not useing software that only works online and steals you’re drawings. Thank you reading the user agrements. Still like the 2014 version of Sketchup, however Windows 10 graffic card drivers made it a pain to use. So, irrr Space Claim version of Design Sparks Mechanical, is the other CAD program, kind of like sketchup, that had a free version. However they seam to have "handcuffs" on their programs as well.



  44. russhensel on January 10, 2023 at 3:29 am

    The following is an experiment that we may implement in full or not:
    We have made an entry about your channel at: FreeCad on Video – FreeCAD Documentation
    https://wiki.freecadweb.org/FreeCad_on_Video It is a wiki so
    you can edit the information or you can send an email to no_spam_please_666 at comcast.net
    ( fix the at to @ ) to ask for changes which will, with good luck, be applied quickly and accurately.
    Any other channels that would like an entry can also make contact at the above address.
    Your viewers may also want to check it out for more FreeCad content.



  45. Nirav Patel on January 10, 2023 at 3:30 am

    Nice video, are you aware of any open source CAM software for 5 axis tool path? Explored freecad but only supports 3 axis…



  46. plazma on January 10, 2023 at 3:31 am

    and fusion updated licence types too lol, can u make new ver this 🙂



  47. Cesar on January 10, 2023 at 3:32 am

    Thanks for the video. FreeCad definitely needs more love from YouTube makers.



  48. Venkat M on January 10, 2023 at 3:32 am

    Hi is there any Mac version?



  49. RalFinger on January 10, 2023 at 3:32 am

    5:26 you use blender to cut your videos? that freaked me out 😛



  50. David Prock on January 10, 2023 at 3:33 am

    When will freecad be able to replace fusion 360? A question of more importance is what if I was to make a very unusually designed 6 or more axis CNC milling machine, how would I make those software work with it, and which one would be easier to adapt my machine to?