IMO. Not quite but I’m hoping this release will lay the groundwork for such an event. IMO, they need a major UI refresh that focuses on making it significantly more intuitive and they might be there.
Biased in the way you may not think. I’m a paid fusion 360 user primarily since I do CAD for work. However, there’s never been a better time to pick up freeCAD and many of the skills will translate to other programs. It’s just going to be somewhat less intuitive to learn and likely require more video tutorials from Mangojelly and others. FreeCAD will also force you to learn to model “properly” with full constraints whereas fusion and onshape will let you “cheat” since the tools are more forgiving.
FreeCAD certainly has a learning curve, and sitting down in front of it expecting to just discover its features without a manual is a hopeless endeavour. Doing things wrong will also often give you massively unhelpful error messages.
But the wiki is quite good, and once you learn the basics the interface starts to make some sense. I can absolutely recommend learning it, because having a CAD that doesn't constantly nag and paywall you like the free version of Fusion360 is really nice. Or you can just pay for a commercial CAD, no one's stopping you.
I'm currently taking an intro class using AutoCAD. Would having an understanding of AutoCAD transfer over to FreeCAD and lessen that learning curve, or are they substantially different? I'm not doing anything particularly advanced at this stage, I'm just thinking in terms of UX/UI similarities and core features.
They are substantially similar in what they do and different in the workflows to do them. If you want extremely different pieces of software that can theoretically do the same thing, compare Blender to any Parametric CAD software. Blender can make a 3d model of anything, even moreso than nearly any other parametric hard surface modelling software. You could say it's better because of that, but it's absolutely garbage if you want to design and engineer things to be built in the real world.
AutoCAD isn't really parameterized like Fusion360 and AutoCAD itself as a basic drafting software isn't good for nearly anything anymore. Anyone who uses AutoCAD is using it with an addon like Civil3D or Revit. The old CAD software where lines are objects, but there are no rules and nothing is parameterized is dead. So when you say AutoCAD, you need to qualify that. If you are drawing objects in AutoCAD, you're not learning a skill anyone wants except maybe sheet production work for the industries that still use sheets. Like a lot of classes, basic AutoCAD skills are a stepping stone to something bigger.
I came here to ask this (actually am an ACAD veteran) but the 2 answers have deterred me. I'll have to stick to my 100% legit old as sin copy running in a VM :(
If you've never done any CAD or technical drawing at all before, I guess a few basic general concepts would transfer. But in terms of actual workflow and UI/UX, it's vastly different.
they're nothing alike, completely different approach. not worth the hassle imo. i sincerely hope it gets better or a better alternative appears tho, wish them the best.
I don't recall if this was the program I used in high school, I wanna say it is though. We were learning CNC programming and I wanted to go a step further so I was able to make my initials in G code and visualize it, it was really cool
No, Vim is brutally efficient. More like the GIMP of CAD. You can do most of the same stuff as the popular commercial apps, it just takes more steps and they're often impossible to discover without a tutorial. And like GIMP for its first decade, really the only viable open source game in town.
I'm a fusion 360 user and I absolutely hate to use Freecad. However I'm quite excited for it, and I have nothing but respect for the dev team. It's one of those projects that are insanely more complicated to use than most other commercial projects, but at the same time it's such a huge achievement that every once in a while I go back and try to learn it (and fail at it). The time has come for the cycle to repeat itself. Hopefully one day I can break out of it and be a full time Freecad user.
I started in Fusion360 and went to OnShape as F360 runs like dogshit in wine for me, but I'm really worried about OnShape's licencing. I'm looking at repeating your cycle myself and hopefully this time it'll stick.
As someone who prefers to use Linux for almost everything, Fusion 360 is one of the few programs I pop over to Windows for. Sure, I tried to give FreeCAD a shot a few years ago, but I just found the whole experience so janky and painful that I ultimately gave up.
Of course its entirely possible that if I was starting over with FreeCAD today, I'd have a better experience.
But... Because I've now been using Fusion 360 for so long, I've gotten very comfortable with a lot of its capabilities. And at this point, that likely includes a lot of things that are beyond what FreeCAD offers and I wouldn't be willing to give up.
(Though I did fire up FreeCAD 1.0 earlier this evening, and noticed that the measurement took is *finally* not completely worthless. So its possible I may start trying to use it when I want to look at metrics of STEP models I'm trying to assign to footprints in KiCAD.)
I always had an issue with the way they organize their interface. So many options hidden behind dropdown selection. Options that might not be usable on current object or might be just unrelated all together.
While it's more powerful than SolveSpace, I find the latter to be a much better tool for doing the work I need done without much drama or crashes.
A lot of that is legacy, but also a lot of it is because the whole package is really 10+ programs in one (or 100s if you consider plugins), so you need to have a way to switch modes because it doesn't make sense to have FEA tools available when you're laying out drawings, for example.
90% of what most hobbyists want to do is available in Part Design and is fairly intuitive, in my opinion. The problem is finding out the "right" way to do that other 10%, but, honestly, I think that's ok because I don't think it's possible to have such a widely scoped project have an intuitive workflow for every conceivable problem.
90% of what most hobbyists want to do is available in Part Design
Right, except when you need that one feature that is only available in the Part Workbench and then by using both on the same part you open a huge can of worms...
They really should have merged Part Design Workbench and Part Workbench decades ago :(
Yes, that's what I said in the sentence directly after that, lol.
Also, they shouldn't merge the two, they embody different workflows. Part Design is parametric sketch based, and Part is direct solid modelling. The names aren't very helpful, though. And yes sometimes you just need a Part workbench tool and it can be hard to remember what's in there.
The interface has seen some major improvements with 1.0. Especially in the sketcher with length input box showing as you draw a shape and the improvements made to the dimension tool.
However, I agree it's still a major weak point and I'm hoping the interface will get a lot more attention in the future now that the TNP and Assembly problems have been taken care of. IMO, the layout of the workbenches should be organized in a fashion that matches the typical workflow rather than just listed alphabetically and FreeCAD's interface could take a lot of notes from Fusion and OnShape with regard to automatically switching away from the sketcher tools and combining redundant workbenches.
Yes, I frequently use the clone tool from Draft (and need to undo the grid), the binary operators from part and do a lot of part design.
BTW The tutorial that I learned from was made before "body" was a thing and I didn't go on a journey to find out what I'm supposed to do. I just avoid the things that explode in my face.
The interface has seen some major improvements with 1.0.
That's good to hear. I usually give it a shot every now and then and keep it installed for a while, but that doesn't last long as I never end up using it and whenever I need something designed I reach for OpenSCAD or SolveSpace.
I've been using the RCs for a while now, and it's a huge improvement all round. The topological naming problem is not totally fixed, but it's hugely improved in V1.0.
Man, I wanted so bad to be able to like FreeCAD, I made a lot of stuff in it to try, but coming from AutoCAD and Solidworks I just couldn't do it. It always seemed like there was some pretty basic operations missing as well.
I eventually settled on BricsCAD with has very AutoCAD-like drafting and 3D modelling, except that you can actually apply constraints to 3D geometry (which can't be done with the basic AutoCAD package) so it's pretty damn useful.
Where can I download freecad projects like the ones shown in the Trailer? I've done some basic stuff but I want to have a look at what is possible and how it was done.
I love FreeCAD. 1.0 is such an enormous upgrade from before and so much work has been put into it. I hope the momentum continues. We are really very lucky to have a program that is so capable, even if it does come with a steep learning curve.
.dwg is a closed source binary format, so I doubt they’ll be adding support for it. FreeCAD does have a wiki page on how to import these files though. https://wiki.freecad.org/FreeCAD_and_DWG_Import
nilslorand@reddit
is this FreeCADs "Blender 2.8" moment?
N0Name117@reddit (OP)
IMO. Not quite but I’m hoping this release will lay the groundwork for such an event. IMO, they need a major UI refresh that focuses on making it significantly more intuitive and they might be there.
OrseChestnut@reddit
+1 This is the biggest problem currently.
nilslorand@reddit
you may be biased but would you say it's a good idea to get into freecad with 1.0?
N0Name117@reddit (OP)
Biased in the way you may not think. I’m a paid fusion 360 user primarily since I do CAD for work. However, there’s never been a better time to pick up freeCAD and many of the skills will translate to other programs. It’s just going to be somewhat less intuitive to learn and likely require more video tutorials from Mangojelly and others. FreeCAD will also force you to learn to model “properly” with full constraints whereas fusion and onshape will let you “cheat” since the tools are more forgiving.
nilslorand@reddit
I am a perfectionist so cheating is (usually) out of the cards for me. I'll try to find the time
turdas@reddit
FreeCAD certainly has a learning curve, and sitting down in front of it expecting to just discover its features without a manual is a hopeless endeavour. Doing things wrong will also often give you massively unhelpful error messages.
But the wiki is quite good, and once you learn the basics the interface starts to make some sense. I can absolutely recommend learning it, because having a CAD that doesn't constantly nag and paywall you like the free version of Fusion360 is really nice. Or you can just pay for a commercial CAD, no one's stopping you.
Survival_Sickness@reddit
I'm currently taking an intro class using AutoCAD. Would having an understanding of AutoCAD transfer over to FreeCAD and lessen that learning curve, or are they substantially different? I'm not doing anything particularly advanced at this stage, I'm just thinking in terms of UX/UI similarities and core features.
cloggedsink941@reddit
Yeah it does transfer. UI is different though.
Coldfriction@reddit
They are substantially similar in what they do and different in the workflows to do them. If you want extremely different pieces of software that can theoretically do the same thing, compare Blender to any Parametric CAD software. Blender can make a 3d model of anything, even moreso than nearly any other parametric hard surface modelling software. You could say it's better because of that, but it's absolutely garbage if you want to design and engineer things to be built in the real world.
AutoCAD isn't really parameterized like Fusion360 and AutoCAD itself as a basic drafting software isn't good for nearly anything anymore. Anyone who uses AutoCAD is using it with an addon like Civil3D or Revit. The old CAD software where lines are objects, but there are no rules and nothing is parameterized is dead. So when you say AutoCAD, you need to qualify that. If you are drawing objects in AutoCAD, you're not learning a skill anyone wants except maybe sheet production work for the industries that still use sheets. Like a lot of classes, basic AutoCAD skills are a stepping stone to something bigger.
beef623@reddit
It's more similar to Autodesk Inventor than AutoCAD.
pppjurac@reddit
Learn AutoCad and other industry standard tools.
Absolutely noone at job will ask you if you know a fringe CAD software.
If you have spare time, go for FreeCAD too, otherwise it is waste of time.
Sincerely, occasional CAD greybeard.
Raz_McC@reddit
I came here to ask this (actually am an ACAD veteran) but the 2 answers have deterred me. I'll have to stick to my 100% legit old as sin copy running in a VM :(
dack42@reddit
If you've never done any CAD or technical drawing at all before, I guess a few basic general concepts would transfer. But in terms of actual workflow and UI/UX, it's vastly different.
diegoasecas@reddit
they're nothing alike, completely different approach. not worth the hassle imo. i sincerely hope it gets better or a better alternative appears tho, wish them the best.
SeriousPlankton2000@reddit
I always ignored the welcome screen but now that you mention it, maybe there should be a link to an official tutorial.
CodeRoyal@reddit
There are really got tutorials on YouTube that got step by step.
salacious_sonogram@reddit
That's got to know.
CodeRoyal@reddit
Autocorrect struck again 😞
ourlastchancefortea@reddit
Same for the Wiki.
TheOnlyCraz@reddit
I don't recall if this was the program I used in high school, I wanna say it is though. We were learning CNC programming and I wanted to go a step further so I was able to make my initials in G code and visualize it, it was really cool
Ok-Anywhere-9416@reddit
I'd need to learn how to create DWG and, especially, DXFs for aluminium and PVC profiles. Do you think the wiki can be a starting point for me?
arcanemachined@reddit
It was annoying to learn many years ago, but it's second nature now, and I own my designs forever, with no licensing bullshit.
BrotherKey2409@reddit
So… the Vim of CAD? 🤣🤣
PS: I love vi since the Solaris days…
FangLeone2526@reddit
I would say that's openscad
kopsis@reddit
No, Vim is brutally efficient. More like the GIMP of CAD. You can do most of the same stuff as the popular commercial apps, it just takes more steps and they're often impossible to discover without a tutorial. And like GIMP for its first decade, really the only viable open source game in town.
jonathon8903@reddit
lol I’ve been using Vim on an off for over three years now and I’m just now getting comfortable with using it as my primary editor.
Vogete@reddit
I'm a fusion 360 user and I absolutely hate to use Freecad. However I'm quite excited for it, and I have nothing but respect for the dev team. It's one of those projects that are insanely more complicated to use than most other commercial projects, but at the same time it's such a huge achievement that every once in a while I go back and try to learn it (and fail at it). The time has come for the cycle to repeat itself. Hopefully one day I can break out of it and be a full time Freecad user.
Seriously, huge props to the team.
Piece_Maker@reddit
I started in Fusion360 and went to OnShape as F360 runs like dogshit in wine for me, but I'm really worried about OnShape's licencing. I'm looking at repeating your cycle myself and hopefully this time it'll stick.
dkonigs@reddit
As someone who prefers to use Linux for almost everything, Fusion 360 is one of the few programs I pop over to Windows for. Sure, I tried to give FreeCAD a shot a few years ago, but I just found the whole experience so janky and painful that I ultimately gave up.
Of course its entirely possible that if I was starting over with FreeCAD today, I'd have a better experience.
But... Because I've now been using Fusion 360 for so long, I've gotten very comfortable with a lot of its capabilities. And at this point, that likely includes a lot of things that are beyond what FreeCAD offers and I wouldn't be willing to give up.
(Though I did fire up FreeCAD 1.0 earlier this evening, and noticed that the measurement took is *finally* not completely worthless. So its possible I may start trying to use it when I want to look at metrics of STEP models I'm trying to assign to footprints in KiCAD.)
Krt3k-Offline@reddit
Thank you for actually looking whether 1.0 brought the thing you missed
kuroimakina@reddit
Once upon a time, Blender was in the same space. Who knows, maybe FreeCAD can rise to be a significant piece of software just like Blender
Lacero_Latro@reddit
Needs a better name though.
BlackBird998@reddit
So OpenCAD?
wsippel@reddit
That might be a little confusing: https://openscad.org/
milanove@reddit
CADence, Draftr, Parametrix, Vertex
pppjurac@reddit
On same year as Linux Desktop Year !
MeanEYE@reddit
I always had an issue with the way they organize their interface. So many options hidden behind dropdown selection. Options that might not be usable on current object or might be just unrelated all together.
While it's more powerful than SolveSpace, I find the latter to be a much better tool for doing the work I need done without much drama or crashes.
elingeniero@reddit
A lot of that is legacy, but also a lot of it is because the whole package is really 10+ programs in one (or 100s if you consider plugins), so you need to have a way to switch modes because it doesn't make sense to have FEA tools available when you're laying out drawings, for example.
90% of what most hobbyists want to do is available in Part Design and is fairly intuitive, in my opinion. The problem is finding out the "right" way to do that other 10%, but, honestly, I think that's ok because I don't think it's possible to have such a widely scoped project have an intuitive workflow for every conceivable problem.
Miserable_System_522@reddit
Right, except when you need that one feature that is only available in the Part Workbench and then by using both on the same part you open a huge can of worms...
They really should have merged Part Design Workbench and Part Workbench decades ago :(
elingeniero@reddit
Yes, that's what I said in the sentence directly after that, lol.
Also, they shouldn't merge the two, they embody different workflows. Part Design is parametric sketch based, and Part is direct solid modelling. The names aren't very helpful, though. And yes sometimes you just need a Part workbench tool and it can be hard to remember what's in there.
N0Name117@reddit (OP)
The interface has seen some major improvements with 1.0. Especially in the sketcher with length input box showing as you draw a shape and the improvements made to the dimension tool.
However, I agree it's still a major weak point and I'm hoping the interface will get a lot more attention in the future now that the TNP and Assembly problems have been taken care of. IMO, the layout of the workbenches should be organized in a fashion that matches the typical workflow rather than just listed alphabetically and FreeCAD's interface could take a lot of notes from Fusion and OnShape with regard to automatically switching away from the sketcher tools and combining redundant workbenches.
SeriousPlankton2000@reddit
Yes, I frequently use the clone tool from Draft (and need to undo the grid), the binary operators from part and do a lot of part design.
BTW The tutorial that I learned from was made before "body" was a thing and I didn't go on a journey to find out what I'm supposed to do. I just avoid the things that explode in my face.
MeanEYE@reddit
That's good to hear. I usually give it a shot every now and then and keep it installed for a while, but that doesn't last long as I never end up using it and whenever I need something designed I reach for OpenSCAD or SolveSpace.
tobimai@reddit
Yes the UI is just a mess
snotfart@reddit
I've been using the RCs for a while now, and it's a huge improvement all round. The topological naming problem is not totally fixed, but it's hugely improved in V1.0.
FearThePeople1793@reddit
Man, I wanted so bad to be able to like FreeCAD, I made a lot of stuff in it to try, but coming from AutoCAD and Solidworks I just couldn't do it. It always seemed like there was some pretty basic operations missing as well.
I eventually settled on BricsCAD with has very AutoCAD-like drafting and 3D modelling, except that you can actually apply constraints to 3D geometry (which can't be done with the basic AutoCAD package) so it's pretty damn useful.
someonesmall@reddit
Where can I download freecad projects like the ones shown in the Trailer? I've done some basic stuff but I want to have a look at what is possible and how it was done.
elingeniero@reddit
I love FreeCAD. 1.0 is such an enormous upgrade from before and so much work has been put into it. I hope the momentum continues. We are really very lucky to have a program that is so capable, even if it does come with a steep learning curve.
water_aspirant@reddit
This release coincided with the shutdown of Ondsel, a startup which enabled a lot of the UI improvements in v.1.0.
CortaCircuit@reddit
They shut down?
FryBoyter@reddit
https://ondsel.com/blog/goodbye/
elingeniero@reddit
That's a very wholesome goodbye. Kudos to them for trying and for their contributions.
pandaSmore@reddit
Never heard of this program. Then I looked it up, wow it's been in development for 22 years!
DazedWithCoffee@reddit
FreeCAD has never been so good. 1.0 reminded me of opening Fusion360 the first time; it’s so approachable
zakazak@reddit
Can it finally open .dwg files?
OogalaBoogala@reddit
.dwg is a closed source binary format, so I doubt they’ll be adding support for it. FreeCAD does have a wiki page on how to import these files though. https://wiki.freecad.org/FreeCAD_and_DWG_Import