Freecad

9:32 AM

// lets move the OT to this thread Because it could not even export average complex step files - none needs stl files in production. Not to start from miserable intuitive and slow UI. We looked last time at Freecad at the beginning of the v4 development ~late 2018 and just found its not competable to the commercial software solutions SW/Fusion. Fusion back then was also limiting, but is a lot better nowadays - still debatable if its the best CAD for assemblies. I don't see why someone wants to slow down OS development with OS software just for the sake of a native data format (most people don't use) and OS ideology. On the ideology part it fails too because you can open step files with pretty much every 3D software (if you can export it haha) - so its accessible to everyone no matter where it comes from. Not that I don't see a demand for OS CAD Software - it can be great and it will be great, somewhen in the future. I mean compare it with Blender or KiCAD out there and you see day and night difference in usability, speed and active community. +teached in some Universities as well On all my machines I run Linux CNC and I love it, active community, more reliable than many commercial solutions, easy to mod, various UI's. If Freecad convinces with features and fast UX one day we will all move there happily

(edited)

Fritz @easymoulds changed the channel name: Freecad 5/4/2022 9:37 AM

In the end it all bottoms down to what do you want to do. I am no engineer so to speak and i am not using cad programs every day. Being a linux-user since a long time, Fusion or Solidworks was not an option anyway. There is probably no doubt about SW or Fusion being the "better" Cad program. If not, i don't know how they would justify their price-tags. What i am saying is that freecad does all what you need (and probably 100 times more things you will never need) as an amateur (like the most of us here in the discord). And it does it fast, at least under linux. I can't think about an operation which would take more than a second, maybe changing workbench is about 2 - 3 seconds, but that's okay for me. I suppose there will always be debate about SW/Freecad, Photoshop/Gimp, Eagle/Kicad, ProTools/Ardour and so on, everyone choses what's best (and affordable) for him.

Yes as mentioned for example KiCAD was great to get started for me (amateur there as well). I would not reach the limits of this at my current skillset. If you spend multiple weeks in a CAD software workflow really matters. If you have a time limited project (like the v4 dev) you also have to consider that everyone has to be trained in the same software if its new to them. Thats a problem many nations edu system have - OS is rarely a part there. Fusion has a free (limited) version as well and offers the unlimited version to startups for free. SW has a similar startup program, altough way more restrictive. + Their edu licenses for ~150€. As professional the underlaying OS is the second choice after the software. Using Win and Linux in parallel to get the best of both worlds^^ Like some people use OSX just to get the specific UI design/layout software they want to use.

And how many users work on a time limited project and have to train all their staff here in the discord?