Hopefully. FreeCAD has so many advantages on engineering design and many add ons that could replace expensive sw with ease. Of course it needs some engineering tools as well to be a complete CAD CAM CMM software. In our dreams perhaps. Who knows…
I think I finally figured out what my main problem is with FC – all the tool bars. I’ve been looking at DesignSpark Mechanical videos, and the thing that struck me most was how much cleaner the interface is. All the featues are nicely grouped together and don’t take up 1/3 to 1/2 of the screen like in FC. I know, I can collapse the FC toolbars, but then the tools are no longer readily at hand. F360 is similar to DS in that it groups features. In fact, after a few videos I began to think of DS as a F360 clone.
DS is mostly closer to SolidWorks and SpaceClaim than F360
I’m not familiar with SW or SC, although I am aware that DS is, at least in part, based on SC.
SW is the inspiration of SC and F360.
I think SW has inspired a lot of things.
Indeed my friend!
Chamfers and fillets are also quite easy in FreeCAD V.19. Fusion 360 is an excellent program but I find the license confusing. For example, I run a YouTube channel, as everyone probably knows, Youtube paids me money for ads run on the channel. In this case, can I use the “free” Fusion 360 license or do I have to spend the $300+ per year?
Irv, my read of the licensing is that, as long as you don’t make more than $100K, you qualify for the free version. l
As far as fillets and chamfers go, I discovered that openSCAD has the Minkowski function, which really does make them pretty easy. I am looking more into openSCAD. It may become my goto CAD program.
I created a video about setting up FreeCAD you can see here:
Seems the day comes sooner than expected by people.
Starting October 1st the free version of Fusion360 will get restrictions.
The main concern here is that they remove file formats to export. So starting next month you projects are locked to Fusion. They also render the export regarding CNC more or less useless.
That the first step to lock user in their priced environment needing to pay a monthly fee to be able to keep their data.
Lets hope this gives FreeCAD the boost it deserves.
Yes, I got an email from Autodesk about it. You beat me to post the news, partly because I was trying to find out what they mean by removing “cloud rendering” from the free version. Does that mean you can’t export STL format?
No clue what they mean about cloud rendering, but I guess Fusion360 did upload your model and performed all calculations online, so it looked fast. Now your stuff is/will be entirely rendered on your system while editing so you should experience a massive slow down with large projects. But it is the only thing I could imagine to make sense.
You still can export STL (for now), but all formats that would allow you to export more information are gone. It currently is possible to export files in other formats that contain information about the model and not just the mesh. e.g. containing sketches and extrusions. To interchange models between CAD software.
So once that is gone your models are locked behind Fusion360s pay wall and if you want to change a dimension in a model you have no chance of doing that, as the mesh it not helping you in that regard.
Funny part is that I spread tons of comments on YouTube, when ever someone made a tutorial for Fusion360 and I always got a “Nah, it will stay free forever. They did that over years and this wont change”. Now the doors get closed slowly and it is just a matter of time, when exporting will be gone completely making the “Free Version” a “demo”.
I would be fine with the STL rendering taking place locally. In fact, I would prefer it. As for sketches & extrusions, now would be the time for users of the free version to export their models so they can continue to use them. As for the future, no one, not even Autodesk, knows what the future of F360 will be. Plans are made, then they change. If they get to the point where they turn free into demo, they may find the number of new, paid customers starts to drop, because there’s no free version to draw new users in. That would be a critical turning point for F360.
I don´t think it will be that easy. Even if you import STP files into other CAD software the internals are so complex it may not transfer over all features.
Remember the old days when everyone tried to avoid microsoft word. Even then the loading .doc files into other editors struggled to import all features. Parts of the document were not added or simply padded in text form at the end. CAD files are far more complex in this regard.
That is why the choice of application is so important. It is not just an image which looks the same in every paint application.
FreeCAD may not be the holy grail, but currently there is no way it gets monetized or vanishes completely. If more companies would invest frequent money or even developers they could push development up to the sky.
Just see how it works for Cura and Marlin. OpenSource alone does not work. With a company in the back this would push the boundaries and since CAD is the last bastion getting from nothing, over Cura, OctoPrint and Marlin/RepRap to a 3d print it is a logic choice.
The maker community was just blind over the last years in trusting the “free Fusion360” promise, so nothing happened and Autodesk used the time build up its market share now starting to keep the sheep’s inside the payed walls.
I would never let any company lock me into their product. If there is no way to transfer my files to another product, I won’t even start using it. Back when I first started using 3D CAD programs I found I could export F360 to STEP format and then open that in FCAD. When I started trying openSCAD, I found that I can export from FCAD to openSCAD format directly. I tried some files in all these scenarios and everything I created came over cleanly. A couple of the files I converted to openSCAD format came in with some very long arrays of data points, but they did come in and they worked, so mission accomplished.
Folks – before watching any of my other FreeCAD videos I recommend you watch this installation video that will help you set up your toolbars so they look like mine.
[video=youtube_share;l4WzCjmuJg0]FreeCAD Installation and Initial Setup - YouTube
Hope this helps.
I get as far as the sketch tools in the start of learning but the Sketch Tools are not highlighted for me to use, must be doing something wrong. I have tried several methods but none will
bring Sketch Tools to highlight for use. Any help is appreciated, using FreeCAD 0.18 version
OK, this is really simplistic, and I appologize because I don’t mean to be insulting at all, but you did click on Create Sketch, right?