FreeCAD is aimed directly at mechanical engineering and product design but also fits in a wider range of uses around engineering, such as architecture, finite element analysis, 3D printing, and other tasks.įreeCAD features tools similar to Catia, SolidWorks or Solid Edge, and therefore also falls into the category of MCAD, PLM, CAx and CAE. And while it is not powerful enough to let you build a more complex design, it covers most printing enthusiasts needs.FreeCAD is a general purpose parametric 3D CAD modeler, whose development is completely open source (LGPL License).
Its design, as well as its various user-created items, makes it easier for novice designers to create simple prints. If you are only starting or experimenting with CAD, 123D Design is a good app choice.
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What’s more, this app is for free, and you can install it on your computer without restrictions. The app also makes it easy to combine, subtract, and intersect operations between meshes. Its support for opening, inserting and saving meshes in STL and OBJ formats. For one, 123D Design has a rich online database of user-created items that you can use and snap together to make a new item. However, while 123D Design lacks some features that Fusion has, it is still cannot be discounted. Fusion 360 also has this construct feature which lets you create planes, axes, and points in a wide array of ways to make your designing easier. Some features of 123D Design are smaller versions Fusion 360, that if you have been working with the latter, you will only feel a subtle limitation when you started using the former.Īmong these limitations include the lack of render, sculpt, and CAM modules, which you can all find in Fusion. You can even safely say that 123D Design is a more simplified Fusion 360. Both applications come with similar complexity and power.
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If you are a model designing professional and have been working with CAD designers, you may see some similarities between 123D Design and Fusion 360.
These items are ready-made parts for various projects which you can change per requirements and group into one item. Besides the fixed camera view, you can also move the camera freely by holding right-click and moving your mouse.įinally, 123D Design comes with kits button on the right side of the screen where you can find new items listed in categories. This viewpoint is especially helpful when you want to move an item to a direction. You may click any side or corner of the cube to go into a different view. There is a viewpoint cube available that highlights your currently active view. How the app handles its viewpoints is quite intuitive and effective as well.
Users can use the drag-and-drop approach later when they want to refine the position of an item, but that is camera dependent since it works with vertical and perpendicular vectors. Instead, it uses click-and-place, which is more convenient. Unlike some model designing app, 123D Design does not use the drag-and-drop approach when placing something in the design area. This way, you don’t have to wonder about the use of every icon. Each icon in the toolbox items are very indicative of their functionality, and they spawn item lists when clicked.
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