Alternatives to Autodesk Fusion 360

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

I don't really do a lot of CAD/CAM myself, but of course have clients that do. Got a new 3d printer for one of them, and we are roughing out some of the parts for proof-of concept. When i get his new computer built we are going to be using Autodesk Fusion 360.

I am just curious what alternatives there might be. Yeah, i can search for it, but I'd like to hear from some of the 3d printer wizards around here what they are using. Budget isn't really an issue. Free, open-source, cheap, or expensive.......What else is going around, I'm not opposed to anything that works well.

Printer is a Bambu Labs P1S. We are printing gun parts. Mostly barrel bushings (that we know we can do) but some other things as we move along and improve the process.

Fusion and TinkerCAD are really all I am familiar with.

 

[Lost_Troll]

Solid Edge has a free creator program that is basically a full version of their paid program. Solid works have a paid version (48$ a year) as well.

If you need a good free PC Board and Schematic program Altium has a program called Circuit Maker that is free.

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

Solid Edge has a free creator program that is basically a full version of their paid program. Solid works have a paid version (48$ a year) as well.

If you need a good free PC Board and Schematic program Altium has a program called Circuit Maker that is free.

i'll take a look. thank you.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Autodesk Inventor is better (IMHO) for solid body design, mechanical assemblies, and sheet metal; Fusion is more for composite parts and production integration.

Solidworks is a close analogue/competitor to Inventory.

FreeCad exists, if you have the time/effort to learn it. I tried on three different occasions, and never got past setup. I tend to tinker vs read documentation; suffice it to say that it is not intuitive for someone who learned CAD on Autodesk products.

There is also mesh modelling. The above options are parametric - probably fits your use case better, but some people use meshes for 3d printing. It's better for non-geometric shapes, such as model characters. It can certainly be used dimensionally, though.

The best-known and documented mesh modeller is probably Blender, which is FOSS.

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

All great ideas. i've also messed around with OnShape since posting this. it is pretty cool.


Also, we got a fiber-optic laser engraver. Using Lightburn for it (although something simple like ezcad is an option). Pretty awesome. Making and engraving custom gun barrels.