Selecting a free 3D CAD option - 3D design for 3D printing pt1

To get the best out of 3D printing, it helps if you can design your own parts. In this tutorial series, we will learn to use a free 3D CAD program to do just that.

Following a poll testing the waters for this series, and after carefully reading the feedback in the comments of that poll, I have selected Onshape. It’s impossible to please everyone but I think this choice will please the vast majority and allow them to achieve their goals.

This video was a little longer than anticipated, and future instalments will be concise and focussed on learning specific features to design a specific part.

0:00 Introduction

0:52 The best option is the one that works for you

2:06 Categories of CAD software

4:17 What is parametric solid modelling?

5:59 Narrowing down parametric 3D CAD options

7:38 Why I use Onshape

12:10 Free* CAD

13:30 Creating a free Onshape account

13:53 Account settings: selecting units

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[OnshapeInc]

Honored to be listed here and excited to see the rest of the series!

[janderson]

First great video. I've only recently started modeling and feel I finally can say as a design hobby I have started pushing the limits of TinkerCad (great for beginners with no formal training). Cannot wait for this series to take off. Looking forward to using FreeCad and giving it a hard push in use.

[TiphysFPV]

I am glad I found this series. I just found your channel a week or two ago and I have already learned so much about 3D printing and what comes along with it. I enjoy your content and it is a cut above the rest. Modeling seemed far out of reach until I found this series. I am going to start my journey now and create my Onshape account today. A million thanks my friend!

[stevegpsych]

I love the casual "that I've used for computational fluid dynamics". 😊. You're a smart cookie with excellent communication skills. Thankyou for your efforts, as you're helping me upskill quickly before i buy my first printer.

[dondywondy]

Thanks for this tutorial series. It is just what I need to get moving forward with 3D printing! And you always give us details and this is no exception; if you had simply stated 'we're using onshape' I would have felt that you didn't necessarily look at the others. But of course you did and that makes it easy for me to see why you made that choice. Also thanks for making and editing these videos, and putting them online for us to view. I know it is a lot of work and I really appreciate it!

[MurcuryEntertainment]

If you're interested more in "sculptural" 3d modeling like gaming miniatures, blender is hard, but being free and open source is hard to beat. It's also just a crazy powerful tool.

[Nat-nqew]

Many thx Michael! Coming into 3d printing recently and having tried free versions of Fusion360, Tinkercad and Freecad. Onshape combined with your older 101 tutorials really helped me understand and overcome some of the obstacles.

[smashimone]

I have been waiting for a series to walk newbies through the 3D CAD journey!!!! THANK

[d.p.]

I have finally broke the mental block on the workflows of FreeCAD and I design what I want now. I’m glad I stuck through and it feels like now I play in the space of professional level CAD. 🎉🎉🎉

[marknthetrails]

I started into cad to switch from factory work to the office, back in, well the 1st cad package was for a Commadore 64. I took serious training 25 years ago and yea you are right they will all pretty much get you there. It is all what you are using them for but just remember the road we start on doesn't always end up where we planned to go. 👍✌🥃

[betajosh]

This was an amazing breakdown and opened my eyes to something other than fusion 360 as the most recommended option across reddit.

Really keen to see future episodes, thank you for your work!

[williamd]

This is fantastic. I've been wanting to learn a cad to design better STLs for myself other than Tinkercad. Thank you so much for starting this series.

[princeofdew]

I love tinkercad. It was the very first program I could selfteach myself to use. Everything else flew above my head. I'm glad such a simple and efficient tool is free, honestly.

[RegularOldDan]

Another caveat of Fusion360 and OnShape I didn't recall hearing in this video: if you plan on monetizing things based on your designs there are considerable limits with free accounts (assuming one plans on abiding by the license they agree to when setting up an account).

If you don't plan on making money based off your models, this is fine. If you do, you will need to ensure you understand the limits outlined in said licenses. FreeCAD does not have this caveat, of course.

[erock.steady]

after casually viewing a few of your videos, i've become actively interested in your platform and subscribed. many thanks, looking forward to what the future holds.

[johnvodopija]

I have been a Fusion 360 user for a few years and even completed paid courses/training to learn it but never got fully comfortable using it. OnShape looks like a good alternative that I am keen to learn through this series. Many thanks for putting together such helpful and well presented content. Cheers 👍😎🇦🇺

[MaethorDerien]

My problem with onshape is the limitation for commercial uses. You technically can't sell anything you make with onshape, finished product or the model itself. Now most of the stuff I make I will put online for others but there are definitely things that I make with the intent to possibly sell. Granted I doubt they are ever going to go after someone who is doing under 10k in sales a year as a hobby but it is a potential risk.

[MineThing]

Another option for people who already have experience using Blender is a free addon called CAD Sketcher, which brings CAD Sketching capabilities to blender. It's a new plugin that's getting frequent updates and it's still in early days, but if you already have experience with blender it's definitely worth giving a shot. I've been using it for about a month now and it's a very capable set of tools that have allowed me to make very precise complex parts to scale.
Imo it should not be seen as an alternative or replacement for a dedicated CAD application, but it may help current blender users get into the CAD space, and for smaller projects it could be more convenient than a separate application

[sackerproguy]

After 3 months of 3d printing I have tried a few Cad software program's and onshape is legit. great video and thanks for helping with real life solutions for anyone beginning into 3d printing. you're making it so easy for people to learn this hobby ! choice mate

[psychomarto]

There are many tutorials about on shape, but I have the feeling this one will as much as the reference for it, as your way to explain topics is immaculate. I thank you for the opportunity and will not miss a single episode as I have o shape since years but always ditched it after getting frustrated with its complexity. I use tinkercad as a daily driver so to speak, but as soon as I need a screw or more complex form, I have to edit an existing one, which is a bit frustrating considering I want to make something all by myself, not freeloading from others. Cheers from Spain!