Which 3D Modeling Software To Start With For Makers | 3D Printing

There is a lot of different 3D modeling and design software to create models for 3D printing. In this video, I give you my 2 cents of the world of 3D modeling in the hopes of helping you make a decision in the direction you want to start your 3D journey in.

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[ConorFenlon]

The best place to start, is wherever you are. The best tools to use, are whatever tools you have available to you. The best time to start, is now. Use what you have, do what you can, and never give up.

[powersprouter]

Outstanding explanation. I'm almost 2 years into CAD now - roughly half & half Fusion and Blender. Blender is now my go-to however, and I still have SO MUCH MORE to learn, omg it's a beast. Loving your videos Jonathan, thank you.

[macrumpton]

Nurbs vs polygons is like Illustrator vs Photoshop. You can make similar looking things in both, but they have totally different structures. If you want to stretch/squash/resize your design without worrying about it getting blurry or crunchy, Illustrator is the way to go, but if you want to seamlessly merge several images and tweak their colors then get photoshop.

[jakepFD]

The problem with Blender is it limits you to additive manufacturing like 3D printing. I’ve expanded into subtractive manufacturing with a small CNC mill, and for that you really need Fusion or FreeCAD. I started with Fusion, but I’ve recently converted almost entirely to FreeCAD. It allows me to design for any process I want to use, and generate the CAM for parts I want to make on my mill.

[Unbothered.design]

A minute and forty eight seconds in and I am liking your teaching approach.

Balanced…🙏🏿

[ghazialazzawi]

I have droped free cad and fusion 360 and trying to learn and mastering blender becuase it has both precision and artist modeling and its free program thanks maker tales and great job

[BC]

Until 2 months ago I could not install Blender, now with a new computer it is a learning process. I tried Fusion 360, But did not use it on a regular basis and every time I would go back to it they did an update, and the process I used before no longer worked, I'm old, get frustrated and probably have ADHD, yes i kept notes. I've watched several of your placticity videos, looks interesting, thanks for the videos

[DanielBadberg]

I love FreeCAD and Blender and use both. So far I don't earn any money with my drawings, but in the future? Who knows, that's why I chose FC and Blender and not Fusion. I have tried CADSketcher and it looks very good. At some point I will try to do my next project completely in Blender and see how far I get with it.
To turn my drawings into real objects I have a small MPCNC and various 3D printers as well as a K40 CO2 laser. For the CNC, I need 2D drawings in most cases, which I create with FreeCAD. For the laser also FreeCAD or Inkscape.

[asdfdfggfd]

Short version, you are going to have to learn Blender eventually anyhow, so may as well start there.

[teabagNBG]

fusion 360 and shapr for cad, blender for mesh modelling and zbrush for organic stuff :D

[JHartModelworks]

I used to do 3d modeling using nurbs in a very old Rhinocerous 3D. I was making things for Poser and Daz studio that type of stuff. I loved modeling in Rhino it was so intuetive, then converting my surfaces to mesh right before export. I'm just getting back into 3D as I'm printing parts for model cars, I need to learn to model again, but I don't want to spend nearly a grand on Rhino 7, Blender does not feel intuitive at all, and things I could do with ease in Rhino, can't seem to figure out in Blender.

[Spacekriek]

Designspark Mechanical for me, thanks. Blender is a great program but was never quite suited for CAD-related things. I believe it is now heading in that direction, however. I bought a 3D printer a number of years ago and like to develop objects with a more mechanical nature (gears, pulleys, fittings and what have you). This is purely for a hobby, I need to add. I tried programs like Anim8or, Sketchup, Freecad, Solvespace and Blender over the past 5 years and more. About 2 years ago I tried to give DSM another go. It just blew everything else off the table. Once you dig into the few good tutorials out here on YT you really begin to appreciate how powerful and yet simple this software is. I strongly recommend it.

[RoseKindred]

I needed this video, about a year ago 🙂. Very interesting. I feel like I wasted my time learning Blender (I know I didn't, but still feels like it) because it cannot do exactly what I want. But it is a great basis because I learned that many of the programs "speak" to each other. Such as doing a base model with exact dimensions in one program and sculpting onto it in another.

[Albert_Riseal]

For 3D printing blender is really good, but for manufacturing the average best industrial design-type, having outstanding control in surfaces: I totally choose Alias or even SolidWorks. It depends on what you do, it depends on what kind of design are you seeking.

[raulkaap]

I just designed a hammer in FreeCAD and had to smooth it out in Blender because the loft was chunky. The end result was good and either software did what it does best.

[lylewyant]

my first experience with 3d printing was Tinkercad. It was tricky to learn, and you can do some cool stuff. But, Blender is coming along and will be my goto.

[k_DEDb]

so glad to have found your channel and subscribed. i just started 3d printing with a bambu P1S. and I felf like I needed a software for roughing out my 3d ideas then another for drawing up with measurements. i tried to use design spark for roughing out then onshape for drawing up to measurements. i do have some blender experience and have bought Sketcher. do you think 2 years later after this video that things are the same? or is there hopefully a clear obvious best in class for rough ideas and drawing up into scale softwares at this point. thanks for reading. love your videos

[katalytically]

I think which one to use depends on what it is that you are creating.

I lean toward open source because, well, it's open source. I'm not going to use a "free" version of a for profit app. "Free" is the bait. You start using it and the restrictions don't seem to be too bad, especially if you are just wanting to learn more about 3D modeling. Over time, from what I have found, the restrictions on these "free" versions get more restrictive until one is forced to purchase the program or go out and learn a totally different one. The principles of 3D modeling are the same for all 3D modeling software, but the features and implementation are different, which means taking the time to learn a new app. What I know from what I have seen so far is the if you want to be a serious Maker, you will probably end up with one of the paid apps as they are more polished and feature rich due to the amount of money they can put into development. For someone like me who is not looking to be a Maker and turn my 3D modeling and printing into a business, the open source programs will be sufficient.

[kalynn]

Just starting to get started, this is super helpful!

[darrennew]

You have to export it to an STL until someone builds a slicer that works with NURBs. :-) I love your Blender precision course, which I recommend to everyone who doesn't need stuff like simulation of their designs.

The place to *not* use Blender is where you need to know something more than the shape. If you need to simulate how it's going to work in an air tunnel, or how much stress the parts will support, etc., then Blender is unlikely to support that any time soon. Everywhere else, Blender is excellent and far less buggy than anything else open source.