absolutely free CAD type programs

[timo_gross]

At work we use FreeCad (for the occasional simple part, then ordered from outside maker). It is quite good at opening files to just look at. (never had issues with looking at customer files)
Private I use a paid software, that would have been "free" initially, beforer they dumbed it down to a point. All the files are in the Clowd, which is fantastic according to the Marketing department.
...I can see the advantages that me, I, myself and my friend Harvey can do group work. And eventhough I do not need to download anything or share any information with myself, or I. I am happy to wait for the Internet connection every time. ...
I do not trust those "Maker Licences" further than I can throw a whashing machine.

 

[awake]

Thanks to Stanstocker and others for a thorough review. To add just a bit more from my own experience:

Inkscape is an outstanding vector-graphics program. Highly recommended YouTube tutorials: Logos by Nick

FreeCAD 1.0 is quite usable, but 1.1 is "coming soon" and promises even more significant improvements. Highly recommended YouTube tutorials: MangoJelly

One of the most frustrating issues with cloud-based software is that some of us still live in rural areas with spotty internet.

 

[GreenTwin]

The world is getting complicated

You can say that again.
Getting very complicated, and not in a good way.

Microsoft is forcing updates, and so I have recently installed an "email/internet-only" computer for email and browsing.
There is nothing on my email dedicated computer.
All my CAD machines are now completely off the net, and they won't be reconnected.

.

 

[mrehmus]

If you are a US or Canadian Vet, SolidWorks is just $20 a year.

 

[petertha]

And its apparently Student version, not Maker version. I've heard very picky about using the right forms & obviously legitimate credentials but a heck of a deal.

https://www.solidworks.com/product/students/solidworks-student-edition-veterans

 

[SmithDoor]

Here works great I use for converting for new Autocad to Autocad 2000.

DOUBLE CAD XT

https://download.cnet.com/doublecad-xt/3000-18496_4-10907980.html

It is free

Dave

 

[timo_gross]

If you are a US or Canadian Vet, SolidWorks is just $20 a year.

Why would a vetenerian need CAD? For the cat? (pun)

p.s. oops the spelling got a little out of hand. (F+)

 

[stanstocker]

I once told a young lady that I loved working with animals. She asked if I was a veterinarian after gushing about her love of animals. When I said "No, a butcher" she seemed to lose interest in the conversation.

As something related, Veteran discounts are also available at Alibre, or at least were last time I was on their site.

 

[Motorman1946]

Try SolveSpace, it's a 3D CAD, free, for Windows and Mac, there are youtube tutorial videos to help you on your way, and it will print out in 2D too. It got my approval, even if I do use TurboCad for Mac mainly (for 2D)
Chris

 

[KellisRJ]

Rhino doesn't meet any of the stated criteria but I think my question is relevant.

I have the veteran/student edition of SW. I must be too tainted by vector drawing programs. The interface makes me scream and walk away from the computer swearing and looking for alternatives. That said, the interface I show below from Rhino is the one that really makes the most sense to me. Maybe simply because it looks enough like drawing in Powerpoint, Inkscape, or Draw in LibreOffice, an OpenOffice fork with a better drawing program that will do basic 2D dimensions. In Rhino I can get an idea of what to use. Can't bring myself to buy a one off $1,000 USD not on the Cloud but with a hefty price tag for upgrades. Are there any programs that meet the criteria with a similar interface?

TIA

Ron

 

[GreenTwin]

I use SW, and the many/most of the 3D programs I have seen all seem to have about the same interface.
It took me a long time to transition from 2D Autocad to 3D SW.
2D drafting is like the sketch mode of 3D modeling.

I had to learn to think 3D, in order to use a 3D program, liking thinking of a 3D shape, and how you would slice it with a knife, and where.
Once you get the feel for what you are trying to do, it becomes more normal.

.

 

[KellisRJ]

I use SW, and the many/most of the 3D programs I have seen all seem to have about the same interface.
It took me a long time to transition from 2D Autocad to 3D SW.
2D drafting is like the sketch mode of 3D modeling.

I had to learn to think 3D, in order to use a 3D program, liking thinking of a 3D shape, and how you would slice it with a knife, and where.
Once you get the feel for what you are trying to do, it becomes more normal.

.

Thanks. As much as the icons, what I like about Rhino is the 4 views all at once. They really help me transition from 2D to 3D.

 

[ninefinger]

Thanks. As much as the icons, what I like about Rhino is the 4 views all at once. They really help me transition from 2D to 3D.

Look like with a little bit of fuss you can get that type of view in Fusion as well.

 

[GreenTwin]

I had a lot of trouble figuring out the correct approach to starting/building a 3D model.
When I was able to start building 3D models, I would build them in a way that would eventually make them unstable.
It was very frustrating for about a year.
I finally figured out what I was doing wrong, and I seldom have a problem with 3D models these days, and if I do have a problem, I know how to fix it.
3D modeling is difficult for some to learn, such as old-school 2D users like myself, but 3D modeling is absolute gold once you learn it, and it totally changes how you design engines, and how you think about designing and building engines.
3D modeling is really a superb thing for this hobby.

Much like learning how to drive a car; its no fun if you crash your car every day, but if you are able to learn to drive a car, the things that allows you to do is vast.
Its like that day you were finally able to take the training wheels off your bicycle.
.

 

[Vietti]

I have read about all these free CAD programs but, as an old guy who just wants simple 2D drawings, which free program is absolutely the easiest to learn??

 

[GreenTwin]

I have tried Alibre and Solidworks, and in the beginning, I found both of them impossible to learn or comprehend in the beginning.
I came from many years in a 2D environment, and many years of manual drafting before that.

Many say that those who try to learn 3D modeling who come from a 2D drafting environment have a lot of trouble, and I am a poster child for that.
The problem is that if you come from a 2D envrironment, everything looks like a flat sheet of paper.
With a flat sheet of paper, you just pick a point, and start drawing lines.

3D modeling is actually somewhat simple, and very few commands are used in general work.
What is not simple is how to start a 3D model.

I use to backpack out in New Mexico, and sometimes the most difficult part was finding the trailhead, so you could start the hike.
Choosing the wrong path in the beginning can lead you many miles in the wrong direction.
(These were the compass and map days.)

With 3D modeling, what you have is three sheets of paper, which are the X, Y and Z plane.

Which sheet do you start sketching on ?
What exactly do I sketch ?
How do I jump from X to Y to Z sheets?
Which sheet does the program default to when I start ?

Where am I if I am not on any sheet ?
You are in 3D modeling space, ie: just floating around in space, where you can pan, tilt, zoom, and otherwise look at the 3D shape you are creating.

.

 

[GreenTwin]

To create 3D shapes, you have to be able to visualize how to derive a 2D sketch from a 3D object.

For example, say you want to 3D model an orange.
How do you figure out what sketch is needed ?

You first slice the orange.
The best place to slice is at the centerline.
Slicing an orange produces a circle on the cut plane.
If you pick the Y plane in a 3D program, which is the front plan, and draw a circle, then you have started your first sketch.

A good way to create a sphere shape is to sketch a half-circle, and then rotate it around a vertical axis.
So cut the circle you drew on the Y plane in half, draw a vertical axis at the cut line, and then use the 3D command "Revolve" to revolve that half circle around the vertical axis.

You have then created a 3D sphere.

For more complex shapes, I basically try to pick one dominant shape that is within a complex object, model that shape (perhaps a cylinder), then add or subtract to that shape multiple times.

The main thing with learning 3D modeling is not learning the program, it is learning the mindset of how to approach any given 3D modeling task.
Once I learned the mindset, then all the 3D programs seem to do the same thing, in slightly different ways, and I find them to be all about the same as far as the basics.

Solidworks has motion study, where you can assemble the parts of an engine, and then tell the program to make it run.
If your parts are not correct, Solidworks will not run the engine.
I learned to add one part at a time to an assembly, and then run a motion study after each part is added.
If the motion study stops working after you add a new part, then there is something wrong with that part.
Motion study is an extremly powerful tool, expecially with engine design.

.

 

[stanstocker]

I have read about all these free CAD programs but, as an old guy who just wants simple 2D drawings, which free program is absolutely the easiest to learn??

This will sound like a snarky answer, but it really isn't meant that way. Why CAD at all? If you stick with 2D and are not going to feed a drawing file into a CAM program for CNC do you need to edit and modify a drawing over time and keep it up to date? Or are you going to print it out, go into the shop and make the part, maybe leaving a bit for refining the fit or taking a bit more based on offering the part up for fit and never go back and update the drawing? If this describes how you work and are happy with it, old school mechanical drawing tools and methods may well be the easiest and odds are you already know the how and have most or all of the tools.

If you really want 2D CAD, will a drawing program that supports dimensioning be sufficient or do you need more? LibreCAD and LibreDraw are both very good and free, Inkscape has drawing tools that work well and has a bit less of the thousand tools all over the place feel of the AutoCAD replicas. Seems there's QCad and a few other free 2D drafting like packages around. I use the basic 2D drawing tools incorporated in Vectric products for quick and dirty stuff. Combined with Gearotic for antique gear forms these two tools were my go to methods for generating clock parts using CNC for years. Neither one is free, but the point is (ignoring gearotic as a special case) that basic drawing tools can be very productive with minimal investment in learning how to use them. My use of Vectric products wasn't really driven by the drawing tools, nice though they are, it was driven by the decent CAM package incorporated in them as I ran linuxCNC, Mach 3 and 4, and gRbl stuff and the Vectric post processors nicely supported all.

If you search youtube for "Inkscape CAD" you will get quite a few hits on using a very good package originally designed for illustration as a technical drawing tool. My gut feel is that this the best free and open 2D option for many folks needs. If you need CAM Inkscape can incorporate makerCAM. Can't vouch for MakerCAM as I have not used it, but it's free and has a decent following

I won't lie to you, 3D is very powerful, can be a pain to learn, but opens up opportunities like 3D printing, 3D routing and milling, and other nifty things that if you only have a DXF you can't benefit from. If it doesn't matter to you that's fine too, just worth contemplating as you decide if indeed a simple 2D approach is all you need in the toolbox. I use 2D for quick and dirty, and don't feel like I'm missing out. Can always import the 2D onto a plane in a 3D program and start extruding and punching it into a 3D blob of stuff if the urge strikes down the road.

 

[GreenTwin]

I agree 100% with what stanstocker says above.

If you do decide to "go 3D" (an expression they use for folks who transition from 2D to 3D), and expecially if you want to make your own engine castings, what 3D modeling along with motion studies will give you is a very solid and complete design, with a very high confidence that the engine will function correctly (perhaps not balanced correctly, but an engine that will run without any interferences or binding).

One does not have to look far here for builds that illustrate how a less than perfect initiial design can lead to incorrect castings, and then 2D drawings that can't be used to machine the parts.
3D modeling allows you to work out the very critical aspects of the design first, and verify those parameters, before you ever start to create 2D drawings, patterns, castings, etc.

There is nothing worse than getting the cart before the horse, in engine design.
It is very disheartening to have to back up and correct a part, only to find out that the new part propagates errors/problems throughout the entire engine/design.

.

 

[Vietti]

Thanks for the response. My question was posed not so much for my own shop use but I have a few magneto designs I'd like to share but my shop drawings are really rough-not worth of sharing.