What 3D design software is everyone using?

[Farr0wn3d]

I've been using 123D design for 6 months with the intent of moving to a more complicated program once I had a handle on 123D. My original plan was to move to Fusion 360 but I wanted to check with the users on here and see what everyones using, and get your take on the available programs. I'm a millwright (industrial mechanic) by trade, and I see this as an opportunity to learn a skill that could potentially open up an alternative career path down the road, so I would really like to commit to learning a program that not only works will for 3d design and 3d printing but also one thats is fairly mainstream in the design workforce as well. Letting me know what you use and why you chose it would really help narrow my decision

Jeremy.

edit: I should add that I'm using a mac, and would REALLY prefer to not have to run a mounted copy of windows to run design software if I can avoid it.

[jsc]

The only "mainstream" CAD software in industrial use are the heavy hitters with "call for quote" prices: SolidWorks, Autocad and the like. That said, Fusion 360 and OnShape are intended to be full featured but moderately priced competitors that use the same parametric history-based modeling that SolidWorks has. Both run on Macs, both offer free tiers, although rumor has it OnShape's free tier is about to get a lot more restrictive. Parametric modeling is what you want to learn if you intend to do more with it than 3D printing.

For industrial design work and surfacing, you'll want something like Rhino, a NURBS-based modeler. Fusion 360 has T-Splines shoe-horned in, which is similar to NURBS but supposedly more efficient.

[Farr0wn3d]

whats the purpose of surfacing?

[jsc]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeform_ ... _modelling

If you're designing a car or doing industrial design for electronics, that's the sort of thing you'd use.

[jimc]

yeah many of us here use rhino. its great software for industrial design so your basic consumer products. bottles, toys, jewelry, the mouse your using right now. basically most of the things we 3d print. it is not mechanical engineering though. non parametric so maybe not right choice for you. is for making parts not assemblies and its a little more artsy than solidworks and autocad, etc, so it does organic surfaces a little better.

[Farr0wn3d]

I want to stay more on the precision engineering side of things, so would you say I should just stick with Fusion 360 since the interface is already familiar to me and it has a bit of an organic design component to it?

[jimc]

well rhino is precision but prob not for you as its not mechanical and parametric. i have not used fusion. jin has nd i think he said he liked it but i believe there is a big lack of info on it. rhino, solidworks, autocad etc are all big enough players that the resources are huge. if you want to use and learn something that will get you somewhere i would shoot for solidworks. its used pretty much everywhere. its one of the biggest players out there and supposed to not be all that difficult. if you were to ever get a job for an engineering firm you had better know solidworks. its just what everyone uses. you can go on infinite skills, digital tutors, lynda and watch a ton of complete courses on it.

[Farr0wn3d]

keeping in mind that fusion is free for hobbyists and is available for mac, whereas solidworks, while undeniably a big deal in the design industry, is only available for windows and I'm expecting it to also come with a considerable cost. I've heard from a few people that fusion is similar enough that once I'm well versed in fusion, it should be a fairly easy transition to solidworks if the need arose.

[jimc]

Yeah thats right. I forgot you wanted to stick with mac. Roll with fusion then i guess. There Isnt too much in the way of cad software for mac.

[jsc]

I'm very happy with Fusion 360. I super recommend it, and I'm happy to help you out with any questions you might have.

Regarding the interface, I think you'll find that Fusion and 123D have little in common, though.