What's a good CAD software to start with?

[Merad]

In my previous life as an engineering student I learned CATIA, so I have a tiny bit of experience (with 10 years of cobwebs hanging over it). I downloaded AutoCAD, but frankly it's overwhelming, even searching for tutorials online I can barely figure out where to begin. Is there something out there that's easier to learn that is suitable for designing printable parts? I have eligibility for academic licensing/purchasing, so cost isn't a huge factor.

[jimc]

there are many options out there but if your looking for an easy but full featured and professional software for making objects for 3d printing then you really cant go wrong with rhino..... especially if you can get an education discount. i have turned many people on to it and everyone has loved it. infinite skills has a whole easy to follow video tutorial set for it as well. its not parametric and there is no relationship between parts which makes it great for parts but not for assemblies. basically its a little less of an engineering software and more for consumer products so perfect for the things we make on our 3d printers. its good with more complex surfaces. things like that. if your on a mac then its free while in development. for a pc its about $1k but education just over $100. its a steal if you can get it for that!

[sshwarts]

I've become a big fan of Moment Of Inspiration. It's like Rhino in that it's a NURBS modeler (in fact written by the initial Rhino developer) but very easy to use and also very script able (lots of people contributing). The support from the developer is quite extraordinary. Check out moi3d.com

Just a fan....

Scott

[jsc]

I put in a list in my "M2 tips" thread on the tips forum you might want to consider. But for ease of reference, some suggestions:

SolidWorks is one of the industrial big dogs, if you need the power/have the cash. I think the academic pricing is reasonable. By Dassault, but I'm not sure there is any shared lineage with CATIA.
DesignSpark Mechanical is a free modeler based on SpaceClaim, which is is a big player in the "direct modeling" space. Non-parametric, WYSIWYG push/pull modeling. I quite like it. DSM is sufficient for 3D printering.
OpenSCAD, if you are making simple or even not-so-simple mechanical parts and have a programming bent. It is a fairly easy to learn text-based CSG modeler.
Autodesk 123D Design is making a lot of noise in the "maker" community. Autodesk also has Fusion 360, which seems similar (more powerful, harder to use). Both are "freemium". Much more suited to doing "industrial design" with curved surfaces. Also has loft/blend, which is rare in the hobbyist tools (DSM used to support it, but it got taken out).

[MitchL]

I use Geomagic Design (this used to be called Alibre).

It's parametric, like SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, etc.. Price is much lower than SolidWorks, but not free. (something like $1300 + $300/year maintenance).

I've built some pretty complex designs with it, including several parts I've printed on my M2 by exporting the .STL and importing into S3D.

I have access to Autodesk and SolidWorks student versions as a FIRST Robotics mentor, but I still use Geomagic for all my own stuff.

/Mitch.

[thosey]

I like MitchL use Alibre Design PE (Personal Edition). I was able to purchase it for a reduced rate of $99 (regularly $199) when it was on sale. Have never had a problem with exporting *.STL files and slicing them. It works much like SolidWorks. One good thing with Design is that you can create models and then assemble them. It has tools to make sure all parts fit together as well. There is very little that Alibre (GeoMagic) cannot do.

If you are on a budget then look at Alibre (Geomagic) a different way. Since 3DS owns them and they produce the Cube 3d printer you can purchase Cubify Invent for $49. It is the same thing as Alibre Design except it will not assemble multiple models together. http://cubify.com/en/Products/Software
If you need the Alibre Design PE then Cubify Design is the same thing.

All of these allow a trial download and yes they do have a learning curve; however, everything that I have seen has a learning curve.

[Lateralg]

Designing with CAD software & exporting to STL isn't a problem.

What I've found to be a major problem is editing an STL or STP file. Has anyone had good experience with this?

[jimc]

Stl is limited and difficult to work with. Stp is no problem at all. I work with those in rhino and its like a native file

[kyphur]

What is a good program for implementing gears and ratios for printing?

[ednisley]

implementing gears and ratios for printing?

If you're not averse to learning something completely different, the MCAD library for OpenSCAD includes an involute spur and bevel gear generator. You don't draw the gears: you specify the gear's parameters in a module invocation, then get a solid model in return.

OpenSCAD repo:
https://github.com/openscad/openscad

I vaguely recall some weirdness involving the pitch diameter (?) and a factor of pi (?), but none of the details.