3d modeling software
 

What software is everyone using? I am looking to get started

You can get Solidworks for free through the EAA. Search for the download.

I'm a Fusion360 convert. (paid commercial license)

Fusion 360 is great, and if you?re an iPad Pro owner, Shapr3D is pricey but great as well. Just today I used it to design a cup holder and center console for the RV. I like being able to design with the Apple Pencil and anywhere I happen to be sitting around.

Chris

2nd this recommendation.

I have over 40,000 hours on UG/NX but way to expensive for home use. Down loaded solidworks through EAA and did not seem intuitive enough to me. Currently playing with FreeCAD. Open source, lots of user plugins, lots of online user info, and free. Jury still out on if I like it. I am picky and spoiled from over 30 years of Unigraphics.

DesignCad 3D and Solidworks (free EAA). I also have over 10,000 hours on CATIA from the aerospace industry and think it was more intuitive than Solidworks. But CATIA isn't a viable purchase for private use. But hey, Solidworks is free. I use DesginCad for simple 2D work like schematic diagrams and templates for drilling (I use label paper in the printer).

Everyone has their preference. I think Solidworks is pretty intuitive and there's lots of good info out there, free and includes simulation and CAM. 10 years on NX, couldn't pay me to use CATIA.

Seems like most in the industry prefer the software that they have the most experience with. I've probably got 30,000 with Solidworks and I prefer it over Catia, UG, and Inventor. I spent the first part of my career with Mechanical Desktop. I like it, but when I started using SW, I quickly changed my mind.

I started my job 15 years ago with SW. I used the included tutorials to learn it. A couple days in, I was using it for real. That's hard to beat in my mind.

Solidworks is very powerful software, and the fact that the premium version is included in your EAA membership is truly awesome. That's a very powerful piece of software for $60/year. But, like any CAD software, you must put in the time to learn it and for a new, non CAD person, it will take some time.

I'm trying to learn SolidWorks right now. I switched due to the availability via EAA. I really want to learn the CAM portion, but baby steps...

Fusion 360 all the way for me

Fusion360 (free)
 

Any CAD software has a learning curve.

I wanted to do stress analysis on my engine mount design.
Took me about a month to learn Fusion360 while designing and analyzing the engine mount. Now I use it for smaller or simpler things just because I know it. Disadvantage of Fusion360 in my mind is the requirement to be online and store your design online. (Yes, if you lose Internet connection it will store locally, but I have yet to figure out where.)

I have downloaded SolidWorks and briefly looked at it. Did not find it easy, but that is probably because I'm used to Fusion360.

For 3D printing I use Cura and an Ender-3 printer. (Less than $200.)

Finn

Been using Solidworks for 20 years, after switching from older 2D CAD packages (started with GenericCAD at university, then AutoCAD after that until switching to SW). Have the EAA version at home and a full version at work.

Used Fusion360 for a year at one job... Very similar to Solidworks, enough so that learning it took only a day or two.

Been following the development of OnShape for about 5 years now. They're the guys who invented Solidworks, and left to form their own company. The software is very similar, but works online like Fusion360. Design anywhere, on any browser. Recently they've added version control to parts/drawings so now they're actually usable in a production environment. The cost is about the same as Solidworks, though... About $2K per seat. I need to find an educational discount so I could try it for an extended period.

I have 25+ years of UG/NX on my resume but since retirement last year it's free Solidworks for me.

What does EAA charge for Solidworks?

Free if you are an EAA Member. Unavailable if you are not a EAA Member. It is the "Education Premium" version.

https://eaa.org/eaa/eaa-membership/e...esource-center

In my admittedly short career I've used Solidworks, AutoCAD (2D and 3D), NX, currently Creo, and Fusion 360 at home, as well as some simple 2D softwares. They all have their pros and cons. In order from favorite to least favorite I'd say:

Solidworks, Fusion 360, Creo, NX, AutoCAD

I do not find Fusion 360 particularly intuitive coming from Solidworks, but the price is right and the CAM is very powerful. I dislike the way Fusion handles mates in assemblies. I find the shortcut keys very easy in Fusion, however. I can usually figure out whatever I need to do just by playing around, except in NX and to some extent in Creo. I find that there are a bunch of frustrating bugs in Creo that they refuse to fix. And the control scheme is awful. I can (and have) rant about this for hours.

I think Solidworks is the best all around (assuming you don't need CAM) and the best for amateurs. It's easy to do some pretty advanced stuff in Solidworks. And I think Solidworks is a much more marketable skill than Fusion, however 3D modelling is more about design mentality than the particular software, in my opinion. Once you've learned how to 3D model well in any parametric software it is relatively easy to transfer that knowledge to a new software.

I designed my panel in Fusion 360 also. Worked well, and the free intro pricing was just right.

I use Alibre Design, I have a license for the Expert version, but there is a personal/hobby version that is free.

https://www.alibre.com/

Been using it for a long time now, it's one of the easier 3d modelers I've used. Very happy with it.

Are you saying the solidworks CAM function is no good? That is one of my main drivers for switching to a new SW. Saves me the cost of meshcam or similar.

This is right on the money.

I've used CAD of most varieties over the years, starting with Unigraphics in the 80's. For about the past 20 years or so, I've used almost exclusively SW. I've had occasional clients that used Creo, but I only dabbled in it.

I'm sure that there is a full spectrum of what people on this forum might have in mind (in how they want to use a 3D modeler), but be aware it can take longer to become proficient at a CAD package than to build an airplane...only half joking.

Re CAM, SW has a 2-1/2 axis one built in. What this means is that it can write gcode that will move the x-y axes simultaneously, but not the z axis at the same time. It can step in the z axis and then proceed to run the x-y, etc.. I do not know what is enabled re CAM on the EAA version.

If people are wanting to do 3D printing, be aware that CAM is not needed for that. The printers have their own slicing software.

If you do decide to give a whirl to a CAD software package, I strongly recommend you find someone who is willing to spend a few hours showing you the basics.

If you pay for a 3 year EAA membership for $99 then Solidworks is only like $33/yr.

I just used Solidworks to design and print a replacement button for my suitcase... but to be honest I struggled to figure out how to make shapes and I'm sure I only succeeded through the button mashing technique, saving, mashing more buttons, saving again, etc.

This is good advice.

Dave

The EAA version does include the CAM package. 2.5D is good for most things. However it is good to know that limit. I have a 4axis mill, so i may be better off spending the money on a more capable CAM system. Thanks.

Feel exactly the same way! I've used UG/NX for about 20 years. For a couple years, we moved to CATIA V5 and then back to NX. Hated those years with CATIA.

I use Fusion 360.

Free vs Commercial Use
 

I have used a few CAD/CAM softwares, but prefer Solidworks for modeling and design work. I'm not real fond of the way Fusion handles assemblies, but have heard that their current system will be changing soon. I use both daily at work.

If you're just getting started, learning in any of the systems would be valuable. The fact that a home-use/educational version of Solidworks can be had through your EAA membership makes it a great choice.

Now, one thing to consider is that the Free/EAA solidworks is for personal/education use only. If you wanted to design something in it, send it to a machine shop to produce, and install in your airplane, Great! That's what it is for!
Now say a few buddies see your part, want one just like it, and next thing you know you're selling your little gadget and gizmo to friends, VAF members, airshow goers etc, well now you're using it commercially. You might get away with it, but risk legal litigation, and losing the privilege of the free version for the rest of us!

If you do eventually decide to do some commercial work with a CAD program, you could either pony up the ten thousand dollars annually for a Solidworks seat, or spend about $400 per year on a Fusion 360 License. While I prefer designing in SW, I'd save the money with a Fusion seat if this wasn't going to be very lucrative work.

One thing I do really like about Fusion is its CAM functionality. I use it for 2.5, 3, and 4-axis programming on a Haas mill, and can say nothing else I've used comes close for the price.

If I was just getting started, I'd stick with free Solidworks :D

If you're not an EAA member...
 

If you're not yet an EAA member, as an RV builder or owner you should be! :D And like people have already mentioned, you get the Solidworks educational version with your membership.

PLUS, if you are not currently an EAA member and have not been a member within the past 24 months, send me an email (please use the media@vansaircraft.com email address) and I will be glad to set you up with a special code that you can use to sign up for a complimentary 6-month EAA membership courtesy of EAA and Van's.

We arranged this with EAA because there are so many great resources their organization offers that RV folks can use -- It seemed like a no-brainer.

If this is a consideration, it's worth pointing out that you can use Fusion 360 for free up to $1000 in annual revenue. See the footnote at the bottom of this page that says *Individuals with “hobby businesses,” generating less than $1,000 USD in annual revenue, are exempt from the non-commercial requirement, thus for the free, personal use of Fusion 360.

Note that Solidworks starts around $2K/year, not $10K. $10K will get you all of the add-ons, which by no means are necessary for the simple CAD work most people looking for "hobby" use would need. Still expensive, but only 5x the cost of Fusion, not 25x.

Further refinement of SW costs: I paid about $4500 for a SW standard license (quite a few years ago, but I think that hasn't changed a lot), plus $1300 per year to keep updates coming. I use this daily in my business, and have not needed the higher versions of this.

Without the annual subscription fee, it will still work, but you cannot open newer versions of files. And, if you want to re-start the subscription, pony up the $4500 again...

The EAA/SW deal is amazing.

Fusion 360
 

No question. Plenty of tutorials on YouTube. Nothing against SolidWorks, but the integrated CAM is important for me. Once you start down the path, you won't want to change platforms. Fusion 360 also can install on Mac OS X, so no brainer for me.

Wow. This is awesome.

Solidworks & EAA
 

I have been using Solidworks for the last 24 years. I was really surprised that they made it available free of charge to members, and that it isn?t a very stripped down teaser version. I have also been involved since early on with teaching Solidworks at Airventure. EAA has posted up a few videos on installing and using the software. The CAM built in is based on CAMWorks, it is also very capable, it isn?t able to do 5 axis - but it is very capable. Please take advantage of this generous benefit!

Jason Kreidler (EAA Lifetime)
RV-10 Flying
RV-14 Construction underway

I paid $4k for SW standard, then it was $1,800/yr for service which included service pack updates and new releases. A buddy of mine got upgraded bypassing several years by just paying the service fee. Don't know if they'd do that for me (2012 seat) still but so far there's not really a reason to upgrade yet, I still use that for paid work with hsmworks express plug-in for 2.5D CAM.

EAA SW deal is a no brainier, especially if you're new to using CAD. If you have to learn something might as well learn an enterprise level tool, fusion has a long way to go.

There's two ways to do it... SW has clamped down on the people who only get a subscription one year out of every three or four by requiring that anyone who re-joins after being away for X years pays for X years worth of subscription as a re-join fee. They *will not* waive it.

Three years of being off-subscription and it's break even whether you pay the back fees or just buy a new seat. You could go 5 years before renewing again, but you'd have a hard time dealing with vendors and suppliers who have moved up in versions.

Except for the limitation about educational parts that can never be used for anything financially useful.