The downside is your models are not stored locally.

It's a robust product, is well supported and it's free to enthusiasts. I've used SolidWorks for over 20 years and have recently gone through a review of the newer modelers: This may take several days, but you will win these back very quickly if you find the right software for you. If you can live with an online package, it is quite powerful.īefore deciding, first have a look at several demo-videos and webinars of each potential package, and see what appeals to your way of thinking and working. But it should run locally, and save files locally, I think. From a technical viewpoint, it is absolutely wonderful that they get it done at all via a browser and the net. I also tried Onshape, but it was quite slow over the network here. Have a look at their demo videos and webinars.įreeCad is also useful if you know exactly what you want, without need to change it afterwards, because it is not flexible, and later updates usually break the model.

I once tried an old demo a couple of years ago (was 1 month free), and they had quite good support back then. You might also have a look into Form-Z from Autodessys: not free, but they have quite a lot of functions for organic shapes. Easy to learn, lots of good training videos, and you can also use SpaceClaim videos, since DSM is a limited subset of this.įor complex organic shapes, I think Blender (also freeware) might be a good choice, but it has a *huge* learning curve. For relatively simple technical parts based on geometric shapes, and where you often need to adjust dimensions, DesignSpark Mechanical (freeware) might be a good choice.

Designspark vs fusion 360