In the latest Make magazine, they mention two 3D design programs available on the Internet, Tinkercad and 3dTin, both offered at the now very popular price of free. After I wrote about Autodesk Inventor Fusion a few weeks ago, also free for a limited time, I couldn’t help but think, some of this free software could be very expensive and you should compare what “free” costs before you start your next 3D project.
None of these software programs will do anything before you learn how to use them and some are quite basic and easy to learn. Spend a few hours playing around with the simple programs and you’ll be turning out designs that are as good as any examples shown on their websites. If that’s what you want to do, fine, but I used the word “spend” on purpose. Spend enough time to push the software to its limits and the results will still be very limited.
Now compare programs like Tinkercad and 3dtin, or many other similar programs, with Autodesk, difficult, really, because the programs aren’t remotely comparable, however, learning Autodesk Inventor Fusion is an “investment” of time, the learning curve is steep and it will take long hours for many months to become comfortable with it and before you can turn out professional level work, even more time will be required, but that’s the difference. The time involved pushing this software to its limits will enable you to produce high quality designs and you’ll have a skillset many companies and organizations recognize, the software is an industry standard. Not only have you learned a skill that can be directly useful to you for creating designs for projects of your own, you’ve mastered a skill that others hold in high regard as well. Much more time is involved than what’s required for the light duty software, but the payback in new valuable skills is immensely greater.
Let me be clear, something like Tinkercad is useful for simple projects and not everyone needs to be a CAD pro, you certainly don’t need to master a high end program like Autodesk Inventor to perform simple 3D design functions, but it’s important not to confuse the two. The simpler programs must be almost immediately useful returning value for the time spent or the scales quickly begin to tilt away from simplicity and towards real capabilities.
What is your time worth? What do you want it to be worth? How many hours do you want to spend before expecting valuable skills in return? Learn and practice the hard stuff and you’ll get the greatest return for the time you invest. Don’t let free fool you. “Free” software that wastes valuable time can be very expensive.
JC says
One could say “3D Design Software like Tinkercard is only free if you don’t value your time”.
I <3 makezine! For you midwest peeps there is a make faire in Kansas City June 23/24…
Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" says
I should point out again that the Autodesk free download has an expiration date and will not remain free as the others do. At that point the free variants will be similar in their capabilities and you can’t expect a free program to compete with the high end and quite pricey alternatives. That is all the more important when a free and time sensitive offer, as it is available now, is so very valuable for someone wanting to gain skills in this area. Tinkercad isn’t a bad program, it can be useful and fun, but, at least for the next several months, the opportunity to learn Autodesk, a really heavy duty CAD program, makes the choice an easy one.
GuitarSlinger says
Proof positive of the old adage : ” There is no such thing as a FREE lunch ” Nice write up Paul .
As to the rather pretentious Make Faire in KC ? I live here . Stay home and don’t waste your time : Save your money and invest in some quality software . As well as ….. well here’s a thought …. some quality education as well . Nahhhh. that might actually take some effort . Never mind . Just me making the mistake of ‘ Thinking ‘ again .
B*A*M*F says
I had the pleasure of giving a short talk on “digital fabrication” to architects a few months ago (I work for a firm that uses CNC machines to make exhibits and extremely custom architectural products). I ruffled a few feathers telling people that most of the free 3d software out there is very limited by formats to which it can output. STL files are great for 3D printing, in many cases, the facets on the file will be smaller than the resolution of the printer. For use will mills and routers, they can be comparatively crude. As people start using this kind of software to create, some of the heavy hitters of the industry will see a burgeoning user base that can help them sell more units at a lower price to recover the R&D.
I use SolidWorks at work, but I plan to download the trial of Inventor Fusion because it runs on OSX. I enjoyed playing with the OSX beta of Rhino too. I’d love to see more of the CAM plugins for these programs port over to OSX too.
So much of what is considered “design software” got its start on Apple computers, it’s nice to see 3D modeling software make the leap from being software for engineers to being more oriented toward creative people. SolidWorks is tremendously powerful software, but nowhere near as intuitive, user friendly, or consistent as any piece of software you would find in Adobe’s Creative Suite. And back to the idea of more users leading to better, cheaper software, Adobe CS5.5 Design Premium is roughly 1/4 the cost of a license of SolidWorks. I would estimate the user base for the Adobe product to be easily 10 times greater than that of SolidWorks.
Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" says
I recently upgraded to Adobe CS6, just out, and it’s a wonder. What it can do is amazing and the more time I invest, the more I can do. I use Dreamweaver and Fireworks every day plus Photoshop and still have much to learn after years of using them. The Kneeslider logo on this website was done in Adobe Illustrator. Instead of searching for some free software that might do what I need, I just fire up the appropriate program and it’s done. As I describe above, the software doesn’t do anything by itself, but investing the time and learning the skills to make use of the Adobe suite will be useful and valuable for years to come.
B*A*M*F says
One of the great things about the Adobe suite is the amount of consistency across the interfaces of all the programs. While each program has its own functions, where there is overlap between say Illustrator and Photoshop, things are handled in a similar fashion.
My experience with the more engineering driven 3D programs has been quite the opposite. I chalk a lot of it up to the fact that Adobe sells to a diverse audience bound by a core thread of creative production. The size of that audience means they can actually afford to do the testing portion of a user centered design strategy. Some of the 3D software feels like its perpetually in beta testing. If Adobe ever comes out with parametric 3D modeling software, I would pick it up in a heartbeat.
You can force a bad tool do the job, but a good tool rarely needs much force. If you actually use them, good tools are rarely a bad investment.
todd says
I’ve had the -pleasure- of working extensively with Solidworks, Autodesk Inventor, ProE, and Creo, among others. If you ever get to vote on which platform your firm is going to invest in give everyone $100 to vote for Solidworks. Money well spent. It’s amazing that programs intending to do the same thing can be so vastly different. I imagine the 3D CAD software developers use Solidworks as a benchmark and then try to figure out how to turn a one-click procedure into a 10-click/edit-config/reinstall procedure.
Better yet, buy a bunch of card paper and a good set of sharp knives and save yourself the headache.
-todd
James Bowman says
Todd
I have very limited usage with Autodesk Inventor and Solidworks, After months of trying to learn and retain Inventor I finally just quite, couldn’t imagine how a program could be more counter intuitive. Solidworks was the complete opposite it did what you would expect and was simple because it uses features like MS Windows. On a much less expensive platform Viacad is learnable. a coworker had the same expiriance with inventor and finally just abandoned it altogether.
Stan says
I guess what is intuitive for one person isn’t necesarily for another. I managed to learn inventor to a reasonable level in a few days. I think it’s great.
stephen says
The fact that Autodesk manage to sell any seats of inventor is a testament to the quality of their sales staff, not their software. Free cad is usually quite useless. Cheap CAD is less so, but at the high end you are paying for things most of us just don’t need. The ability to have 10 people working on the same model/project at the same time for example.
Life cycle management, network supplied licenses etc.
I’ve used Pro/E, Inventor, Solidedge professionally and purchased a seat of Alibre when it was $100. Solidworks is still, by far, the best for usability. There’s lots of cad vendors out there, some much cheaper than the main players. Ironcad, Kompass 3D, T-Flex, Alibre, Topsolid and Rhino are just a few examples.
MOI is the best surface modeller you will find short of Catia and it’s only $300. It is however, useless for drawings. The catch with “trial” versions is that it’s like crack, the first hit is free, but after that it is pay pay pay.,All the work you’ve done on the trial version is now held hostage, and you may find you hate using it.
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, but if you like it, go for it.
Ian says
“you’ll have a skillset many companies and organizations recognize, the software is an industry standard”
Having worked as a motorcycle designer for 11 years or so, I’d just briefly point out that I’ve only ever come across one Engineer who used Inventor. He used it for a year because they gave him a free license, before moving on to Solidworks. Most of the OEMs I’ve worked with use Pro/E. I hate it and it’s probably going to start losing out to Solidworks at some point, but it’s tough to convince a large business to throw away all the systems and training they’ve invested in for something new. Solidworks still has a slight stigma of not being a serious tool- heard it called “Fisher Price CAD” a couple of times which I feel is very unfair these days but perceptions are hard to change, especially in Engineers!
If anyone wants to get into CAD for the work prospects then research your target audience and see what they might want before you invest the time. It’s time/money well spent, but only if you have the right product to sell at the end of it.
Everyone has a different opinion and each tool excels in it’s own job. My money has gone on Solidworks, Rhino, T-Splines. It’s a lot of cash (though a relatively cheap combination) but there’s not much you can’t acheive with those three.
Tom says
Something else to consider: software skills don’t transfer the way fabrication or manual drafting skills do.
If you’ve got 15,000 hours using a Baileigh mill, a shop that uses Bridgeport mills will hire you. If you have 15,000 hours using Catia, you’re useless to a company that uses ProE.
If you just want to knock out a little gizmo for a garage project, go ahead and use that free Google SketchUp you downloaded. If you want to have a career, invest yourself in learning a software package that’s widely used in industry.
menormeh says
Ian, you can always tell and Engineer……you just can’t tell him much. I work in the construction industry and Engineers are a daily facet of my life. The problem with many of them is the steadfastly refuse to admit when they are wrong or that someone else may have a better mousetrap.
GenWaylaid says
What you say:
“Hey I saw this other approach that might work great for this project!”
What the engineer hears:
“Guess what you have to become an expert on by Tuesday?”
GenWaylaid says
Tom,
I hear you. I took several years of drafting classes in high school that combined pencil-and-paper drafting and several different CAD programs (this was in the late nineties, before the drafting lab went all-computer). Guess which set of skills is still useful and which is obsolete? Since I know my way around a machine shop, most one-offs would take longer to CAD than to just make the darn thing!
carboncanyon says
I would disagree a bit. I’ve found that it’s the concepts that are valuable, not the particular software package.
I use Alias, Solidworks, Rhino, Maya, etc. After learning Alias, it was trivial to pick up Rhino because it was just a matter of learning the new interface. The same tools were all (well, mostly) there.
If you’re good at what you do, a lot of companies will help you migrate to a new application. It’s not rocket science.
Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" says
Lots of good points made above. It’s certainly true, software skills are not the same as being an experienced machinist, being very adept in one software package may not easily transfer, so know your target and what they’re using or look to see what many are using and learn that. Of course, if you can show you’ve done professional quality work in another package, it demonstrates you’re capable of learning and using that sort of software and turning out quality work, much better than not having those skills at all. It’s a way to build up a portfolio of projects.
Yes, the free download of Inventor is definitely a trial to get you hooked, but that’s a pretty common method of getting you to try what you might otherwise pass by.
From comments here, Solidworks seems to be a very popular choice, though I would caution, comments may be skewed in one direction or the other for any of a thousand reasons. We have seen some really nice Solidworks images on The Kneeslider over the years, and it’s been mentioned many times in other comments, so there seems to be no question, many use it and turn out great work.
Yeti2bikes says
I have used Inventor (back when it was called Mechanical Desktop), Pro/E, Solidworks, SolidEdge and SDRC Ideas and have found that once you master one version of software the others come easy. The only real difference between platforms is the user interface. Once you get the menu or icons figured out the software all works on the same principle. To create in 3D you have to extrude or revolve or loft. The names of the commands or graphic icon used to initiate the command may be different but if you know one software well the others can be mastered in a few hours.
Philip Thomas says
It is fantastic to see that what was once a $100,000 per license investment (I have been in the CAD/CAM industry for 20 years) is now ‘commoditised’ and available (at the entry level) for free. SolidWorks and Inventor are the two leaders in the ‘professional desktop’ space and everyone has an opinion so in this case my vote goes for SolidWorks. Now, how do you manufacture this stuff? How about this, a COMPLETELY FREE CAM SYSTEM??? That’s right, not trialware, FREE forever. Here is a download link for SolidWorks users only (its a free add-in). This program will turn your designs into the Gcode necessary to run your mills and lathes.
http://www.hsmworks.com/gethsmxpress/?promo=HA2660
Lets see some more home-grown designs and better aftermarket parts. 🙂
B*A*M*F says
That’s cool! I’m going to try that out at work. We have a CAM software plugin, but it doesn’t work in assemblies like HSM works does. With a CNC router, using assemblies to lay out a whole bunch of unique parts is way more efficient. Thanks for the heads up on this!
James Bowman says
Stan perhaps you have a strong AutoCad back ground you didn’t specify in which case it is that you were taught and learned all the nuances of that software before hand, if that is the case foreknowledge not intuition is more accurate. I have no horse in the race I’m simply stating both what I have seen first hand as well as have heard often from others, Solidworks is both powerful and intuitive, while utocad is powerful and difficult without training. I have heard testimony from others who used AutoCad for years say after a few months of use Solidworks simply makes much more sense, although habits had to be overcome. I guess when someone does group studies with new learners we can have an objective answer on the whole of it. I know I personally would like to learn and use Solidworks and now don’t care about Inventor or any Autodesk product after making an honest effort to become profeceint.
Chrome says
Sorry to be late to the party. Very interesting discussion. I myself have spent time (ie. more than a year) in each of I-DEAS (dead product kept alive for Lockheed Martin, my employer), Pro-E, Inventor 7 (2002-2005), and SolidWorks. Huge vote for SolidWorks from me. Inventor was ok, and I have yet to try Fusion, but I am a big fan of SW.
Menormah brings up a scenario that I hear very frequently. I am early in my career (29, been with LM since 2005, UC Davis undergrad, Stanford grad), and it is dificult to count the number of times I have heard the same story from a grey-beard (a term I respectfully use to mean ‘someone who knows what they are talking about’) about an engineer, or a stanford grad, or a college grad, or whomever who wouldnt listen to this person when they were clearly right (the grey-beard in the stories generally being one with less credentials, but more experience than story’s antagonist, like a command master seargent not being listened to by a freshly commissioned lieutenant). Never really bothered me because I don’t do this, but clearly it offended the person telling the story to me when it happened. Personally, I like to get people with experience talking because then I learn something. I haven’t met any of these engineers who don’t like to listen to people with experience, but apparently they are out there. I have to say, i would not have accomplished ANY of the engineering that I have without the help of the grey-beards, and that especially includes inventing a product and launching a company (which i won’t link to out of respect for this website) in my spare time to bring it to market.
Alright, so this turned into a post about how important it is to listen to people with experience, rather than CAD software, so to weakly tie it together: For whatever my experience is worth to any of you, once you go SolidWorks, you never go back.