I use the RealThunder branch of FreeCAD because I didn't like the boiling-the-frog changes that were being made to the free tier of Fusion 360. It is already good enough for my needs, and new features are getting added frequently, e.g. an offset tool for sketches and the ability to select regions on faces to extrude.
this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2023
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Coming from a programming background, I love OpenSCAD. It's just simple enough that I think I can easily do what I want, and powerful enough that I can do anything with it.
Unfortunately it's usually more difficult than I expected, and when you start using nested loops to define polyhedron vertices, you should probably be using other software.
The main thing I love about it is the ability to define global constants that can be changed later. If done correctly, you can design a part first and take measurements later.
Definitely fusion. I had no trouble learning fusion with no tutorials for the basics. ie draw, extrude etc. I loaded up freeCad yesterday and had no idea what to do. this is my current little project designed in fusion.
I really liked fusion360 the only problem is they keep changing licensing. All of my experience is as a hobbyist so it really is a pain when they cripple my cnc or limit the number of projects. Who knows they might start charging for colors or something crazy like Adobe.
I wish i would have started with onshape or freecad. Also I think solidworks is extremely discounted for EAA members
Onshape is really not hard to pick up coming from Fusion 360