Alibre vs FreeCAD

3D Fabrication
#1

Hi all. I am moving away from Fusion and looking for a new software suite to spend my hours learning to use. By summer I’ll own a desktop CNC (not sure which yet). Does anyone have experience with both Alibre and FreeCAD? Alibre has a paid license, to which I’m not opposed. But if FreeCAD does well with 3D milling, not sure I need to bother paying for the Alibre license.

My initial use is simple 3D modeling for my 3D printer (I’m not a designer, but I like the parametric aspect and history tree feature of Fusion)…but then I’ll want to extend that same software skillset to subtractive 3D milling when I build my CNC.

Anyways, just curious if there is feedback from anyone who has tried modeling/milling with both. Thank you for your time.

2 Likes
#2

Have you considered SolidWorks? You get a free license with your DMS membership.

I use it all the time for CNC routing and have done a handful of projects that I 3D printed.

#3

I’ve got Alibre. I’ve used it strictly for converting STL files to solid bodies. Keep in mind it is a CAD only program. No CAM. As a CAD program, it is ok, but nothing special in comparison to other CAD programs. IMO.

#4

@nicksilva the second tier of Alibre has a CAM component. I’m hoping to dive into an eco system I can use for both my 3D design and CAM needs.

#5

At least with Alibre you can still actually BUY the software. I was going to suggest you look at BobCad but I see they are now using the extortion (I mean subscription) model, so never mind. I think SolidWorks might give you what you need.

#6

Why either one of those. Log into the jump server and use solidworks. It has some very very nice tutorials built. Anywhere from geometric to organic shapes, assemblies, flow simulations, structural analysis. All kinds of fun stuff. I use solid works from home through remote desktop and see a little lag but its not bad at all. Now if your assemblies start getting big it might. But it really is a pretty easy program to pick up and understand the basics in 8-10 hours of mucking around with it. If someone who knows it is there you could knock it down to an hour or two.

#7

I’m exploring options that do not involve a membership through DMS. Fusion has worked well, but I’d rather jump into something I can have to use on my own.