What's the best free CAD program for 3D printing?

[Kentamanos]

@HankCowdog

I did LISP programming back in the 80’s

I’m not sure why, but this Russian to English dictionary site has the most comprehensive list?
https://www.multitran.com/m.exe?s=Lisp&l1=1&l2=4

[dougemes]

Yeah I had a semester of Scheme, which was a derivative of Lisp. Lambdas, car, cdr, etc.

[HankCowdog]

“the car of the car of the cdr”

  * * twitch * *

[budman]

Angus on Maker’s Muse just did a great video on different CAD packages. He has a great 3D printing channel if you are not already subscribed.

Fusion 360 Personal Plan LIMITATIONS (Concerns + Alternatives???)

[bpamplin]

That’s a great video, as usual, from Angus. Looks like he got 796 comments in 8 hours! FreeCAD seems to be mentioned as often as anything as an alternative.

I use Fuson 360 only for generating 3D printer files. I think the only impact to me is the limit of 10 documents which I can work around fairly easily.

I was concerned that extensions were going away. I scanned comments and one person expressed concern. Here is the reply from Angus:
“Not to defend them but they’re referring to manufacturing extensions not scripts/add-ins according to the faq”

Looks like I will continue to use Fusion 360 but spend time coming up to speed on FreeCAD before Autodesk adds more limits or do not let me renew.

Thanks for all the useful info from so many folks! Keep it coming!

[Llenclyen]

Have not really messed with it so please forgive the bone headed question but how as a member would I access solidworks?

[hon1nbo]

@Llenclyen

Have not really messed with it so please forgive the bone headed question but how as a member would I access solidworks?

To use the Premium copy (permitted for commercial work) it’s located on the Jump Server, for which you can use RDP:

You can find all information on using the Jump server via our wiki: https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/JumpServerFAQ

For the Home copy, which is limited to non-commercial work, you have to request your license:

Follow the instructions in this thread to get a free Solidworks license as a benefit of the membership:

@David Tucker"

To obtain a code send @David_A_Tucker your full name and email address and agree to these application terms:

1. I (meaning, you, the requester) represent and warrant to DMS that I am now a member in good standing of DMS.
2. I ask that David Tucker or another authorized DMS person fill out the online application form on my behalf as my agent in order to obtain a download code that will be emailed directly to me at the address I will provide.
3. I directly agree to these additional terms that are contained in the Solidworks application form:

“Community Access,” “Student Access” or “Student Access product” refers to Student Standard (formerly known as the Student Design Kit/SDK), Student Premium (formerly known as the Student Engineering Kit/SEK), or the 60-Day Trial version of SOLIDWORKS® software.

SOLIDWORKS Community Access licenses available at this website are provided only to Students and Educators at academic institutions that have been authorized by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation (“DS SolidWorks”) to offer SOLIDWORKS Community Access; and
Students and Educators who have received Student Access for trial purposes. SOLIDWORKS Community Access also includes makers, hobbyists, military, and sponsored organizations

I acknowledge that this agreement supplements and is governed by the Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation License Agreement (the “License Agreement”), which you have received with your download of SOLIDWORKS and which permits you to use SOLIDWORKS Community Access only for your own personal and academic purposes.

I confirm that DMS has notified me of my eligibility to receive the appropriate SOLIDWORKS Community Access product (either Student Standard formerly SDK or Student Premium formerly SEK). Any download and use of a SOLIDWORKS Community Access product by a person who is not eligible for such product shall constitute a violation of the License Agreement and applicable laws.

Please note that the SOLIDWORKS Community Access product obtained through DMS differs from other versions of SOLIDWORKS software in that the license for such product will expire in accordance with the terms of my download card or the DMS’s particular agreement with DS SolidWorks. Files created with SOLIDWORKS Community Access contain an ‘academic-use only’ watermark.

Just say, “I agree to the Standard Solidworks DMS Application Form Terms and undertakings posted in David Tucker’s reply to the Talk message SOLIDWORKS 2020 Licenses for Dallas Makerspace” in a private message to me, and give me your full name and email address. I’ll then fill out the online form for you, using our super-secret special master code. The email with the 16-or-so-digit individual code should come straight to your in-box. Incidentally, Solidworks doesn’t work on a MAC Operating System. If you use Parallels, though, you can get it to work indirectly.

Then follow these instructions to download and install the program:

@Dawsmart

Uninstall all SOLIDWORKS before installing a new version .

1 – www.solidworks.com/SDK

2 – Check No (I already have a serial number)

3 - Contact David A Tucker for SDK-ID

4 - Choose 2018-2019 version

5 – Enter email address

6 – Select Maker in the dropdown and request Download

7 – During the download/installation process you will receive an email with the 24-character serial number needed to install/activate your license.

If you do not activate the license, you will only receive a 30-day license. This license will expire 365-days from date of activation or July 31, 2020, whichever comes first.

Please visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

SolidWorks Education Team

[robologan87]

@David_A_Tucker this looks awesome, is this still a thing? I tried PMing you about solidworks but it looks like my talk permissions haven’t been updated yet.

[David_A_Tucker]

I responded through Talk, but I don’t know if you can receive messages with out-of-date talk permissions. You can reach me by personal email, which is listed here:

Aluminoids! Turn soda cans into fun!

[jast]

@robologan87

I tried PMing you about solidworks but it looks like my talk permissions haven’t been updated ye

Simple fix. In order to initiate PMs, Trust Level (TL) 1 (BASIC) must be acquired. We need to spend enough time on the site to hit the necessary targets. We can track our badges on our profile to see what “trust level” we have attained:

As mentioned on the “read first” thread READ FIRST: Welcome to the Dallas Makerspace
the quickest way to to achieve TL1 or better is to interact with DISCOBOT; look for the “Welcome” PM from Discobot, and play along to learn about Discord and how to interact with it. TL can be increased through regular use as well, but that shortcuts the process in a fun, educational way.

@David_A_Tucker

I responded through Talk, but I don’t know if you can receive messages with out-of-date talk permissions

Yes, TL0 can respond to PMs, simply cannot initiate, as enumerated in the pinned “Read First” thread READ FIRST: Welcome to the Dallas Makerspace