Anybody using FreeCAD? (Fusion360 refugees)

Software
1

Hi folks.
Since Fusion360 rose all the hubbub recently, some folks are bailing off. Honestly I don’t suppose the neutering will affect Plasma type workflow much for actual hobbyists. But it’s a thing nonetheless.

I just looked at FreeCAD recently. The last time I looked at it was in the early 2000’s and OH MAN! IT has come a long way since then hasn’t it?
Anyways, the biggest problem I have with Fusion360 is that you need to be tied to an account so it can ping for permission now & then, and of course the cloud storage thing is something I’m never going to be on board with. I might be old-school, but when it comes to software, I want it local and complete on my own bare metal. Thus FreeCAD is probably what I’ll be digging into rather than Fusion.

It looks like it can handle most any kind of CAD I will need, so that’s no biggie. However, though it does have CAM capability, it doesn’t seem (in its freshly installed state anyway, i.e. sans extensions or the like) to have a CAM module specific to plasma. I was just curious if anybody has been dinking around on it with any success?

If nothing else, I figure I can draw on it and import it into SheetCAM or the like for generating code. It’s just that it would be kinda handy to have all that inside a single tool if that’s possible. I have nothing against SheetCAM, it’s just that if it’s possible to get it inside one software, it would be convenient.

Anyways, I would guess lots of folks besides me would kinda like going this route. Just me, but I wouldn’t mind seeing FreeCAD being more of a go-to destination than it currently is. It really does look very well-developed nowadays. Ooh, also… I just tried it out and my 3Dconnextion SpaceMouse works just fine in FreeCAD, which is a huge plus.

FYI, if you don’t know what a 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse is, you really should check it out. Even if a bit pricey (though not bad), they are just awesome if you CAD much at all. Probably most useful for 3D modeling, but still…

I got the little “SpaceMouse Wireless” and for me it’s everything I need.
just for a quick look at what I’m talking about, a review link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGx4T8OH10Y
Didn’t mean to shill for the mouse. I got squirreled!

Anyways, any feedback on FreeCAD is appreciated. (especially if I’m overoptimistic)
Thanks.

2

Without going into all of your questions in this thread, yes, I use Freecad if the job calls for piecing together multiple parts in 3D. Their Sheetmetal tool and Assembly4 are good and easy to use (once you get past the inevitable learning curve). For pure 2D stuff I use Affitnity Designer and Inkscape. For CAM, I ONLY use SheetCam. It’s all you’ll ever need! It’ll take the DXF from FreeCad tools and the SVGs from Inkscape and Affinity Designer and won’t give you grief from either one.

Net total cost: $150 for SheetCam ($140 if you buy it from Langmuir) and $49.99 for Affinity Designer = $199.99 and it’s a ONE TIME fee. (It’s now at a sale price of $24.99) No subscriptions, no oh, yeah sure, its free but we’re gonna run your machine at 1/10th speed if you do, no annual nothin’
Inkscape and Freecad are free, by definition.

UPDATE: corrected Affinity Designer pricing.

UPDATE: One more edit, I am NOT a con-Fusion360 refugee. I took one look at it and quickly backed away from my keyboard. Before FreeCad I used SketchUp and then Solid Edge. I really like Solid Edge, but its ‘corporate’ flavor doesn’t feel comfortable. They could very well change their terms and I’d have to scurry to replace them.

3 Likes
3

Yeah, I did do a squirrel on that whole post, didn’t I?

Thanks for the reply. I assumed I’d be getting into SheetCAM at first anyway. Sounds like that might be the way to go for now, unless somebody chimes in otherwise. It ain’t free, but for a “cottage industry” type of software, it ain’t bad. I like how (if I’m not mistaken) it automatically adjusts feeds & piercing movements depending on dimensions & such. Kinda hard to beat bespoke creations I suppose.

I hadn’t noticed the Langmuir discount on SheetCAM. Might haveta do that.

Anybody else?

1 Like
4

FWIW, I use SheetCam for my CF, my CNC Router (some of the time), and my laser (some of the time).

1 Like
5

+1 on what Tom said. I don’t use F360 much anymore. I switched to Freecad (I needed - well, wanted - the sheetmetal functionality in Fusion and found it replicated in Freecad). I had been using Sheetcam for toolpathing & G-Code even when I was using Fusion because I preferred the control I get with Sheetcam.

1 Like
6

Sheetcam is absolutely perfect for 2d plasma cutting. So much so, that for the price of it, you will absolutely make your money back in time saved easily.

I was making two layers each time I generated a file until recently when I gained more confidence in how it automatically picks inside vs outside offsets plus open contours. Seriously, for plasma purposes, you have no reason to mess with fusion.

2 Likes
7

I have been using Design Spark for my last few projects it’s free, it’s 3d, and it’s easy. I still have to use SheetCam to generate G-code https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/mechanical-software

1 Like
8

num1husker - Thanks. It sure looks a ton like Inventor/Fusion, which would be a positive if it had similar functionality.
But in my case I have two issues with it.

  1. it requires an account to use the software. If it stayed that way, then no big deal. But as I mentioned earlier, that’s a red flag for me. I might give it a play, but I simply will not commit to any software that needs to phone home for permission to use it, free or not. It’s just too risky (in my view) to spend time learning software which at some point might could decide on a whim to shut me out. If a guy spends months or years using a tool, a sudden shutdown of it can be catastrophic or very inconvenient at minimum. If it’s not local, full bare metal, then unfortunately I’m out.
  2. it’s Windows only. This isn’t a huge deal, but since it looks possible, this time around I’m planning to run my CAD/CAM in Linux. I’ve always liked Linux for its speed & lack of bloat, and the likelihood of me using FreeCAM & SheetCAM this time will allow that to be possible. I can’t say for sure until I get into it for a bit, but I think I’ma going to enjoy this approach.

Just me, but since Fire Control is compatible with Mac & PC, I kinda wish Langmuir would port it for Linux too. I can see the effort of building an application leading devs to just center it around a single OS, but since it’s already compatible with two, then it seems like they want to open the doors to suit customers’ needs. But to stop there and not include a Linux version, especially when EMC is reputed to be so smooth-running on CNC stuff for various good reasons based on how well the OS integrates, seems to hit the “almost, but no cigar” point. Not a huge deal since a little dedicated PC is probably the best way to go for the machine, but man… aaaalmost!

Thanks for the tip though. Design Spark looks interesting indeed.

2 Likes