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The Best Free CAD Software for 3D Printing in 2022
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While there are plenty of free CAD software tools on the market, not all of them have features that are important for 3D printing.To get more news about 3d cad software, you can visit shine news official website.
The most critical is perhaps the ease of interaction with the 3D printing process. Essentially, this is the ability to generate 3D models that can be later transformed into instructions for 3D printing. The most common way to accomplish this is to save the model in the STL or OBJ format.
Model printability is also an important feature, especially when producing or customizing parts. Some modeling platforms output models that will eventually need to be repaired before printing.
Lastly, CAD and 3D modeling software should also be easy to use, as we want to focus on physically producing the object through 3D printing.
Having seen what makes 3D modeling or CAD software ideal for 3D printing, let’s look at the best free options available in the market!For many, Blender is the epitome of 3D computer graphics software. It’s considered the best not only because it’s open source and free but also due to its plethora of features, versatility, and professional use cases.Examples include 3D modeling, texturing, rigging, skinning, smoke simulation, particle simulation, animation, rendering, and video editing. And those are really just a fraction of the things it offers.
Naturally, Blender is more than capable of producing models for 3D printing, but the learning curve is quite steep. Blender is considered to be a difficult tool to master, and the many features can make it both intimidating and confusing for those new to CAD.Born from the BricsSys platform of software, BricsCAD Shape is a completely free modeling and visualization program. It works in the DWG file format and supports direct imports from SketchUp. It can open only DXF, DWG, and DWT file types, which might limit the user, depending on the project.
The GUI is functional and easy to navigate with a standard toolbar/sidebar layout. Manipulation, albeit limited, is very responsive. It packs the necessary tools to create simple architectural and design models, as well as mechanical parts and assemblies.
It includes a visualization and rendering environment for previews, with a browsable 3D space to get some great snaps of what the final part will look like. Among the supported export formats are DAE, FBX, and STL.Here’s a more advanced CAD option: DesignSpark Mechanical. It relies on parametric modeling methods and offers tools equivalent to other popular CAD solutions on the market.
The interface was deliberately designed to resemble AutoCAD, presenting itself as a suitable and free alternative to it.
DesignSpark Mechanical is free to download but additional functionality, like working with STEP and IGES formats, requires paid add-ons. Fortunately, core functionalities include exporting models in STL format, so the free version is perfectly adequate for 3D printing applications.
FreeCAD is a free, open-source parametric CAD modeler. It’s a great entry point for designers and mechanical engineers that are new to the 3D modeling world.Parametric modeling refers to the way 3D models can be entirely modified by only adjusting individual elements and constraints. It’s the technique most used in professional CAD software for precise and accurate design work.
The graphical user interface may not look as polished as other programs on this list, but FreeCAD is definitely a tool for serious design. Finally, it can export a wide array of formats, including STL and OBJ for 3D printing and other formats suitable for model sharing like STEP, IGES, and DWG.