My test to see if a CAD/CAM system is usable is to try to make a Milwaukee battery-powered drill housing. Note that the drill on the outside has no flat parallel surfaces, as it is all compound curves and freeform. Except there is bilateral symmetry and, in some places, radial symmetry. Then, if you look on the inside, it is very geometric and has places for mechanical gears and PCB mounting holes, threaded blind holes, and is very “mechanical.” A good CAD system should allow you to design something like a drill or a car that is both mechanical and a sculpted shape.
FreeCAD is open source and passed the above test. Autodesk’s Fusion 360 is free to use and has a better user interface and is faster to use. Both have a CAM systems. FreeCAD’s CAM is really only 2.5D and basically works. Autodesk Fusion’s CAM is 100% professional quality, but the free version is limited. You need a paid license for 5-axis support. Both work well for making 3D-printed parts with very complex part shapes up to and including motorcycle engines and similar. About Gene’s comment: I can’t understand how someone with good mechanical skill can not learn either of these two CAD systems. OK, Fusion 360 is easier. But anyone reading this should be able to do basic work after a week or two of study and after 6 weeks, make complex parts like the Milwaukee drill. About OpenSCAD, I challenge anyone to make a Milwaukee battery drill in OpenSCAD. Or a car or a motorcycle engine. It is, however, good for any shape that can be described by an algorithm; gears are a good example. Summary: if making complex parts and wanting a free CAD/CAM system, use Fusion 360. If it must also be open source, use FreeCAD. Your operating system might help you decide. Fusion 360 runs only on macOS and Windows. FreeCAD runs on these but also runs on Linux. Fusion360 can run on Linux if you run a virtual machine with Windows. > On Sep 30, 2026, at 8:14 AM, maurice e heskett <[email protected]> wrote: > > On 9/30/26 09:41, andy pugh wrote: >>> Agreed.. Off topic, is there a CAM that's both open src and free? >> FreeCAD? >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVz2p_ze3yc > > A near vertical learning curve for my aging wet ram. I've made probably 20 > passes at it, haven't gotten past the 1st page of examples w/o gaining any > real insight as to how it works. Openscad is a piece of tasty cake. The link > above gave me a prostate commercial I had to sit thru, but got bored after > about 2 minutes and killed FF. Never saw the freecad demo. went back again, > 'skip"ped about 3 commercials, then got lost in the speakers accent. As > Winston Churchill once said, 2 great countries separated by a common > language... The chances I'd get anything out of that are quite slim. > > Thanks, Gene > >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Emc-users mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
