Behind the scenes EP5 I'm thinking of ditching Fusion360

I'm thinking of teaching myself FreeCAD because I think that this could be an awesome software package which seems to mature

I personally opted to skip over learning fusion 360 because of the lock-in, the price is great for hobbyists however that cost doesn't include the headaches further down the line. Stephen hawes has switched over from fusion to freecad inspires hope that someday it will become the de facto standard for hobbyists.

It's not the easiest decision and I don't have the luxury that I can get the program that I like most. Fusion is a very nice program since it looks much like Inventor which I like most. It's already two weeks that I'm unable to get to any of my designs which is unacceptable for me. Varicad looks like the best alternative which I can afford and I'm starting to get the hang of it :)

Wow, switching sounds like a huge headache to me, but if that's what you want to do than that's what you should do. After all, if a program "feels" nice, it's much easier to spend hours and hours with it. That's at least how it is for me and that's why I don't use the objectively superior Solidworks suite over Fusion, even though I'd be able to get a free licence for it via my uni. That's also why I ditched premiere and went to final cut pro. The latter just felt nicer, even with some missing features.

Step files are definitely suitable and am more than happy to work with them... Thank you :)

Thanks for your reply, good to know! So step files will be suitable for you if you want to continue working on one of my designs :)

Thanks Michael! This is a very good standpoint which allows me to not be tied to one specific program. Glad to know that STEP files work out for you :)

Thanks Brent! Yes, once I get the hang of it I'm willing to help people out. Varicad is very unknown which has its up and downsides. I'll keep you posted about my findings!

Thanks Micke for your reply and I respect your standpoint. You can still continue on my designs when I export it to step. I'm not forcing anyone to buy and learn the new software. The step files can be imported in fusion, but you won't have the features at the bottom. My current designs are still in fusion of course, but I'm unable to login so I have to take action. Tough situation I'm in now. Hopefully the step files work out for you.

STEP files should be good. For anyone who wants to follow along wtih you, would you be up for doing some tips/tricks/transition steps to going from Fusion360 to Varicad?

STEP files are good enough and allow us patrons to choose the CAD software we wish to open them with since Fusion360 has become more restricted for free-tier users. I believe some features like "User Parameters" for parametric models may not be exported with STEP files, but its a nice-to-have at this point.

I have no affinity to Fusion360, Im fairly new to 3D printing but I use MacOS and Linux, so I'm open to new options. Thank you...m

The reason for me becoming a patreon was to be able to use and continue on your designs. I am not interested in paying €700 + relearn everything just to be able to stay in Linux. I am sorry to say but if you switch then there is no reason for me to stay a patreon.

The interface of Freecad has improved a lot. Your screenshot looks great! Maybe my CAD mouse works better in the Linux version. I used Freecad often for viewing step files, but my mouse didn't work smooth at all. I'm happy to read that most of you aren't tied to Fusion which makes the step to another program easier for me!

Thanks Alward for your reply! I can imagine that if you are a Linux power user a program like OpenScad works great. I didn't give it a go, but I'm too used to the familiar interface. I have used Linux for a few years and went distrohopping between all possible flavors. From Arch/Manjaro to Debian/Ubuntu/Mint to Fedora openSuse, you name it xD I preferred Debian based distros and I'm going to install it once I receive my new hard disk.

I actually prefer the openscad workbench in freecad now over the regular openscad workflow. And FreeCAD can import/export directly to openscad code. Also even freecad's normal use is more similar to openscad than other cad programs(movement of parts is more similar to a transformation, just with a gui.) Freecad does require some customization though to not feel cramped, I agree. The glass plugin helped that a lot. It makes the feature tree transparent similar to fusion/solidworks. (What my last currently looks like) https://i.imgur.com/tv6EnQF.png

Ryan Young

I'm currently making the switch to freecad after fusion360s changes to the free version, and I had always meant to because I hate the only online aspect. It took some time but I'm happy with it now. You have to get the 0.19 prerelease version as it's more mature, and watch a few tutorials to get the "workbenches" concept. As well as explore the various add-ons. It has all of the features (including fem analysis and cnc tool path) but it is missing a lot of the quality of life automations of more mature cad programs. It just took some adjustment for me and I'm still learning. I had to remember how frustrating the transition from solidworks to fusion was the first time.

Ryan Young

I wouldn't mind STEP files at all, they are an interoperable file format, so you'll be catering to a broader audience then people using Fusion360 only. Due to the recent changes and controversy around the Fusion360 personal license changes, I'm more than ever interested in (FOSS) alternatives as well. I like OpenSCAD for its declarative modelling, but I bet it will be a very difficult transition from Fusion360.

Thanks Martijn for your reply. I have actually and it looks awesome! The reason why I didn't go with this software is because I need to use the mechanical features which will set you back €1250,-/year. I've been playing around today with Varicad a bit more and the biggest drawback was that it doesn't have a feature tree, but this is not the case. I hope that everyone will be OK with the fact that I only can share the step files if I take this decision.

Hi Jón, did you also take a look at BricsCAD? I don't have personal experience with the software, but it seams a viable alternative with decent pricing. Made in Belgium originally. https://www.bricsys.com/en-eu/bricscad/

Thanks Andy! Once I regain access I will download my current designs from Fusion so they won't get lost. I'm going to keep my current hard drive so I can always go back if needed. It's such a drawback that I'm unable to get to my designs right now that I started looking for an alternative. Varicad looks very promising and I can use Linux again which I really like :)

At this moment I have a 10TB external hard drive which I use to archive my raw footage. I use my internal hard drive to work on, but my projects are getting bigger since I use more 60p footage. Varicad doesn't have a feature tree like Fusion has and that's the biggest drawback I've found.

I would suggest buying a Synology NAS for your video and projects. And backing that one up with a large harddisk once in a while. I do that and it’s great, also for Linux. Why it’s unknown is likely because it’s either mainly used in companies or, simply the others were advertised better and people picked it up. It’s also quite likely that Fusion has the more intuitive workflow and hence why people stick with it (the workflow at least). Does Varicad have a good history for your edits like Fusion? I find that really useful.

Vincent Groenewold

Jon it would be a shame to move away from Fusion as you have put so much effort into the design already, and it would be interesting to run an analysis in terms of heat etc. I know we've talked about your problems with Fusion 360. Varicad could well work, looks a bit like Sketchup. At the end of the day Jon it's what your more comfortable with as you have to use it.

Andy Wright

Yes, good point! I'm going to buy a new hard disk and keep the current disk as it is. This reduces the risks and I can always get back. I think it odd that it's so unknown, but maybe I'm going to find out why xD

Yep, I added some point of attention to my reply above. Especially because Varicad is quite unknown, you may have trouble finding support. But it is interesting.

Vincent Groenewold

Fusion, especially for its price, is awesome and I really had trouble finding an affordable alternative. I hope I can get the hang of Varicad because it looks like it has everything I need and would be cheaper for me in the long run. It's not perfect, but it looks like one of the better options for me. Thanks for your reply!

Yeah these are the negatives concerning cloud only software. I'm slowly going away from that as well. The problem here though is that Fusion is actually relatively cheap even for the paid version. There's no real good alternative I think in this price range, not with the same level of capabilities and ease of use. Before you get into Varicad I would try to import step files from Fusion and see if that works, also check how stable it is with large projects etc.

Vincent Groenewold

Thanks Bob for your comment! I think it's important that you together with the other patrons are able to receive the design files to use and adapt. The first tier says that you've got access to the Fusion files which is about to change if I make this decision. So, I have to discuss this before I'm going to change anything and I'm happy with your view on it. Hopefully I get access to my Fusion account soon!

Ik think the choise of software is personal. You explained your reasons. Personally I'm more interested in your ideas then the 'workfile'. Stls or step files or more then sufficient for me. I'm pretty good with Freecad, but like fusion more, because is let's of a hassly to drawn things. But go with varicad if you ask me. I can make my own designs based on your ideas and videos

Hoi Jon,