ivndbt.com

Leave before locked

A year and a half after switching from Fusion to FreeCAD, I can confidently say I made the right choice.

I tried FreeCAD for the first time a long time ago, but it was too rough to get started with.
I’m used to commercial CAD software like Inventor, SolidWorks, and Solid Edge. They are all reasonably polished and stable. Back then, FreeCAD had a messy interface and wasn’t very stable.

That’s why, when Autodesk released Fusion with a free account for non-commercial use, I was happy to see a premium-level CAD software become available to hobbyists.
That excitement didn’t last long because I realized it had some important drawbacks: you must have an internet connection, all your files are stored on Autodesk’s servers, limits on the number of parts you can open at the same time, and opening a STEP or STL file takes forever because it has to be uploaded first.
Still, it was much more stable than FreeCAD, so I kept using it.

Until I heard that FreeCAD had released the holy version 1.0.

During the Christmas holidays of 2024, I downloaded it and gave it a shot.
The program had improved so much since the last time I tried it. The interface was still overwhelming at first glance; there were too many buttons and toolbars visible by default. The workflow felt strict about the order of clicks when creating constraints or performing cuts and extrusions, but most of the crashes had disappeared.
To me, this was the most important improvement!

Once I realized the core experience had become stable, I started customizing the UI and the shortcuts with the goal of making it my main CAD software because I like the open-source philosophy, the freedom it gives, and how extensible it is.

Luckily, after some experimentation, I found Deltahedra, a French YouTube channel that makes some of the best tutorials about FreeCAD.
I learned a lot there, and I thought it would be worthwhile to share the channel and the best videos and tips to get started:

FreeCAD is currently on version 1.1.
The improvements from 1.0 are significant, and they make onboarding even easier.
I even installed it on my dad’s PC because I now feel it’s mature enough to be used not only by hackers and enthusiasts, but also by casual designers.
If you are thinking about trying FreeCAD and have questions or run into problems, feel free to contact me. I’ll be happy to help if I can.

I hope more people will consider switching to community-driven software.
A change you choose for yourself may feel difficult at first, but it is still easier to accept and commit to than one imposed on you.