Free Alternative to Fusion 360

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HankAz
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Free Alternative to Fusion 360

Post by HankAz »

I don't know if this is the right place to post this or not. I'm a newby and my free trial for 360 ran out. I am a hobbyist and only trying to make simple brackets now and then for a hot rod I'm building. I have a Langmuir crosscut 24x24 table. 360 was quite confusing for me so I'm looking for a free and easier program to use as I won't use it all the time. I'm an old fart and if I don't use it everyday I have to make notes to remember how to use it. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks Hank
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Re: Free Alternative to Fusion 360

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plasmanewbie
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Re: Free Alternative to Fusion 360

Post by plasmanewbie »

A lot of folks here use Inkscape https://inkscape.org/ not the best for mechanical parts but it is free and members here provide a lot of help with it right here on plasmaspider
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acourtjester
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Re: Free Alternative to Fusion 360

Post by acourtjester »

If you were using 360 for both CAD and CAM you will need 2 software packages, many here use SheetCam, great for the CAM part. If you go for QCAD search YouTube for tutorial videos to help learn it. At 80 that's what I do for any new things I get into.
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tinspark
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Re: Free Alternative to Fusion 360

Post by tinspark »

HankAz wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2024 11:50 am I don't know if this is the right place to post this or not. I'm a newby and my free trial for 360 ran out. I am a hobbyist and only trying to make simple brackets now and then for a hot rod I'm building. I have a Langmuir crosscut 24x24 table. 360 was quite confusing for me so I'm looking for a free and easier program to use as I won't use it all the time. I'm an old fart and if I don't use it everyday I have to make notes to remember how to use it. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks Hank
Fusion 360 has a free version. I have been using it for over a year. No need to switch. It is geared for hobbyists
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Re: Free Alternative to Fusion 360

Post by adbuch »

Hank - as Doug has mentioned there is a free version of Fusion 360 for hobbyists. Perhaps you were using the free trial version and not the free hobbyist version. You can use the link below to download and install the free personal version. Since you are already familiar with Fusion 360, I would recommend sticking with it as opposed to starting over from scratch with a different "equivalent" program.

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal

Also, as has been mentioned, Inkscape is free and great for your more artistic pieces as well as some mechanical parts. I personally tend to use Inkscape for cnc plasma cutting, and Fusion 360 for 3D solid modeling for 3D printing. But of course many folks - particularly the Langmuir table owners - use Fusion 360 for both cad and cam along with post processing to create the actual g-code file for cutting.


Here is a screen shot of my free version.

David
f360 free personal version.jpg
HankAz
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Re: Free Alternative to Fusion 360

Post by HankAz »

Thanks everyone. I didn't realize the new version is for 3 years now so I'm going to stay with it.
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