CAD freeware for NX user

[lean 0]

Hello everyone.

I recived my ultimaker 2 this week and now i want to start to print some of my own ideas.

Due to my job, i´m an advanced user of Siemens (former Unigeaphics) NX CAD program suite.

Does anyone here now a freeware CAD tool that comes close to the "touch and feel" of this programm? I don´t need every tiny feature that a commercial CAD tool offers, but a good sketching tool would be very nice.

I would appreciate any suggestions you can give me.

Greeting,

lean

 

[am001 0]

Hi lean,

I've used UG and NX for over 15 years now, but I've had to use various other systems at intervals for specific clients. Catia is the only thing I have ever used that comes close.

I think you are going to be deeply frustrated using anything that is available free.

Once you've used the real stuff, the rest seems, well, limiting.

Sorry, not the answer you wanted!

Andrew

 

[Daid 306]

While not even close, so far I liked DesignSpark mechanical the most. It's not feature-tree based. But it is free.

But the only thing free with a feature tree that I know of that is is FreeCAD, which pretty much sucks.

And then there is OpenSCAD, which sort of has a feature tree...

 

[lean 0]

Hm.

Thanks for the answers. Not quite what i hoped to hear *g*.

I´ve tried FreeCAD some time ago but i found it to be very slow.

I think i will try Design Spark.

Thank you.

 

[bobmirror 0]

Google Sketch-up is by far the best CAD program to begin with. I have access to most of the programs. Sketchup also has excellent tutorials on one of their web sites. See the "3d warehouse" for drawings.

Use the plug-in at http://www.cerebralmeltdown.com/SketchupPlugins to convert the .skb files to .stl files on the free version of Google Sketch-up. There is a plug-in and tutorial to make gears at cerebalmeltdown as well. It works great. Thou shout learn to use a spreed sheet to enter the proper dimensions for making gears. Also remember the extrusion is .4mm or about .016 thousands of a inch. and the extruder goes down the center of the g-code. So you have to adjust the inside diameter of holes, up by .016 inches to get it to come out correctly.

Open Office has a free spreed sheet program.

 

[thehitman04 0]

There are torrents for nx6 and probably higher, i had 8 but went back to solidworks 2013 instead. Depends which way your moral compass points lol

[markstephen 0]

Personally, I use FreeCAD and find it to be highly capable for creating models to be 3D printed. For those that have tried FreeCAD in the past, the FreeCAD available today is a whole new animal. If anyone is considering giving it a try, I would highly recommend getting the most recent development version for their OS. Both Windows and Mac platforms have very recent snapshot builds, and Ubuntu Linux users can configure a daily PPA and get a new version most every 24 hr cycle.

If you had used an earlier version such as version 0.11 or 0.12, I couldn't agree with you more, they sucked compared to chimerical software. even 0.13 is found wanting. 0.14 development however, especially the more recent builds made with OCE / OCC 6.7 are coming a lot closer to at least low end commercial grade CAx packages.

If at all interested, take a look at the release highlights for the upcoming 0.14 production release. Here - http://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Release_notes_014%C2%A0%20%C2%A0%C2%A0

Take it or leave it, it is certainly up to you, but FreeCAD has matured and improved so much over the past year, it might not hurt to take another look, and let's face it, you can't beat the price. :-P

Oh, one of the FreeCAD users has written a Macro with GUI that accesses Cura engine and produces slices and gcode of your part without ever having to exit the program. Very cool.