I Found A Much Better CAD Software than Fusion 360 (Never going back)
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- Опубліковано 24 лис 2024
- In this video, I tell you why I'm done using Fusion 360 for 3D printing. I give some background on how I started using Fusion 360 after trying out several other CAD software's like Blender and shapr3d. Then I will discuss the new software I'm going to mainly be using from now on..... plasticity.
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I see where you are coming from with this video and while I totally understand the people who are objecting to your presentation of Plasticity as a full replacement for Fusion 360, I understand what you mean. You're like me - wanting a good INTUITIVE 3d modeler to use for your 3d printing projects. Yes, parametric is a wonderful tool to go back and revise things, but some of us love Direct Modeling so much and are so fast with it that the negative of being unable to go back in time and tweak a parameter are outweighed by just the sheer quickness we can model with Direct Modeling. I have been searching and waiting for something like Plasticity for literally YEARS. The combination of direct modeling with precision, low price for OWNERSHIP of the software (not a effing subscription), and rapid improvement (and responsiveness!) of the author make it a winner *for me*. It doesn't need to be a full CAD/CAM package *for my situation*. I can just model it up in Plasticity, export, and do all the analysis/kinematics/etc. I want in another package like FreeCad (also waiting impatiently for FreeCAD 1.0 to release, fixing the main problem with that software: the dreaded topology naming bug). Anyway, carry on with the making and showing! I'm subscribing to your channel. :)
Thank you, and this has to be the best comment I have received (especially from all the negativity and people basically calling me a shill when I was just trying to tell my experience using these software's). You nailed it, though, and I couldn't have said it better myself; that is exactly how I feel about it for my situation. I don't think plasticity is a complete replacement for Fusion 360 (because it's not parametric), but like you said, it's just so intuitive and fun to use. Not to mention, it runs so much better on my PC, plus there is no limit when it comes to how much revenue you can make with it. Anyway, I'm ranting a bit, but thank you for your kind comment.
As a CAD nerd I am super excited about Plasticity. Alibre Design Pro (or your choice) + Plasticity for surfacing blows anything I've tried out there for home use. I can drop a plasticity surface right into Alibre and get to work with parametric history. People have to adjust the traditional CAD workflow a bit. If people see Plasticity as a tool package to complement a CAD package then you can do most of what the expensive packages like NX can do. Plasticity uses the same geometric kernel as NX by the way! If you have to work with dumb solids from other CAD packages, Plasticity is also great for repairing bad geometry, even being able to undo fillets in a lot of circumstances.
Ugh. That topology naming bug is the bane of my existence.
@@kevbot. I think its because its cloud based.. I got a super computer and I gave up on fusion 360 since my internet connection is crazily slow, and the pricing is kinda insane for hobbyists. I’ve been using freecad a bit, but I have problems assembling big stuff and its such a messy workflow.. its ok for small parts. Appreciate the video, I’ll try it.
@@eyestonemontanus6377 Only storage is cloud based, and every couple of weeks they check your subscription. The software itself runs locally on your hardware. The only times you can experience lagging is maybe when it's trying to update the software while you work, or when you have complex sketches. Not sure what problem you had, but it wasn't what you think. Maybe compatibility issues?
the video starts at 6:07
lol wish i would have scrolled down and saw your comment before watching this entire video. I can usually make it through these pretty easy but man. This one was rough haha.
Thank you.
Thanks man
Thanks~
Thank you, I was skipping around trying to figure when the story part ended
For beginners who aren't sure if they need parametric or not, consider this example: I recently had to design an accessory part for industrial machinery. This part needed to exist in 15 different lengths. Depending on the length of the part, it needed to have a different number of threaded holes. Instead of creating 15 different models, I created only 1 and assigned variables to some of the dimensions, and I entered a simple formula based on those dimensions for some of the features like the number of holes. When my design was ready, I only needed to enter all 15 lengths in a data table and the software generated all 15 variants of the same part for me, computing and drawing the correct number of holes in the right places. If I needed to make a change, it was automatically applied to all variants. That's the power of parametric.
Well, i am using direct modeling CAD for years and you can also add formulas to drive the model OR it is so quick at designing the 15 models can be created as fast as it takes to setup the parametric table. That is the true power of direct modeling!
@@francismarcoux1985 there's a really good reason that pretty much every single engineering design company out there uses parametric design software as the backbone of their physical product development processes. It's because they are more EFFICIENT by a long stretch, than direct modeling; especially when dimensional modifications to the original design are required.
@@francismarcoux1985I used parametric Alibre until the new owner drove it into a ditch then tried a direct modeling program. NOPE. Once you use parametric, direct modeling feels like kindergarten playing with clay.
Thanks for answering my question. No CAM is a deal breaker. I'll stick with Fusion. I spent way to many years working with CAD and CAM software that was from two different companies. It was very kludgy, cumbersome, and you had to remember so many required tweaks to get anything functional. Fusions built in CAM solved all that and I'm not about to go back to the old ways.
@@francismarcoux1985Formulas are not a substitute for parameters they are an adjunct. Good software practice means that anyone should be able to look at the model and figure out whats going on - even yourself in a year or 2. Parameters with descriptive names help. If you are only making quick throw away models for yourself then anything goes I guess.
The lack of parametric modeling for anything that requires prototyping is a big deal breaker.
Totally agree, it definitely makes prototyping way more difficult.
I disagree. I ve been using direct modeling CAD softwre for years and it is quicker and very simple editing 3D models. It is a different approach
@@francismarcoux1985not for prototyping though. Parametric modeling is almost completely necessary for prototyping. When you need to make adjustments that rely on other dimensions, there’s nothing better.
@@jaymuffinz idk how much of a difference it makes but my approach when dealing with parts that need to conform to another part I would just model the part in question and then Boolean.
@@ipodtouchiscoollol yeah but that’s super basic. When creating a shell for electronics for instance (such as the imaged joystick in the video), you can adjust your dimensions to change dynamically. Every adjustment builds off previous steps allowimg you to create alternate models very quickly that abide by the rules given to it. If you needed it to change it to fit a different sized hand. Then you can quickly change a few variables and the new model would adjust according to your steps. This is especially really important if there’s certain tolerances, or regulations, standards, etc that always need to be adhered to. You can operate within those rules while also quickly making alternate options.
I’m an engineer. Non parametric is absolutely no go.
yes absolutely correct...😅
Engineers have struggled to adapt to new ways of doing things, just like it happened for paper drawings, CAD (to paper), model based definition (PMI). I can find many use cases where it may not fit the fillet machining mode we're used to. In standard cases yes, but free-form surfacing doesn't necessarily lend itself to requiring model history. Typically, only constraints are required. I'd hate to be the Hasbro tooling engineer working with Zbrush models! Plasticity is not an engineering tool either, but it is a very powerful tool to complement others.
But I feel like as an industrial designer. It is a very nice tool for a first ideation modeling that allow some basic prototyping, dimension fixing, etc as a first step before pushing into a complete CAD on SolidWorks.
Exactly. Parametric modelling isn't just for correcting mistakes like he says, it is for being able to tweak and alter the model as you need to. Without parametric modelling and a timeline if you need to change anything in the model you either need to keep altering it with direct modelling which just leads to issues or you need to completely remodel it.
@@modelenginerding6996 This is not a case of engineers struggling to adapt to new things at all, it all depends on what you are actually doing. For the vast majority of engineers that use CAD, changing to a direct modelling program like Plasticity is not a good idea and would make their jobs harder. Changing from paper drawings to CAD is not the same as switching to a direct modelling software with no history or timeline, switching from paper to CAD had a lot of benefits, changing to Plasticity or other direct modelling software doesn't for the majority of engineers.
Former Autodesk employee here:
They will not fix it. They will patch the critical stuff, but their interest is in their tokens and credits to get you paying per use. The price ONLY goes up, as well. It's a big thing in every all-hands meeting about how they want to project the profits, and talk about how they feel each iteration is worth more money because they acquired some developer and rolled their software's functions into fusion. Autodesk is BIG on acquisitions.
Honestly, they're just like every other big tech company in that they do not give a shit about you, the consumer. I encourage everyone to use literally anything else but their software, because price will only drop if demand drops, since supply is not actually a thing with subscription based software.
What’s a good alternative? I have a CNC Machine running Mach3 or 4 I can’t remember right now. I liked that Fusion360 could do the tool paths for it but they charge $400 if I want to use tool changing. It’s a hobby I’m learning and all I’ve done is spend money lol. I haven’t made $1 haha. Trying to find something that lets me model and does Mach tool paths with tool changing. I’d be ok if I needed a second piece of software to do the tool pathing.
They always have been this way. Its nothing new. They, like Oracle, are all about getting large orgs hooked on their products and to provide universities and schools less expensive options to help feed that in an ongoing solution. I remember my Mom using a product for drafting homes (ArchiCad) that required a parallel port dongle to be installed on her PC before she could use the product, this dongle managed her licensing and likely total hours of usage, etc. So this industry in general has been all about squeezing money out of the creatives for as long as possible.
@@scooteracersFreeCad is what you want, steep learning curve I agree, but in one year you will be looking for me to bring me that beer.
@@severpop8699 awesome, I’ll give it a shot and see. It’s not like I was great in fusion anyways so I’m learning one way or another. I’m just sick of paying $400 a year when I’m barely using my machine. I want to be able to use the tool changer when I am ready to go though. So much better than trying to do things with one endmill.
It is a shame that Autodesk has that view. But then again, they don4t give a shit about me feeling shame LOL.
I needed a "tab and pocket" feauture just this week. After searching the net high and low, I found a thread that has been logged 6 years ago, requesting that tool. To date, it still hasn't been implemented! I am looking at Solidworks now for a potential replacement. But dreading the learning curve. Oh, BTW, I'm a hobbyist too. To create those tabs manually is a right pain in the arse.
Unless there is another software that can do it? Or even better still, edit a IAM file to add tabs (highly unlikely right?)
Very bold title. Plasticity was developed for hard surface artists and is not a full CAD Software like Fusion 360. No CAM, parametric modeling or FEM analysis. Which software is better just boils down to your individual usecase.
I agree. It definitely depends on what you do. Plasticity is just working better for me as of late.
Only a few people need FEM add on and parametric is way over rated. Modifying existing in Plasticity is generally much easier than traditional CAD. The Blender bridge is the icing on the cake IMHO
definitely click bait
Does Plasticity allow you to model profile and then extract it along a path or follow a path? I am in the process of downgrading from my full version of Autocad to AutocadLt. A major reason is the lack of FBX extension support which they stopped after the 2018 version. You literally limited to which other programs you could export your 3D models to. So I'm planning to get the AutocadLt/RevitLt Suite and then just add another 3D modeling program. Which will work out to less than the $2,000 /year that I will be paying. I have had Autocad for many years but Autodesk is just getting too greedy, literally forcing me to get another of their prog5just so I can have the FBX feature. There is no reason whatsoever for them to have removed it from Autocad.
So I am looking at Sketchup and now will be looking at Plasticity and Shapr3D. Hadn't heard of them until you mentioned them.
@@s.patterson5698 You can use the 'sweep' command to extract along a path. Profiles can be extracted but sheets can be used to extract to a solid.. It's pretty intuitive.
A perfect example of comparing apples with oranges
@@weplaywax it's always suspicious when some previously unknown piece of software is suddenly recommended by youtubers and you still never hear of the software outside of the youtube videos. Could just be that the UA-camrs discovered it before the rest of us but most of the time it isn't.
Onshape is a good example, all of a sudden a lot of youtubers were using it, they didn't hide that it was sponsored though but they did miss out on one major detail, everything you make with a free account is public, anyone else using onshape can copy and use your models.
@@weplaywax yeah its surprising how many influencers suddenly dont need parametric CAD. Shouldnt he have to declare hes been asked to do this.
@@carlperkins1812 If he was paid for it or receives a benefit for making the video, yes, he has to indicate that. It is a requirement of the FTC Endorsement Guidelines. He explicitly states that he was not paid for the video though.
@@carlperkins1812 The whole "Oh no I'm going to hit the artificial $1000 a year limit, whatever will I do" thing makes this video very clearly have a hidden agenda. The $1000 a year thing can be safely ignored by small time creators and AutoDesk must be well aware of this fact.
He acknowledged that it doesn't do everything that Fusion 360 can. It is just a different tool to do the work he does. Painters use different tools brushes, rollers, or sprayers. They choose what does the job at hand the best. I used to use SketchUp to create visuals, there was a large user base with numerous user made plugins that allowed incredible shapes to be created. It was great until they changed the terms, and killed the free version. Maybe plastic can fill that niche.
If you don't want to watch everything. The software is plasticity and the price was the reason why he switched. The Video starts from 6:07
@@nebula9117 because you know $150 is a much better price than free
extra tip. use 1.5 speed
I love you
Not just the price, also the performance, Fusion 360 was too slow
THANK YOU
Why does this video have 4 minutes of self promotion and only 2 minutes of content?
because its an ad
Still 2 minutes left 😂
Bro thinks he is trouble😂
0:02 This is the same demeanor you deliver an in person death of a moved one; damn!
FreeCAD is now pretty good full parametric real cad and does milling gcode and printing all while being free
FreeCad is excellent, it's what we adopted, too bad he didn't give it a go.. There is a learning curve with the sketching, etc, but if you have some experience with another software, you'll have most of the basic concepts and there are lots of good videos to help you. It's literally free, and you can export your models for production or to take into blender for modeling right away. We've send production parts overseas for milling and 3d printing, it's flawless...
FreeCAD is horrible.
There is a reason that most people avoid FreeCAD. It is a good idea but it isn't there yet.
@@conorstewart2214 It is there. Works very well
@@conorstewart2214”most people” meaning you and a few people you know.
Fusion360: You're making $1,000 per year, pay us $680.00. F no way.
just dont tell them the income amount lol
it's not even making $1000 a year, it's the revenue so it will be far less since you'll have a lot more costs as just the software license.
You can just pay for a single month if the designs dont change over time
Yeah well in the UK the price is £85 GBP a month hahaha. Because every currency is the same. I bet they charge ¥85 per month.
😂
I got RhinoCAD 8, its not cheap but its super powerful with the grasshopper toolset and I own it forever with one purchase.
Hmm I'll have to look into it. Thanks.
Can confirm Rhino is a powerhouse for CAD modelling and super fast
Interesting
Sverchok in Blender is supposed to work in a similar way to Grasshopper. It was originally based on the Grasshopper workflow.
Rhino with Grashopper is great but can crash with complex shapes or lattice structures.
I'm a CAD designer of about 25 years.
I'd be willing to bet that Plasticity eventually goes parametric (Just like FreeCAD used to not be, but is now).
A tip for your viewers:
You can get a solidworks makers license if paid up front for a year, for $48 for the year. If you pay monthly, it would be $15 per month, so it's worth paying up front. You do have a similar stipulation on how much you can make per year. I believe it's $2,000, so there is that.
Solidworks is pretty good. I'm a CATIA user and love it, but solidworks is a capable software that has a huge user base and I do have the maker's license that I use at home and for designing things to 3D print.
I'll definitely keep my eye on plasticity and see how it develops over the years.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you for sharing. I always thought Solidworks was very expensive; its awesome to hear that they have a maker license now (especially only being $48 a year). Also, you are definitely right. I'm sure plasticity will go parametric at some point.
Hello , i am an Tattoo Artist and i want to sculpt 3d printed Alienembryos , paint it and put it in a Glass , can you give me a top which Peogram i can use ?
@@mikekuner2647 I would start with Blender since it's Free and since it's more geared towards "sculpting" figures, etc.. Maybe watch some tutorials and see if it makes sense to you before you invest too much time. Blender is a different kind of modeling, but if you're just starting out, it might make it easier to learn. But....If Blender seems weird and not how you would envision modeling, then I would look at maybe getting a more traditional CAD Modeling software like the Solidworks Makers License, however your final project plan of an Alien embryo seems like it would be better suite with something like Blender anyway.
As an engineer I’ve used waaay too many CAD softwares and my go to at home is SOLIDWORKS. (I have lifelong access to my university email so I’ve been able to access the student edition for years now 😂 )
Makers license isn’t great. My son bought it and created some models. Later he went back in to show someone what he created but it broke and wouldn’t let him log in. At this point I saw support was terrible as they just said buy another subscription. They weren’t interested in getting his work back. Hope this helps.
I love f360.. ya it has its drawbacks but I’ll happily pay for it.
You can make pretty awesome organic looking models in f360 if you know what you’re doing.
Another plasticity ad..........
Thank you for saving 8 minutes of my life
I wish I seen this before watching..
Plasticity is garbage. I don't understand the hype.
@testboga5991 It depends on your use case. Plasticity is targeted towards artists who are primarily interested in just making something that's visually appealing, and Plasticity is great for that. You can make a cool model very quickly and efficiently. It combines tools from other CAD softwares like Moi, Fusion, Rhino, etc but offers them at a much cheaper price and typically with better functionality. There's a fuck ton of things that Plasticity does better than other CAD somftwares, like direct face/edge editing and faster calculations to name a couple, but it isn't perfect. Again, it depends on your use case. For example, Plasticity sucks for precision modelling, so if you're making models that are intended to be manufactured or used functionally, stick to something like Fusion or Solidworks.
@@LeoD.J FreeCAD
I've been using OPENSCAD for about 12 years now. It's purely script which means you can edit separate parts of your objects, reuse code etc very easily. Only complaint I have with it that it doesn't have 3D fileting. Despite that though, I use it for everything. Scripted vases, cogs, home and work related stuff and for friends. Latest one is a hydrofoil mast where I did 3D fileting between a foil section and a plate by unioning a series of scripted resized foil sections in pairs to create the mathematical curves I wanted. If you're good at scripting it's a great choice and it's free. If I;m designing something I start with measuring up the environment it's fitting in to, record these in comments and then start implementing.
Try my pathbuilder for OpenSCAD, you get SVG path commands to build a path with the addition of fillets and chamfers. It's 2D though.
DSLCAD is an option that does have filets, though it is a bit more barebones
In that vain, you could also be looking at Build123d, which is a bit more complicated but more powerful / faster to run.
I started out with openscad, moved to cadquery and now moved to build123d.
Yeah, but it's no good for complex models and assemblies, and there's no CAM output.
This is where cadquery and build123d come in, they export to step / brep which can be used in other software. They also support asemblies and work reasonably well for more complex models.
I swapped to onshape and have zero complaints so far.
Me too
1500$/y for commercial use....
Onshape looks great but having to choose between all your designs being public and paying $1,500/year ("best for individuals" lol) is kind of ridiculous. I wish they'd offer an affordable plan, like a "maker" price for people who are willing to pay a bit but aren't making money from their designs.
On shape is good but the constraints boggles my comprehension
@@tratzum I had that same feeling when I started. My break through came when I decided not to use dimensions, or use them as little as possible, and only place items using constraints. Click! Then it seems I was able to use the constraint system without issue.
I use a $10k commercial version at work for mechanical design, but Solid Edge has a totally free Community Version. Free forever. It's exactly the same version I use at work, the only caveat is that anything created or saved in the community version can never again be opened in the commercial version. It can be fully parametric, or run in what they call a synchronous environment. A single part can have features in both environments simultaneously. It has a reverse-engineering feature set that will allow importing surface (like STL models) and convert them to solid models. If you use step files, you can edit them directly, like add or delete features, move or resize holes, or the entire entire model. There's also a 3D printing tool set, but I normally just export step to my slicing tool. It can do true surfacing as well, but it's great for more prismatic mechanical parts. I like it a lot better than Fusion 360. But I'm going to try Plasticity out too.
for people who dont know what parametric modelling is, lets say i had a square with a hole, if i made the square smaller, parametric modelling wouldnt make the hole smaller but only the square around it will, without parametric modelling the circle will go smaller with the square
excellent explaination
F360 has been in a downward spiral for years. The price keeps going up, new features are being locked into "extensions" that cost multiple times that of the software itself, stability and performance are afterthoughts at best, etc. If at any point Solidworks makes its way to the mac, I'm ditching Fusion without even thinking twice.
I agree it seems like Autodesk is dragging their feet when it comes to keeping fusion 360 relevant.
It comes and goes, some features made included, some moved to $1200/yr packs, and some to a credit based process for simulation and rendering. It works for my business because it has a bit of everything and about 95% or what we need even for strange projects. Oh also, the electronic pack included? It's pretty good, I just spent $12k on altium designer, and that's a lot of cash in comparison for we already had included. Nice breakdown!
You given onshape a go? I think a few people from solidworks broke off to make it. It’s expanding in utility rather quickly.
Autodesk Modus Operandi, sadly.
Blender when CAM
I'm investing in Rhino. I've started recently and found it really amazing for industrial design in general. With Grasshopper, it's unbeatable! Also, perpetual licenses are really important to me, so it was no brainer.
The problem for me is that there isn't a license that fits my needs. I'm not commercial - a hobby user only with no sales at all. I'm not a student (old retired guy here) so that license doesn't apply. At around $1k for a commercial license, I just can't afford it. I prefer software that I actually pay for. However, the cost has to fit how often I use it and given that I rarely have to actually design something, I just don't see it being for me. Sketchup (which I use for basic woodworking design) has the same problem.
Grasshopper is complex af unfortunately
A few more to consider: Alibre Atom 3D, FreeCAD, Onshape, SolveSpace, Vectary.
Thanks
Alibre is the way I went. Perpetual license, no forced upgrades. My only regret is not learning CAD twenty years ago.
Onshape just feels like a cheap copy of Fusion360
@@henrytikka3315 It is different just some of its features arrent very apparent and some major ones are coming out soon. but i can see why you say that, your definitely not wrong where on the surface it does seem pretty similar to fusion.
openSCAD
How does Fusion 360 know the user sold over $1000? is that on the honor system?
I was wondering the same.
Shapr is parametric now and feels like that sweet spot between almost fully featured CAD software for product designers and hobbyists wanting to design and print things at home. Definitely worth the price.
Shapr is an awesome piece of software.
Originally I learned 3d studio Max 3.1, completely from two hugely thick bibles, plus a smaller book for character studio.
Back in 1998 we relied on excellent manuals, with a small written tutorial section.
Now we have amazingly connected communities, that can give you answers to extremely specific questions.
So written tutorials are still king, but from that you can create a community greater than the parts that make it up.
🇦🇺🤜🏼🤛🏼😑🍀😊☮️😂
My hat is off to you. I can't imagine learning it from two thick bibles lol. Things have definitely come a long way.
I went to Taft Union High in California, and I too took 3ds Max in 2000 and 2001, and had the hugest bible's to carry around. Printer was probably half the cost of the school too. lol
@@kevbot. I remember downloading and printing the book about 3d max in aprox. 1995. I spent like whole day printing the book on the loudest matrix printer. That was wild.
Reading your comment took me back 😂 i remember those bibles. My dad was a reseller for autocad and 3dstudio (Dos version). I still have my manuals for max 3.1 and softimage 3d extreeme and XSI
@@TheParelius I tossed a coin between 3dsmax and Lightwave. Then learned that from a massive book. Then Maya came onto the scene.
For the problem with freezing in this video and those in the comments, I feel like you have to be doing something wrong. My fusion 3d files are all over the place and some of them have several hundreds if not a thousand entries in the timeline and I never have any of these issues. I recently made a change hundreds of steps back and it only took about 30 seconds to recalculate everything that came after. The only time i've ever had ridiculous lag or a crash is when I accidentally type in the wrong number on a pattern and try to copy it many thousands of times. Also a huge part of Fusion 360 is the CAM side so if you're only 3d printing plasticity is probably fine but Fusion is also my CAM software for my milling machines so it would be a huge pain to change.
It definitely could be user error but even when I initially installed fusion it still didn't run too great. It's a great software, I just wish it could utilize the high end hardware of my computer better like other softwares. Also, I didn't think about the CAM side, that definitely makes sense for you to use it then.
well hopefully they don't ever just decide to jump their prices like VMware did. You will never own that software, and as such, you are completely dependent on their "moral" judgements..... where they quite often buy out competitor companies and force people into subscription pay models.
Lagging for me even on simple designs on MacBook m1
I agree that if all you’re doing is digital design then Fusion 360 is over priced. However it’s not just intended for that. As soon as you click over to the Manufacture space the rubber meets the road. The tool paths for CNC make the value proposition go through the roof. No other company even comes close. Your video paints it in a negative light. However, you are doing so from a very narrow use case. You should disclose that or at least make note of what you are paying even if you yourself are not using those features.
^ That. CAM and simulation are quite powerful. Not to mention many of the other advanced features. The toolpaths for CAM are pretty good, even though they too are "with an instruction manual" - that being the case, I haven't seen better software that supports that, not to mention the many post processors that are available. I don't just want some fancy picture on my screen, I want to make it happen.
I'd throw F360 away in a heartbeat if there was a better alternative, but I'm afraid ignoring this is just totally missing the point. That being the case, I have designs with thousands of steps in the timeline and often struggle with parametric designs not updating well (yes I know what I'm doing; it's just buggy when you get to the advanced features)... openscad is still much better at certain things than f360... Anyways.
The youtube equivalent of the chick that has a blog and goes through her post-divorce vacation in italy where she reinvented herself over 17 paragraphs before giving you the fucking apple pie recipe you came for. Skip to 6:00. And then you realize it's a cheesecake (non parametric design)
I think what you mean to say was "thank you-- for your hard work that helped me out."
@@SensibleChuckle you think wrong. Not only it didn't help me, it wasted my time with a clickbait title.
I just bought a 3D printer and you made me use this software, very intuitive. Thanks
Of course, thank you for watching!
Freecad is better option
SW has a hobby license too. It was ~$10/month and it ran super smooth when I tried it l. I’m guessing you can ignore the income limits as this seems unenforceable for small business - but that is some degree of personal risk never the less…. Maybe you can subtract your time, electric bill and other home office costs from your profits to make yourself feel better? Idk…
In the end I’m back to F360 because I learned so many little tricks and don’t want to spend the time to find those tricks in SW. I need to rip off the bandaid though…
SolidEdge has a hobby license for 0$ which make me sad because I really like SolidWorks. But SolidEdge offer way more thing and even give you Generative Design (Only Flexion optimisation in the community edition, the free one)
Fusion was my intro then blender. Them having a baby is a good analogy.
Fusion feels so rigid it's stifling. Plasticity feels right. It's smooth, uncluttered, intuitive. I feel connected.
The lack of history is my sole problem with it. It's so important. Many hours spent redoing something instead of being able to change in real time.
The creator put a vid out yesterday and that was mentioned as a future feature.
Also, there are some shapes that fusion can do which plasticity can't though that could've been a flawed approach from me or an earlier, less capable version.
Plasticity has history, it's just linear.
Once youre used you a non parametric modeling history, it's not bad at all.
You just have to keep your splines and you can easier edit and recreate most things. Parametric would be better of course, but it would also limit the flow and usability it has.
If you need to use it to drive a CNC machine though, you're out of luck.
THANK YOU for confirming that its not my computer that sucks, its fusion 360 that has the issue.
😄
A low-end Mac notebook makes Fusion fly. Just saying.
Internet connection is the bottleneck with Fusion as it is cloud based.
Solidworks when I switched required decent computer power, a year later they went all Autodesk on us so I moved to Freecad.
No it isn't the old local install Solidworks, but it is a genuine local install with no bloody cloud.
I don't regret switching to Freecad, you don't have to fight it like Fusion and it is mostly more stable.
Taking hours to solve the Windows 10 / Fusion update rock, paper, scissors debacle a couple of times a month became untenable even before the price gouging started.
Version 0.22 should cut a lot of time from designs especially the dimensioning going more like Solidworks.
UA-cam resources are becoming good, try Mango Jelly Solutions for instance.
May I add another gripe re: F360? It was solely because AD INSISTED on my moving to Windoze 10 that I finally knuckled under. WHAT A BLEEPIN NIGHTMARE! DOG - slow for EVERYTHING now, not JUST F360! Boils my BLOOD!
I'm with you. I am on a grandparent licence having bought a licence to Eagle cad years ago. I'm planning on enshitification to push me away soon. I'm actually going to FreeCAD
Very helpful. Thanks for the insights. Learning something as complex as 3d modeling has got to be a journey. Like many tools, you've used one until you ran up against a limitation, then moved on.
What about Onshape? Have you consideret it?
Have you seen how ridiculously expensive onshape is? More than double the cost per year. And as far as the free tier goes you'd be better of just sticking with F360
👎
Only sigmas use TinkerCAD like me
Does it offer toolpathing for CNC machines with tool swappping?
No, it's not a CAM software.
I have been using Blender for many years to make all my 3d printer models and it is awesome. Learning it is no issue because it is worth the invested time.
Thanks for addressing this. I felt Blender to be sooo demanding. It genuinely has a fucking steep learning curve and I'm not the only one...
Fun to see my shapr3D bottle design tutorial shown here;)
For what you model fusion360 is overboard - it is a mechanical tool.
Plasticity is a Freeform modeler that also offers DM and possibly soon will have a history / interactive modeling.
For the price it is a top tool.
There is also for cad freeCad.
For what you model blender isn’t suitable or look at the mesh machine add-on.
Was that your bottle design!!? No way that's awesome!
@@kevbot. yeah I make many of the Shapr tutorials. They have that German accent voice;)
Shapr is pretty amazing but I think as you found out Plasticity will honestly we your best tool.
I love those tutorials, man; they are great! I do like shapr a lot, but plasticity's price was more appealing to me at the moment. I may end up using shapr though, if I'm making a prototype that will need lots of revisions.
Freecad is an absolute pain in the ass compared to each everyone of those
Welcome to the amazing, fun & exciting Plasticity universe 🚀
Thank you Nikita! I love your videos by the way, they are fantastic! I've learned a lot from you 🙏
Thanks, I appreciate it!:)@@kevbot.
i try plasticity for 1min and i dont see import option for SVG files, for me usless
The new update added the option to import SVG files 👍
Thank you for posting this.
I'm a mech design engineer, in the field for 40 yrs. Have used Solidworks since 96'.
I will retire soon and have been wondering how I will do any cad work because I certainly can't afford SW, and honestly I think it's obscenely priced for individuals. Honestly its prohibitive for non-commercial use.
I looked into Plasticity and it is indeed, all that. Only reservation I have is they make no concessions for a yearly maintenance agreement for the Indie license. It sounds like you have to buy it all over again the following year.
But it is a helluva lot cheaper than SW.
I’m a mechanical designer and also have been using SolidWorks since the 90s.
The price my company pays for a seat of SolidWorks Pro or Premium is about 10k. Resellers are moving towards a minimum 2 year subscription fee, and bundling 3d experience, visualize and other related programs to make it sound not so bad…
Solidworks also has a makers edition which is about 10 usd per month or around 50 usd per year. This includes a local install of Solidworks professional and 3d experience (cloud based platform).
Someone mentioned in another comment that Solidworks now has a $48/year "makers" license if you're making less than $2000 or so from it.
My situation is similar to yours. I went with Alibre Design. I use Alibre Design Expert, as I still enjoy engineering, mostly for my own projects. They do offer lesser options, such as Alibre Atom and professional, for hobbyists. They typically run sales throughout the year. I got Expert for $1200. No forced updates and you own the license. I would compare it to SolidWorks. Certainly worth checking out. I started out with Atom. I liked it so much I called Alibre and asked them to upgrade me to the Expert version. They deducted the $200 I paid for Atom from the Expert price. A decent company to work with.
@@BrooksMoses Yes, that's what I will be using once my student license (From being an engineering college student) expires for personal use. It's definitely the right way to go for someone who doesn't want to earn any money with the things they make
your cinematography is really good my dude, also, very helpful video!
Thank you, man! That really means a lot to me! 🤜💥🤛
500 links in the description and not a single one to the mentioned software in the video.. lekker
So after 12 months i will need to pay full price again to keep the software up to date?
The software will always be up to date.
I use F360 on a 5 year old laptop. Never had a performance issue. True though that the price is getting out of control.
Than you are only doing very simple objects. F360 is slow af.
I've created all sorts of complex stuff in fusion. Never had a performance issue.
It's way too slow. I won't use it anymore at any price.
"Hopefully Autodesk will decrease the price of F360 in the future"
Well, that's pretty much the opposite : the price increases all the time and limitations are more and more drastic...
I am still using it professionally and personally on a daily basis, but it is really a love hate relationship.
I just wanted to say thanks for making content. Reading comments lots of people have their own opinions and it takes guts to put yourself out there. thanks
Thanks man, I appreciate that! Comments like this make it all worth while for me, so thank you for taking the time to mention it 🙏
Not parametric dont care.
At least you know what you want.
I can't remember what it was, but there was something about the editability of the software that threw me off of Plasticity. I think once you join you can't adjust. Something like that. Really hurt my workflow, and saving a bunch of shadow groups is just clunky and weird. If they fix that - I'll jump back to them ASAP.
So, what is this high spec computer? I have been using Fusion for the better part of 5 years, also in it's Beta stage, and I have no crash issues or performance drops even in huge models.
Same and I have what would be considered a low to mid range PC (CPU is Ryzen 5 2600 with 32 GB of Ram and at the start an rx580 for the GPU, with slow internet (30 mbps)) and fusion has always worked fine for me as has solidworks.
Plasticity looks absolute great, much simpler and more intuitive than anything else i tried. Thanks for suggestion
Anytime, I'm glad I could help!
Very well made video! Good Luck on your endeavours!
Thank you so much!
So how does fusion 360 knows how much money are you making???
@KevBot. I am here with same question? How is that calculated? I want to know limits of use
the honor system
They don't. They have no inherent way of knowing or tracking how much you make with your files and it would likely cost them more to hire people to try and catch people making over the limit.
I am missing a bit of the point about what you wanna do, you compare CAD software with vfx software here, this is like comparing your car with a Formula 1 car, both are cars but they are meant for very different purposes.
Blender, Maya, Houdini, etc... are meant to be used for vfx. Precision, building instruction, part lists, and all that stuff that does not matter for those software packages.
shapre3d is a software created for a machine called Shaper Origin, yes it is a CAD software but the only focus really is to work with their machine.
Plasticity is using cad technology but is also meant for vfx this is why the focus is more on modeling and feels like software to create models for vfx.
And that is really not clear to me from this video what is your intent, do you wanna make movies, do you need 3d models for printing, do you do rapid prototyping are you drawing instructions for your workshop? those are the things that will define which software you use.
Shapr3D has absolutely nothing to do with Shaper Origin or the Shaper Tools company. It's a 3D CAD software first made for iPad and now with history-based parametric tool set, available for Windows, Mac and iOS.
Blender, Maya, Plasticity, etc. can be used for anything. But they're not CAD. The same way Adobe Illustrator, while an amazing vector illustration tool, is not 2D CAD at all.
My recommendation to anyone consider Blender is to also look at Moment of Inspiration (MoI - absolutely stupid name that's holding it back). It has a lot of promise, even if development is super (super!) slow.
Well if you checked the thumbnails of his videos on his channel you'd see that he's selling 3d printed models which is why I can see why he'd want something cheaper than Fusion and Plastictiy is good enough for 3D printing projects
If you recently posted your models and have nearly reached $1000 then it sounds like you are making enough money to justify fusion360.
He's making close to a 1000$/year and you expect him to buy a yearly license for 680$/y... That's insane. And the 1000$ is the revenue not the profit
@@aai2962 First...He said he recently listed them for sale...i take that to mean the last few months so if he made $1000 in the last few months he would be closer to 4k per year. Now he may be treating recently as an entirely different timeline and he can interject if he wants to correct my assumption.
Second, Anything beyond the cost to produce something is profit. Since you have no idea how much it cost him to produce his individual designs and how much the individual designs have made him you have no way to say what is and is not profit.
Third, His digital designs do not have ongoing costs which means all of them given enough time will produce nothing but profit and the more designs he posts the more profit he will bring in.
With all that said, yes i think it is perfectly reasonable for him to spend $700 a year on a more powerful CAD software that he is already familiar with and his designs stored in.
@@aai2962well this is exactly how the goverment and lefties in the Netherlands think. Where are they based? 😂
Congratulations on the video, I'm also a designer and I'm making my own CNC Router for industrial use, I'm trying it with Blender... it's not easy, but I'm trying with it.
Thank you! Blender is challenging to learn but its definitely worth it! Such a powerhouse of a software. Best of luck to you🤜💥🤛
I made a point of picking one bit of software that's very unlikely to pull the rug out from under - FreeCAD. Yes, it's definitely quirky but since I'm starting from scratch I don't have to unlearn stuff. Also, granted, I'm a home hobbyist that isn't looking to create super complex items.
Non-parametric for Plasticity? WTF? Who would even spend time programming such a backwards system? Do they have plans to make it parametric in the future? Even 10-year-old versions of FreeCAD would be better atm.
Onshape Gang 😎
What do you like about Onshape?
You said you have a high end computer and Fusion 360 struggles on it. Can you share the specs you have for your computer? I'm curious what cpu, gpu and how much RAM you have. Also, curious how much dedicated RAM your GPU has.
all CAD software I know greatly benifit from a good single core performance, more than 16 core 32 thread CPU's.
I run fusion on a 1000$ laptop with no issue. I know 1000$ isnt "cheap" but it is on the lower end of things as far as computers go. Its an asus tuf16 gaming laptop. No issues at all for modeling, i dont do alot of rendering so im not sure how it would handle a huge render but the basic ones i do work fine.
Fusion always ran fine for me on a low to mid PC (Ryzen 5 2600, 32 GB of ram and an rx580), I ran into no issues or crashes even when rendering.
@@conorstewart2214 I have never had crash on when rendering. But I have had 2500 crashes in Fusion. It crashes when you are trying to do something innovative or hard or simply convert bigger scanned STL into solid body.
Anyone watching this, I have one thing to say..... Make it. Make it out of steel, aluminum, plastic. Get ahold of an actual mill\lathe (CNC or Manual) and make it. Drawing graphics is one thing. Making it into an actual product is another. Great video!
I am designing parts for 3D printing but coming at this from a different direction than you.
I am a Mechanical Design Engineer with 20 years experience. So my goal was to find a free or low cost modeling program that was the closest to softwares like Solidworks, and Autodesk Inventor.
I tried Blender, Shapr3d, TinkerCAD, and a few other free options and they were so different than what I was used to that it was amost worse than a new user trying to learn the software from scratch. I hard to unlear how I have been doing things for 20 years, then learn how to use these other programs. Blender was the most foreign.
So Autodesk Fusion was the program that most closely duplicates the softwares I know. So it is what I use.
You are comparing apples and pairs here. The Design Part is only like 25% of what Fusion can do. It is also a fully capable CAM software, you can do generative design with force calculations and a new feature is it can automatically generate manufacturing drawings. So yea if you are just using the cad portion it might be expensive. But your title that plasticity is much better than Fusion is just plain wrong.
PAIRS? That's a FUNNY way to spell ORANGES!
@@palewriter1856 Or pears. LOL
you would be shocked when you will discover Rhino
Rhino can't do parametric modeling and even with grasshopper it's still pathetic compared to actual CAD used in production.
How on earth is Autodesk going to know if you start making more than 1k in sales? Genuinely, they won't.
F around and find out, Oracle-style.
Really well put together video, well done!
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it!
the title should sound "I found a cheaper CAD Software than the fusion 360"
guys,if you wanna create models that are like in real life gadgets i would recommend the fusion or plasticity but if you wanna create things like toys that are detailed i would recommend blender because sculping in blender is super easy and it will look great too
Thank you for this comment. Blender, here I go!
I'm exactly in the same boat as you described. I decided to stick with Fusion (personal) considering the power of it's features. At the same time, I'm also hoping my CAD learned skills will not be lost should if something equivalent/cheaper comes along.
I have thought about switching to freecad, however it has a brutal learning curve (like blender)
The history-based parametric modeling feature in Shapr3D was announced in July 2023 and was officially released out of beta in April 2024.
Yep, I'm glad they added it.
I've been using Cinema 4D for Modeling, Mograph, and images for well over a decade. but im unemployed and I dont have the money nor could I justify purchasing Cinema 4D anymore, let alone all the plugins etc. Many people are having great results with Blender so I too am learning Blender for Art. However, I just got my first 3D Printer Bambu P1 with AMS) so im super excited to learn Blender now. I hope I can do it all in a blender. yes, its a steep learning curb but thats a good thing because it means the software is so diverse and capable. I am intimidated, but I was but Cinam 4D too in the beginning. all the top 3D modeling and motion graphics apps are deep and steep.
I love this license model where you pay a certain price, get updates within a certain time frame, including major updates, and after that, you can just continue to use the last version that came out within that time frame.
In 2023, I switched from Ableton to Bitwig and they have it too. Every software should be sold like that and then JUST AS AN OPTION you also have a subscription you could get for just a short time. I would even say that when you subscribe, you own the software as soon as you paid as much as it would cost to buy. Well, fine, perhaps just a little bit more.
I agree. I love that you own the product and can continue using the previous version after the updates run out. Its nice to have a choice to upgrade or not.
I’m a cnc machinist and I’ve learned on mastercam so I use mastercam design for my 3D prints. You can get one license for free every year for the current version. Personally I find it pretty easy to use, it’s got a lot of options to use once you learn them. I’m just a beginner but mastercam design seems to work pretty well for 3D modeling for a cam software.
I use Solid Edge for non business projects. Woks good for me. For sculpt and fix after scanning objects i use blender. All i need...
Although the video does not go directly to the point I liked it, thank you. I'm a complete beginner and I understand the experience of not finding a single software that suits me. It's not as when I was learning music production and there are many free good options.
Thanks for this video. I also not pay software every year it doesn’t matter how much is it.
I had the same problem with many others software like Adobe, they start this type of payment back ago. I refuse to do it.
👊
Yeah, its a shame the subscription model is becoming all to common. Hopefully the trend will start shifting. Thank you for watching!
I haven't done much direct modeling before, but plasticity seems like a really cool program. Definitely going to check it out!
Well written and voice-overed origin story :) Editing and camera angles as well.
Don't know about this guys CAD skills but, his cinematography, writing and story line skills are superb!!!
Thank you!
I'm an old guy from way back.
Old CATIA (version 4) was the best CAD/CAM package I've ever worked with.
It's too bad that version 5 turned it into a byzantine quagmire.
Former Autodesk devotee, here, telling you that the quality of their products does not equal the cost, the resource-intensity on your workstation, nor headaches you suffer. I am so glad other products are taking that company's market share. They do not offer the same quality they once did and it saddens me to say it. Fusion is just another example of what could be a great product at a more reasonable price. I have not used it since its inception, but I did not like how convoluted storing files to my local machine was. I was (STUNNED!) unaware of it's $1000 limit. That is absurd! If I used a saw and wood to produce a primitive piece of furniture and the maker of the saw limited how much of these pieces I may sell, I would chuck the saw in the garbage. It is just a tool. Well, if the saw were as expensive as Fusion, I would try to resell it. Nope, can't do that. I would never by that brand again. I hope Autodesk C-suite will one day read this comment when they find themselves unemployed.
The editing is similar to Siemens NX or Solid Edge in Synchronous mode, but those are fully parametric (both have free editions) and can be combined with history-based modelling. Plasticity is adding dimensioning now giving some parametric behaviour but it will be interesting to see if it ever gets near the big boys for full parametric behaviour. What people are talking about Plasticity lacking is actually history-based modelling, which I'm not sure is on the road map.
I want 6 of the 8 minutes back. What a preframing for an ad
"No parametric" *stops watching the video*
I've been using Plasticity since release day and it's the most intuitive 3D design software to exist up to this point.
I completely agree.
I have used Blender for cad models and it is fine. I just set up the units I want to work from and adjust the grid to make sure the units are correct.
thank you! this was exactly what I was looking for!
I'm planning to give CAD Sketcher a try. It's a Blender add-on that is supposed to add parametric modeling to Blender. It looks interesting.
I came here, after I got sick of Fusion360 as well. I made a space tiling for floor boards in Fusion360 to see how they would fit in a room, but just selecting all the boards, and doing nothing, had my 7950x at a 100% CPU for just having the selection up on screen! (not even moving anything)... I'm familiar with Blender so CAD Sketcher will be my next tryout. But yeah for any CAD stuff, I want the tool to be parametric.
I use 'Mudbox' part of the 'Autodesk' suit as Fusion360 . I too have a high end graphic design and gaming PC and the Autodesk product are acting the same for me , just as you describe. So much so that I just don't bother with Autodesk now. Thanks for the intro to Plasticity. 👍
Of course and thank you for sharing! I'm glad I'm not the only one having problems with fusion.
i was a fusion360 and shapr3d user till i moved to linux. both of them are so annoying to keep up to date in linux. found what i was looking for. great video, thanks!!!
Of course, glad I could help!
I was an Autodesk guy, I still use it for specific things... But I really love Blender. I may try Plasticity since it is cheap, it looks like 1/50 of blender capability...
LOVE that you zoomed by Maltz's Psych-Cybernetics! LOLOL
I have been doing the same calculus for the past year-ish. Plasticity looks so good but I just can't let go of parametric and having a timeline to refine earlier operations. I really hope they add parametric and a timeline because it would be perfect, it looks so intuitive to use for 3D modeling. I would buy it in a heartbeat if it was parametric.
My ideal cad software would be Autodesk Inventor but priced like plasticity. I don't care if it is $500 as long as I only pay once and keep the software forever.
Greedy stockholders would have an allergic reaction to that.
The sentence "hopefully autodesk will fix this" pronounced very seriously killed me 😂