# What is your designer/CAD of choice? **URL:** \ **Category:** High-Quality STL Files for 3D Printing\ **Created:** [December 7, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883 "2022-12-07T21:41:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jason](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/jason/32/6148_2.png) [@Jason](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Jason)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/1 "2022-12-07T21:41:35Z")
Good evening everyone, Looking to put together a list of the CAD programs you all use to create or modify STL files Personally, I use Fusion 360, Google Sketchup (older standalone version) and Meshmixer. What do you all use? Going to put together a list for everyone and pin it, See if I can include download links and the like for everyone to use. ---
**Author:** ![tundra-mountain](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/tundra-mountain/32/6188_2.png) [@tundra-mountain](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/tundra-mountain)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/2 "2022-12-07T22:11:50Z")
i use mainly onshape, as well as having a bit of experience on Fusion 360 ---
**Author:** ![Jason](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/jason/32/6148_2.png) [@Jason](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Jason)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/3 "2022-12-07T22:20:43Z")
Here is an ongoing list of CAD/Design software for anyone to use as a ref, Will update as others are added. 1. Blender - [https://www.blender.org/](https://www.blender.org/) 2. BricsCAD Shape - [BricsCAD Shape - Free 3D Design & Modeling Software](https://www.bricsys.com/en-eu/bricscad-shape#3D-modeling) 3. DesignSpark Mechanical - [https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/mechanical-software](https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/mechanical-software) 4. FreeCAD - [https://www.freecadweb.org/](https://www.freecadweb.org/) 5. Fusion 360 - [Fusion 360 | 3D CAD, CAM, CAE, & PCB Cloud-Based Software | Autodesk](https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview?term=1-YEAR&tab=subscription) 6. Meshmixer - [https://www.meshmixer.com/](https://www.meshmixer.com/) 7. Onshape Free - [Onshape | Product Development Platform](https://www.onshape.com/en/) 8. SelfCAD - [https://www.selfcad.com/](https://www.selfcad.com/) 9. SketchUp Free - [https://www.sketchup.com/plans-and-pricing#for-personal](https://www.sketchup.com/plans-and-pricing#for-personal) 10. Tinkercad - [https://www.tinkercad.com/](https://www.tinkercad.com/) 11. Solidworks - [https://my.solidworks.com/](https://my.solidworks.com/) 12. Plasticity - [Releases · nkallen/plasticity · GitHub](https://github.com/nkallen/plasticity/releases) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSP2CPW2Wfo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSP2CPW2Wfo) 13. OpenSCAD - [https://openscad.org/](https://openscad.org/) 14. Rhino - [https://www.rhino3d.com/](https://www.rhino3d.com/) 15. Grasshopper - [Rhino - Grasshopper - New in Rhino 6](https://www.rhino3d.com/6/new/grasshopper/) 16. Matter Control - [MatterControl - 3D Printing Software | MatterHackers](https://www.matterhackers.com/store/l/mattercontrol/sk/MKZGTDW6) 17. AutoCad - [https://web.autocad.com/login](https://web.autocad.com/login) 18. Catia - [Shape the world we live in | CATIA – Dassault Systèmes](https://www.3ds.com/products-services/catia/) 19. 3D Slash - [3D Slash - a 3D piece of cake](https://www.3dslash.net/index.php) 20. Solid Edge - [SolidEdge](https://solidedge.siemens.com/en/) 21. Microsoft 3D Builder - [3D Builder - Official app in the Microsoft Store](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/3d-builder/9WZDNCRFJ3T6?gl=&hl=) ---
**Author:** ![VagabondElf](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/vagabondelf/32/4936_2.png) [@VagabondElf](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/VagabondElf)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/4 "2022-12-08T18:09:38Z")
I use F360. Partly because it’s popular with the Astromech Builders Club so there’s lots of things available in .f3d format, but it also was an interface I could actually understand. I’ve tried various “modeling” programs in the past, and they never really made sense to me, but F360 does. Maker’s Muse having a lot of videos on it helped too - I was already watching his videos so the cognitive cost of seeking out and trying to understand a tutorial was a lot lower. Searching YouTube for a tutorial isn’t as straightforward as it sounds; there’s an effort and cost involved in figuring out how to understand what the video is telling you. ---
**Author:** ![Blair](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/blair/32/964_2.png) [@Blair](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Blair)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 5:09am UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/5 "2022-12-09T05:09:01Z")
@VagabondElf - I agree, Fusion really does make sense. It is definitely my preferred CAD program. I enjoy using it enough that I finally bought a license for it even though I still only use it for hobby purposes. I have also started getting into Rhino a bit with the intention of learning Grasshopper. For work I use Cadwork but a few people in the office use Rhino for certain projects. Blender is also on my list to learn in the hopefully near future. So much to learn, so little time. ---
**Author:** ![era99](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@era99](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/era99)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/6 "2022-12-09T13:56:59Z")
I use FreeCAD for all my current modelling. I have used OpenSCAD in the past, and occasionally for some small projects. Maybe one day I’ll learn F360. ---
**Author:** ![Jason](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/jason/32/6148_2.png) [@Jason](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Jason)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 2:44pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/7 "2022-12-09T14:44:49Z")
for fusion I worked through almost all of Lars videos online, He is an absolute master with fusion, I think training is his day job > **[Lars Christensen](https://www.youtube.com/@cadcamstuff)** > > Best place to learn more: > https://www.larschristensen.org/about-me ---
**Author:** ![kitedemon](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@kitedemon](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/kitedemon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/8 "2022-12-09T18:23:02Z")
Fusion and matter control for me. ---
**Author:** ![Andy.wpg](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@Andy.wpg](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Andy.wpg)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/9 "2022-12-14T20:36:03Z")
FreeCAD and OpenSCAD for design. Meshmixer for modification ---
**Author:** ![Rusty](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/f17d59/32.png) [@Rusty](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Rusty)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 6:41pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/10 "2022-12-15T18:41:56Z")
I use Autocad 2022 because I have it. It’s a lot more powerful than needed but I find it works well for me and I’m used to building 3D shapes with it. Russ ---
**Author:** ![Jason](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/jason/32/6148_2.png) [@Jason](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Jason)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 9:59pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/11 "2022-12-15T21:59:02Z")
Hey Rusty, thanks for the response, cannot belive I missed that one… Glad you found our corner of the internet, Pull up a chair and grab a drink, Hope to see you often I added your suggestion to the list above, If I am missing any others, Keep posting I will keep adding. ---
**Author:** ![Sam](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Sam](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/12 "2022-12-16T15:24:19Z")
If someone’s got a few extra dollars in there pocket - aerospace programs like NASA and SpaceX use programs like Catia ---
**Author:** ![Fireman0911](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@Fireman0911](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Fireman0911)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 2:52am UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/13 "2022-12-19T02:52:07Z")
I use CATIA. I use it for my job so it is very familiar. It has all the features to create a 3D model. And convert it to .still. ---
**Author:** ![Fireman0911](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@Fireman0911](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Fireman0911)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 2:52am UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/14 "2022-12-19T02:52:36Z")
Sorry .stl ---
**Author:** ![Tom](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tom](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Tom)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 3:14am UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/15 "2023-09-21T03:14:49Z")
Good evening: I started out with autocad and eventually switched to Fusion 360. I have watched a lot of Lar’s videos and several others as well. When I want to find out how to do something my goto place is youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Loosenut](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/loosenut/32/3612_2.png) [@Loosenut](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Loosenut)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/16 "2023-09-21T18:20:32Z")
Autodesk Inventor. Everyone seems to default to Solidworks and forget about Inventor. great program. SolidEdge is another good commercial CAD program and it is FREE to hobbyists. It is not neutered in anyway but uses a different file format, incompatible with the regular version so it can’t be used with commercial version of the program. ---
**Author:** ![Jason](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/jason/32/6148_2.png) [@Jason](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Jason)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/17 "2023-09-22T16:41:35Z")
HI @Loosenut Totally missed that one. Ive added it to the list. Trying to keep it as complete as possiable. ---
**Author:** ![Matthew](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/matthew/32/7552_2.png) [@Matthew](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Matthew)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 5:20pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/18 "2023-09-22T17:20:24Z")
F360 has always been my goto, When I was first starting out with CAD it was nice because the barrier to entry was low, there is the free tier of usage which strips away a couple of features, but nothing to serious. It also has the cloud saves so I could sync across devices, this made it very easy to model on my laptop while on the go and then pick back up on my PC when I got home. Some of the new programs such as onshape look intriguing to me, but I have never quite been able to get the hang of them. ---
**Author:** ![Loosenut](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/loosenut/32/3612_2.png) [@Loosenut](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/Loosenut)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/19 "2023-09-23T18:54:29Z")
Until the day that “you have to pay for it now”. I have never understood the desire for cloud based software. The companies like it since they can control distribution better but if you are a company that is doing confidential design work having cloud based CAD is a major security risk and don’t listen to the “we don’t look into your files, they are encrypted and secure”. The guy encrypting it can undo it (or someone that works there that sneaks around stored files) and will look at it or sell it. Maybe not everyone but so many companies spy on us with their software it isn’t realistic to assume your CAD files are safe. This probably doesn’t apply to a hobby but could. ---
**Author:** ![JustinJames](https://3dps-assets.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/3dprintingspace.com/justinjames/32/8111_2.png) [@JustinJames](https://3dprintingspace.com/u/JustinJames)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2023, 6:10am UTC](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883/20 "2023-09-24T06:10:00Z")
> [@Jason](#): > > Good evening everyone, Looking to put together a list of the CAD programs you all use to create or modify STL files > > Personally, I use Fusion 360, Google Sketchup (older standalone version) and Meshmixer. > > What do you all use? Going to put together a list for everyone and pin it, See if I can include download links and the like for everyone to use. I appreciate that you are compiling a list of CAD programs for working with STL files. Personally! I use Fusion 360 and Tinkercad. [Next page](https://3dprintingspace.com/t/what-is-your-designer-cad-of-choice/4883.md?page=2)