SolidWorks vs. Fusion360

[EOsteam]

I am at that point where it is probably time to start learning how to CAD and CAM. I am looking to get started with one of the above applications. As an EAA member I can download SolidWorks but apparently Fusion360 is also available without charge to folks like me. Which to choose? Our local community college has no courses to offer so online learning and good tutorials are a must.

If some of you out there in the hinterlands have experience with one or both programs it would be hugely helpful to hear your opinions.

Thanks!

Harper

[earlgo]

Hello: I used Solidworks for 15 years at a consulting engineering firm and at a division of GE. I really liked it and to me it was sort of intuitive. One of the things I liked about it was that the dimensions one uses to make the model show up on the drawing. For instance if one draws a "turned" part in a RIGHT plane and rotates it about the centerline, the drawing shows the profile and the dimensions used to generate it. Like the other programs, adding dimensions to a model adjusts the size of the model appropriately so one can, for instance, draw any size box and dimension it and it will be right sized.
Since I as a private user cannot afford the price of SolidWorks, I have been using Dassault's online version called ONSHAPE. It works similar to SolidWorks but is harder to use and does not carry the dimensions over to the drawing. i.e. one has to add them there. Any drawing or model one makes there is public and anyone can use it. However, if you pay the tariff for the professional version it becomes private.
Either one is a heck of a lot easier to use than AutoCad or Draftsight.

I have not used Fusion 360 so have no remarks about it.
--earlgo

[Bill Shields]

I like both and there are benefits to both.

I think that Fusion is a bit easier to learn to use.

this coming from an ex-autodesk employee - so I think i am being subjective.

Fusion is a 'work in progress'...it is having things added improved all of the time...but as a beginning user, you are not likely to encounter the 'warts' for a while.

you can do basic CAM in Fusion. The milling is not too bad...I am not sure about the turning since I have not used it personally.

[Patio]

I have used both, but I am not an expert in anything cad. Some of the models I have made are in some of my posts. I also was an EAA member because of the Solidworks deal they had. I think Solidworks is easier to use, but it is not the full suite of features, that the paid seat has. I use Fusion because it is free to startups making under 100K, and has all the different features. The only downs side, I think, is the fact that it is cloud based. You can save your models locally, also, if you want. I have not used the CAM features. My brother does on his CNC router. I use it to make models that I can generate drawings from, to take to the shop and make parts on manual machines. One must decide which and where to place dimensions, once the drawing is generated from the model.

[Jim_Nolan]

I used SW and its great a very comprehensive package and very easy to pick up. What i didn't like was the $1200 a year to keep a seat. Up to F360 there wasn't a good alternative at least I never found one. My cheaper version of SW didn't have any CAM either so i was also paying for that software as well.

F360 is also easy to pick up but its big selling point for the new starter is YouTube is awash with tutorials on every aspect of the software. If your a hobbyist like myself the free version is superb and i can go from drawing to CAM to Gcode to machine in one easy package. They keep adding functionality all the time although that sometimes seems like its never actuality finished as a package. At the moment i am eagerly awaiting text along a path for for instance.

I still think SW is a better stand alone drawing package, on the surface this means its intuitive and easy to pick up the basics. But after that it piles on the complexity to ostensibly make your life easier. That also unfortunately makes the learning curve that much steeper. I notice i have used easy a lot, but everyone reckons its easy if you know what your doing. If your starting from 0, F360 is a great starting point and its free.

Jim

[rrnut-2]

I have Solidworks and I find the CAM package is difficult to use. Also, I didn't pay my subscription "on time" and the CAM add in went away.
For the money, and if you plan to use F360 for the CAM part, then F360 is the way to go. I have both. I draw the parts up in SW and import the drawing into F360 to export to CAM. I find the SW is easier to make the parts in.

Jim B

[RMinMN]

Have any of you used the CAM function of FreeCAD to see if it is functional or has major problems. Being new to CAD and CAM I have problems that I haven't been able to solve yet and don't know if it is a software problem or a soft head problem. I don't like being tied to a company that can make changes in the user agreement at any time and remove a feature that I may need.