Drafting programs are powerful technical tools in manufacturing, industrial design, machinery design, architecture, and other areas. The professionals using them must know ideally the drill, particularly material characteristics, dimensions, producing process and so on. However, there are some sticking points coming with their use.
Nowadays, open-source projects are mainstream, and free drafting software is in lots of cases no less complicated than its commercial alternatives. Many distinctions between the programs make it difficult to choose the right one. Another challenge coming for the ordering customers is to understand what kind of drafting software needs to be used to get a final result. Only after deciding on this, they might choose a drafting studio that uses such software.
In a nutshell, it might be unclear which one of drafting programs will work the best for a specific project. But we’re here to help you. So, here is an overview of top 10 free CAD software that promises to be the most popular in 2021. The selection comprises beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of use.
#1. TinkerCAD
It is an online free CAD app created by Autodesk, the corporation that works out software for industrial, civil, mechanical engineering, media, and entertainment. The application allows building objects from a base of standard shapes thanks to an easy-to-understand block-building approach. One can also print ready-to-go 3D models.
Users can dig out a library with millions of modifiable files to choose from. The drafting program is quite elementary and might seem limited for some architects and designers. It was designed mostly for beginners who have less experience in 3D modeling.
#2. 3D Builder
Among free drafting programs, this one is the best CAD software for occasional 3D modeling. It is compatible with desktop PC and any Microsoft platforms. Users are free to download available 3D objects, work on them and print them out afterward.
The software features a touchscreen interface that allows manipulating with 3D files easily. Besides, there’s an integration with the Windows phone, which has its own benefits. By using the phone’s camera, one can scan objects and convert them into 3D files. Thus, a few photos of the item from different perspectives are turned into images sewed together to reproduce the item as a 3D model.
Another goodie of 3D Builder is that it is compliant with 3D Scan app, which lets scanning in color the person in full height. The program offers a bunch of other easy-to-use features that allow automatic 3D model repair for perfecting its characteristics. Beginners can find here basic 3D shapes and modify them with drag-and-drop functions. After all is done, one can export 3D designs on OBJ or PLY, STL, 3MF formats.
#3. LibreCAD
It is a free drafting software designed for beginners and intermediate users who work with technical designs. LibreCAD offers basic instruments to build and change the designs. It exposes 2D views, so the file’s size is usually 30MB, but herewith it allows isometric views. The UI of the program is intuitive and quite understandable for beginners.
Intermediate users can consider it suitable as well. Since the CAD software is open-course, one can customize it to their 3D modeling purposes. The program has a large community and solid documentation to support users of any level.