Best Office Package Software Packages And

Its user interface and concepts are similar to AutoCAD, so if you have experience with that tool, this should be easy to get familiar with.

Former Lifewire Writer James Coppinger has 25 years experience in the CAD industry as well as mechanical, architectural, and civil engineering experience.

Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25 years experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.

Everyone loves to get something for free, but if that something doesnt do what its supposed to.

On the other hand, if its free and its just what youre looking for, its like finding money in the street.

Best Office Package Software Packages And

If youre looking for basic CAD software packages and do not need highly technical functionality, you likely will find all you need, and maybe more, in one of these four quality packages that you can download for free.

AutoCAD, the heavy hitter of the CAD industry, offers a free, fully functional version for download to students and faculty.

The only limitation on the software is a watermark on any plots you generate, designating that the file was created with a non-professional version.

Not only does Autodesk offer its base AutoCAD package free, but it also offers free licenses for almost its entire suite of AEC vertical packages, such as Civil 3D AutoCAD Architecture, and AutoCAD Electrical.

If youre looking to learn CAD or just do some personal design work, this is absolutely the way to go.

SketchUp was originally developed by Google and was one of the greatest free CAD packages ever put on the market.

Trimble has enhanced it and developed it further and now offers a slew of related products.

Its SketchUps free web-based version has plenty of power, but if you need additional functionality, you can buy SketchUp Pro and pay a hefty price tag.

The interface makes it easy to get up to speed on the basics.

Even if youve never done any CAD work or 3D modeling before, you can pull together some really nice presentations in minutes.

Of course, if youre looking to put out detailed designs with accurate sizing and tolerances, youll need to spend some time learning the ins and outs of the program.

The company no longer develops Sketchup Make, its free desktop software, but you can download it from Trimbles archives.

FreeCAD is a serious Open Source offering that supports parametric 3D modeling, which means you can modify your design by going back into your model history and changing its parameters.

The target market is mostly mechanical engineers and product design, but its got a lot of functionality and power that anyone would find attractive.

Like many open-source products, it has a loyal base of developers and can compete with some of the commercial heavy hitters because of its ability to create real 3D solids, support for meshes, 2D drafting and lots of other features.

Further, its customizable and is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, and several Linux distributions, like Ubuntu, and Fedora.

Another Open Source offering, LibreCAD is a high-quality, 2D-CAD modeling platform.

LibreCAD grew out of QCAD, and, like FreeCAD, has a large, loyal following of designers and customers.

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