3D mechanical design software 2025: Which is the best for mold making in ceramics?

Tuesday 5th November 2019

insight-live.com/glossary/309">CAD software and 3D printing are a potential revolution in vessel mold-making for ceramics (3D modelling is another topic). But there are two big problems: There is no way a potter, hobbyist or even small manufacturer can afford the typical software cost. While it is true most have free or low-cost trial or hobby versions, the strings attached are deal breakers. The second problem is the complexity of learning - that can be a bigger obstacle than cost.

Until the recent price increase, Fusion 360 seemed to be exactly what was needed. A great way to on-board the CAD world, using the free version and its great learning resources and best-in-class user interface. It is new and modern, a YouTube star. It is fully parametric supporting constraints and a timeline. True, it can choke on more complex drawings on consumer computers, but we don’t need to do those. But, for commercial use, it costs $680/yr. But that is cheap compared to some others! Upon discovery of the capability, the cost might be doable for you.

Here are the ones you likely cannot afford (and maybe don't want):
-OnShape runs in your browser, in our testing it looks really good. Free-version drawings are public (but no other restrictions). Going private costs $1500/yr!
-Rhino is usable for CAD but is polygonal and targeted at modelling. It is not fully parametric and does not have a traditional timeline (however Rhino+Grasshopper is life-changing for geeks, both for CAD and modelling). $1000 to buy but upgrading is $500+.
-Solidworks is a long-time proven product, it is fully parametric with editable history. Runs on Windows only (or the xDesign product runs in a browser like OnShape). It is low cost for hobby use (but the restriction of not being able to save or open the commercial SolidWorks file format is a potential deal-breaker for hobbyists). For commercial use: $2600/yr in 2025.

Some upcoming possibilities:
-FreeCAD is becoming more viable. It is parametric, has constraints and exports and imports popular formats (but with lots of issues). Its model tree is equivalent to the Fusion 360 timeline, but more clunky and depends on careful setting of constraints. The learning curve right now puts it out of practical reach of most. But a capital injection, like Blender got, is coming.
-Shapr 3D costs $299/yr, also works on iPad (which Fusion 360 does not), and uses the Parasolid engine like OnShape and SolidWorks. But it seems to be targeted at being intuitive for conceptual modeling and quick prototyping for drawings that are finalized in other products (limited support for accurate feature placement, constraints, parametrics and boolean operations).

Pages that reference this post in the Digitalfire Reference Library:

Getting a consultant on Upwork, CAD tools vs modelling tools, SOLIDWORKS for Makers, AstoCAD parametric CAD is built on top of FreeCAD, Fusion 360 Parametric 3D CAD software, FreeCAD parametric CAD software, OnShape parametric cloud-native CAD software, Shapr 3D Parametric CAD modelling software, 3D Modeling, 3D Design, 3D-Printing, Drawing the Same Mold Using Fusion 360 and OnShape

This post is one of thousands found in the Digitalfire Reference Database. Most are part of a timeline maintained by Tony Hansen. You can search that timeline on the home page of digitalfire.com.