Week 2 - Computer-Aided Design

First of all, I'm sorry to present you these documents in French but they're the one I use in my Fablab to teach 3D modeling.
I will translate them soon but waiting for that, I hope you could use them dor your projects.

These slides present two 3D modeling parametric software mainly used for mechanical design (as SolidWorks do).

• FREECAD

The first one, FREECAD is a parametric 3D modeler made primarily to design real-life objects of any size. Parametric modeling allows you to easily modify your design by going back into your model history and changing its parameters. FreeCAD is open-source and highly customizable, scriptable and extensible.
FreeCAD is multiplatfom (Windows, Mac and Linux), and reads and writes many open file formats such as STEP, IGES, STL, SVG, DXF, OBJ, IFC, DAE and many others.

• ONSHAPE

The second one, ONSHAPE, is also a parametric 3D modeler like FREECAD but with a huge particularity ... everything work on the cloud ! Okay, it could be a problem if you feel really concerned with the confidentiality of your files. This problem out, this application is extremely powerful (more than FREECAD) and could be your favorite 3D modeler tool.
One bonus is that you can modify your files on Tablet or Smartphone (when you are with your customer for example).