I know there are some good intentions and good features in the pipeline, like the Assembly module and true Parametric driven* design capability. But that's not the same as being able to assemble individual parts into a component/product/composite-part. You can of course design many parts and even place many components on the same drawing. mouldingS + screws + bearings, etc.) - and that's not there yet - which rather scuppers any serious use yet. But most real things require an Assembly of parts (e.g. However!!! As at August 2015 it allows you to design a single homogeneous part (e.g. I like its user interface and much about the capabilities so far - though it has a few odities and bugs still. Lastly, THANK YOU.įreeCAD has great promise, but it's young and very much a work in progress as yet. look forward to when it is finished and a coherent user-interface is added. Libre is 2D, and BRL-Cad is more of a renderer from what I hear. It needs a ground up interface resign that was al least as simple to use as Google sketchup, and a simple snap grid of some sort instead of infinitely variable placement and rotation (so you can move something and back to precisely the same position) among other things.however, it is free, and currently there is no equal for free users (all I want to do is review things and make suggestions without buying something expensive). However, I have found it to be surprisingly robust, easy to install, and gives me just enough control to easily review designs from others - excellent steps file import and export, good simple load and save & combine. As many others are saying, the user interface is, sorry, diabolical. I'm afraid I have to add my voice to perhaps encourage the developers (who are clearly genius's), but also to warn potential users.

Freecadweb review