I ran Fusion360 for a long time on Linux. It’s easy, just install a virtual machine and run Windows on the VM and Fusion on Windows. I got pretty decent performance using a low-end Nvidia GPU card.
Now I run Fusion on an M2-Pro powered Mac. Performance is better now that they have an Apple Silicone native version of Fusion. I keep trying to move away from Fusion360 to FreeCAD but for the kinds of parts I like to make, Fusion360 works so much better. Most 3D CAD works well for “geometric” mechanical-looking parts but I want “all compound organic curves” not only because of the way they look but because with 3D printing, organic shapes are far stronger for their weight. Think about how strong a car hood is after they stamp it with compound curves and ridge lines, comparing that to a flat sheet of the same steel. 3D printed parts are thin sheets of solid plastic with low-density infill inside. Structurally more like sheet metal than a machined metal part. Yes, you can solid-fill the printed part but it massively adds weight. like 3X heavier and does not make the part even close to 3X stronger. The best strength to weight is if you follow the example of car body designers. So can you design car bodies with FreeCAD? I find it easier with Fusion360. Still, I’d like to transition away from Autodesk. I’m making robot parts. These are very much like the case for a handheld battery powered drill. Smooth and free-form curved on the outside but inside are gears and other machined mechanical parts and printed circuit cards. I recently bought an iPad and will eventually learn to do CAD work on the iPad using the pencil interface. It seems to have a learning curve. The pencil seems to be a very good user interface tool for creative work of all kinds but it also seems to be a skill that will only come with practice. My Vision (a dream) is to be able to sketch an object with a pencil, maybe it looks like a dog’s leg, then send the design to CAM and have it manufactured in a combination of metal and plastic. Next up is to try OnShape in a browser on the iPad. > On Dec 1, 2023, at 9:39 AM, Thaddeus Waldner <thadw...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Yeah, I saw this after I posted. I use an educational account. > > Cheapest option that works appears to be “startup” at $150/3 years. > > _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
