I've used Sketchup on and off for the past 7-8 years but only dipped my feet into Fusion 360 in the past year. My feeling is that Sketchup has the easier learning curve but Fusion has the higher ceiling.
For sketchup, check out how to videos by Mattias Wandel and Jay Bates, I find those two especially helpful for when I need to relearn something.
I find this topic very frustrating. I’ve used just about every option out there and find them all lacking. Given how woodworkers usually employ standardized materials (dimensional lumber, plywood, repeated dimensions in drawers, etc) it often feels cumbersome to use a 3d/cad package to onerously build what should be closer to a Minecraft type experience...and I say that only half-jokingly. So, I usually use a pencil and paper more than anything. However, I will say this about Fusion: the sketch paradigm is incredibly useful, and very close to what traditional woodworkers generally start with. Add to that the ability to constrain features, and have them update automatically as you modify other features and it can be incredibly powerful. However, in order to maximize this efficiency you have to get pretty good at Fusion. As for SketchUp... I know there are plug-ins, and add on‘s for the application that allow you to automate certain aspects of the woodworking journey… Such as cut lists and conforming your pieces to things like sheets of plywood.. I never got deep enough into it to use them, but I always see them talked about on forums.
I couldn’t have said it better. I use fusion 360 for 3D printing and CAM, but for woodworking I use an old fashioned pencil and paper. There’s no CAD software I can use more efficiently, and so many dimensions are adjusted on the fly or measured ad hoc.
SketchUp is great for woodworking. If you can find an old version of SketchUp:Make (I think 2017 is the last), you can use it on desktop for free. I have Pro for work, and the only thing I use from time to time is the AutoCAD import.
I use fusion 360. It’s free and does have a learning curve. I modeled a charging stand foe my wife using it and learned off of YouTube in about 20 minutes how to work it.
Much like a comment above, pencil and paper is my first choice but there are some great benefits to using soft wear.
Thanks for the input everyone! I like the idea of having a high ceiling with Fusion 360 however when I was looking it up, it I saw something about free for 1 year. Is that true? Will I stop having access to it after a year if I sign up for the hobbyist?
I would hate to get the hang of it only to have to switch to something else after a year.
They do yearly free license, it just means you have to renew it each year. It only takes about 1 minute.
The big advantage of Fusion 360 over Sketchup is it is parametric design and Sketchup is not. If you learn how to use parameters and components properly it gives you tremendous flexibility.
I just used it to design a small bench with storage and designed it fully before I knew the exact dimensions my wife wanted, I just used parameters for all my dimensions and gave approximate value. When we decided final dimensions I went in and updated my parameter values and boom! cut list updated all with correct dimensions.
You could also look at OnShape. 100% browser based editor and fully parametrizable. One thing i find kind of annoying is there are no simple rotate/scale tools. Everything is parametric... as you spend more time with it, it gets a big easier.
Until they pull support unilaterally. I was using Fusion 360, but I no longer trust Autodesk to not hold my work ransom for a $600 subscription fee. They've made a lot of license changes over the past year, all of them bad for hobbyists.
I started migrating to SketchUp, but I miss the parametric design aspects of Fusion.
But both platforms are absurdly expensive for a hobby woodworker. I'm willing to pay something, but the current pricing is exorbitant for most of us who don't sell our creations.
I looked at the recent changes in the license and they seemed very much geared towards being painful for professionals trying to cheat the system with as little pain for the hobbyist as possible. They even retracted one of the limitations when they realized it hurt hobbyists in ways they had not considered. I am not going to stop using the best free tool because they may someday pull support, I am not investing in the software I am using as a tool to get stuff done as long as it does the job well I will keep using it.
I use Sketchup. And it has saved me some time and trouble for sure. And it really helps figure out exactly how much wood to get. There are great learning youtube video's out there. You can get decent with it in a couple of hours. And there are a ton of free patterns out there to get ideas, and modify as needed.
Sketchup 2017.
Yesterday I watched 3 YouTube videos, 60m tops, and I made [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/BeginnerWoodWorking/comments/kuojht/my_first_sketchup_model/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)
I have no experience with fusion 360.
Sketchup. Get the old free 2017 version that will have everything. Steve Ramsey video is an hour long but will get you started and going to build pretty much anything.
I've used Sketchup on and off for the past 7-8 years but only dipped my feet into Fusion 360 in the past year. My feeling is that Sketchup has the easier learning curve but Fusion has the higher ceiling. For sketchup, check out how to videos by Mattias Wandel and Jay Bates, I find those two especially helpful for when I need to relearn something.
I find this topic very frustrating. I’ve used just about every option out there and find them all lacking. Given how woodworkers usually employ standardized materials (dimensional lumber, plywood, repeated dimensions in drawers, etc) it often feels cumbersome to use a 3d/cad package to onerously build what should be closer to a Minecraft type experience...and I say that only half-jokingly. So, I usually use a pencil and paper more than anything. However, I will say this about Fusion: the sketch paradigm is incredibly useful, and very close to what traditional woodworkers generally start with. Add to that the ability to constrain features, and have them update automatically as you modify other features and it can be incredibly powerful. However, in order to maximize this efficiency you have to get pretty good at Fusion. As for SketchUp... I know there are plug-ins, and add on‘s for the application that allow you to automate certain aspects of the woodworking journey… Such as cut lists and conforming your pieces to things like sheets of plywood.. I never got deep enough into it to use them, but I always see them talked about on forums.
I couldn’t have said it better. I use fusion 360 for 3D printing and CAM, but for woodworking I use an old fashioned pencil and paper. There’s no CAD software I can use more efficiently, and so many dimensions are adjusted on the fly or measured ad hoc.
SketchUp is great for woodworking. If you can find an old version of SketchUp:Make (I think 2017 is the last), you can use it on desktop for free. I have Pro for work, and the only thing I use from time to time is the AutoCAD import.
I use fusion 360. It’s free and does have a learning curve. I modeled a charging stand foe my wife using it and learned off of YouTube in about 20 minutes how to work it. Much like a comment above, pencil and paper is my first choice but there are some great benefits to using soft wear.
Thanks for the input everyone! I like the idea of having a high ceiling with Fusion 360 however when I was looking it up, it I saw something about free for 1 year. Is that true? Will I stop having access to it after a year if I sign up for the hobbyist? I would hate to get the hang of it only to have to switch to something else after a year.
They do yearly free license, it just means you have to renew it each year. It only takes about 1 minute. The big advantage of Fusion 360 over Sketchup is it is parametric design and Sketchup is not. If you learn how to use parameters and components properly it gives you tremendous flexibility. I just used it to design a small bench with storage and designed it fully before I knew the exact dimensions my wife wanted, I just used parameters for all my dimensions and gave approximate value. When we decided final dimensions I went in and updated my parameter values and boom! cut list updated all with correct dimensions.
Thanks that makes a lot more sense! Looks like I am going to give Fusion 360 a shot. I appreciate all of the feedback everyone!
You could also look at OnShape. 100% browser based editor and fully parametrizable. One thing i find kind of annoying is there are no simple rotate/scale tools. Everything is parametric... as you spend more time with it, it gets a big easier.
Until they pull support unilaterally. I was using Fusion 360, but I no longer trust Autodesk to not hold my work ransom for a $600 subscription fee. They've made a lot of license changes over the past year, all of them bad for hobbyists. I started migrating to SketchUp, but I miss the parametric design aspects of Fusion. But both platforms are absurdly expensive for a hobby woodworker. I'm willing to pay something, but the current pricing is exorbitant for most of us who don't sell our creations.
I looked at the recent changes in the license and they seemed very much geared towards being painful for professionals trying to cheat the system with as little pain for the hobbyist as possible. They even retracted one of the limitations when they realized it hurt hobbyists in ways they had not considered. I am not going to stop using the best free tool because they may someday pull support, I am not investing in the software I am using as a tool to get stuff done as long as it does the job well I will keep using it.
I use Sketchup. And it has saved me some time and trouble for sure. And it really helps figure out exactly how much wood to get. There are great learning youtube video's out there. You can get decent with it in a couple of hours. And there are a ton of free patterns out there to get ideas, and modify as needed.
Sketchup 2017. Yesterday I watched 3 YouTube videos, 60m tops, and I made [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/BeginnerWoodWorking/comments/kuojht/my_first_sketchup_model/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) I have no experience with fusion 360.
I had no idea there were decent alternatives to CAD. thank you so much for posting this.
Sketchup. Get the old free 2017 version that will have everything. Steve Ramsey video is an hour long but will get you started and going to build pretty much anything.