Hi there, I'm CiCi.

Yesterday I posted a topic: What modeling software do you use regularly?

We received a lot of great responses. Now I'm going to show you some representative comments. Let's check it out!

@HendrikJB Boss: I use SketchUp 2016 because I have to teach myself and I find it hard to master Blender or any of the other CAD software. I'm on my way to being 70 years of age.

@RussianOneWithAGun: Educational version of Autodesk Inventor. When I just started this hobby, I really didn't know which software to use, so I decided to look up what my favorite YouTubers use. StuffMadeHere said he uses Inventor, and he makes cool stuff with it, so I decided just pick this one and learn. Turned out to be a very powerful tool, easy to start, and very user-friendly.

@Scortcha69: Fusion 360 mainly. It's just the easiest to get answers to questions and tips, so many resources online and free :) Although lately, I have been lazy and have just been printing pre-supported files with little or no changes in CAD before printing. Time is my biggest issue now as have a long list of things to print and this app has helped a lot with tips and finding models :)

@Johnathan Cowdrick: I use several, but find myself gravitating toward SketchUp as I have used it for years and my brain likes it best for nonorganic stuff. For anything with more organic curves, I use Blender and am in process of learning Fusion 360. Oh, and of course, TinkerCad for when I need to put a hole in something and don't have access to the original 3d file.

@Muppet365: Like most, I started with Tinkercad and moved on to Fusion360. Amazing software with some fabulous libraries to help build your designs. Definitely worth doing the YouTube tutorials and if you can enroll for their free tutorials when they run them. They also do a free 'university' now and then.

@Gavman: I started with tinker CAD at tech school but I have since used that base knowledge to do pretty well with Fusion 360. Fusion has a steep learning curve to jump into but I recommend thinker to everyone to start by asking if it can work for most projects.

@REasonAEason: Fusion 360 on a learning license. Fusion although difficult to use at first... is super powerful. The full license is pricy. But beginners to the program can install a completely usable teaching version to build personal projects for free.

@JamesTheGreat100: I started with SketchUp and found out that SketchUp does not create solid models. Thus most of my designs would fail. I have since started using OnShape since you can connect to OnShape on any device on any browser and design. The models in one shape are fully solid and the learning curve is significantly less than in SketchUp. My designs are from OnShape.

@user6210489802: I use Alibre Atom... It was very easy to start up with the tutorials they provided. They operate a license-based business model as opposed to a subscription. At $150, I found it extremely affordable and hit all the marks. It outputs to STL, and Dxf for 2d, and automatically generates 2d drawings. You can create parts to combine into assemblies that can be animated on the fly inside the software.

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Featured Comments: There isn't a whole lot that can't be printed!