Apr 26, 2020 VariCAD is another decent CAD program for 2D and 3D designs. Even though it isn't free, you get a 30-day free trial version to test it out. For Linux, you can download Debian and RPM packages to try it out. It's actively maintained and supports most of the latest Linux distributions. We share 10 free 3D modeling software programs for the budget-conscious 3D artists. Once you have the right 3D modeling software, you'll be able to produce stunning 3D designs for your online design portfolio —and featuring such a hot skill is sure to lure in potential clients and employers on the hunt for modeling software experts.
Creating mechanical parts and assembling them with drawing sheets may get time consuming and complex. Mechanical drawing software is designed to help the draftsman to get the mechanical draft designed efficiently within a short time. You can expect the software with pre-defined entities to get the design quickly. Following is the list of few of the best picked mechanical drawing software.
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Mechanical Drawing Software
This software from Smartdraw LLC is fast, easy to use software capable of running on any device. Free download apple software for pc. Simply open a template, SmartDraw provides thousands of lines, shapes, and symbols, click and place them into place, lines and text. The software is web-based; you can create the mechanical schematics online using your computer, or mobile device. The key features include quick start templates, sharing your design, exhaustive symbol library, and automatic formatting.
Free 3D CAD Direct Modeling Software
This Creo elements from PTC is very simply designed yet powerful mechanical drawing software. This software if the free version of the Creo 19.0 You can create and modify your drawings in real-time. The software also allows you to directly work with cut and paste, push and pull, and drag and drop techniques. The software is perfect for engineers looking for fast, lightweight and flexible direct 3D software, plus you can upgrade to the premium software when your design challenges grow.
AutoCAD Mechanical
AutoCAD is mechanical design and drafting software from AutoDesk, with libraries of standard-based parts and tools for automating common mechanical CAD tasks for accelerating your design process. The software is free for download and use with the educational version. The key features of the software include smart centerlines and center marks, resizable dialogue boxes, enhanced PDFs, smart dimensioning, and refined interface.
AutoQ3D for Android
AutoQ3D is the mechanical design software specifically designed for the Android platform users. The software lets you create, edit and share rapid models using any android device. The key features of the software include convenient and intuitive workspace, modification tools, snapping tools, grouping tools, and misc tools. The software comes with stylus pen support, openGL and multiple devices support.
EazyDraw for Mac
EasyDraw is the mechanical drawing software for the Mac platform users. The software includes comprehensive support for bitmap and vector graphics format: import and un-group for pdf and EPS. You can also exchange scaled CAD drawing using DXF. EasyDraw has a large set of pre-defined geometries and also lets you create your own geometry. You can get a free demo before purchasing the software.
Mechanical Drawings for Windows
Mechanical Drawings from Delta Software International LLC is the mechanical design software developed specifically for Windows platform users. CAD Pro includes almost all the functionalities of the more priced competitors; including comprehensive libraries and tools for automating common mechanical drawing tasks. You can quickly add symbols and connect them with the snapping tools. The software offers to export the drawing to MS-Office or PDF formats.
Most Popular Mechanical Drawing Software – ZWCAD Mechanical
ZWCAD Mechanical is the most popular software in the mechanical design software category. The software offers abundant tools such as shaft generator, tolerance dimension, surface texture symbol, balloon and BOM and standard parts for Mechanical sheet drawings in 2D. The software has international and Enterprise standard support with ISO, ANSI, and GB drawings. ZWCAD has a huge library of predefined parts along with shafts and gear generator utility. You can also see 3D Piping Software
How to Install Mechanical Drawing Software?
Many of the Mechanical drawing software listed above offer a setup file, allowing an easy installation of the software. Few of the software in this category are web-based, giving you access from anywhere with just one requirement of internet connectivity. Mechanical design software is basically designed to give you a simple and easy GUI to create the drawing easily and quickly. 3D Drawing Software
While some software in this category offer free service for the basic need of mechanical drawing, the number of features gets limited for the free version. If you are looking for fully featured software, the paid ones are for you. Each software offering some unique feature over others, it's the question of personal preferences for selecting one of the best software listed here.
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Use these free 3D modeling software solutions to quickly turn your design ideas into realistic 3D construction models.
Construction professionals are constantly coming up with new ideas for innovative designs, and it's helpful to have software that can quickly turn these ideas into three-dimensional (3D) representations.
3D modeling software allows construction professionals to transform their designs and blueprints into lifelike models and lets artists clearly visualize the dimensions of their building designs before construction is complete.
There are several 3D modeling software tools available on the market, each with varying capabilities. And if you thought that buying one will cost you a lot of money, think again!
We've analyzed over 100 free design software options in Capterra directories and evaluated user reviews to identify the five best free 3D modeling software solutions (listed alphabetically). You can read our complete product selection methodology here.
5 best free 3D modeling construction software
BIMx
Live Home 3D
Onshape
SketchUp
SkyCiv Structural 3D
Note: Some of these software tools are listed as computer-aided design (CAD), but we chose them because they also offer 3D modeling options for intricate and precise designs and are a good option for users who simply want to do basic 3D design without any animation or texture painting.
1. BIMx
BIMx is a project presentation and collaboration software with integrated 2D and 3D navigation for building projects. Its cloud-integrated workflows and intuitive user interface make project management easier for architects and designers working on building information models and architectural documentation.
3D models in BIMx (Source)
BIMx helps users design interactive 3D models of buildings. Builders, clients, and consultants can use these 3D models to give prospects virtual tours of projects before construction is completed.
We analyzed user reviews for BIMx to understand what buyers liked and areas they felt could be improved. Here's what we found.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The software UI is intuitive. | A steep learning curve to master key commands. |
| Virtual tours allow customers to view every dimension of a property even before construction is complete. | The desktop version is less functional than the mobile version. |
How much does BIMx cost? | |
| BIMx offers a basic free version with limited features, but users can upgrade to the paid version for additional features. |
2. Live Home 3D
Live Home 3D is an interior and home design software that allows users to create 3D environments that give the actual look and feel of building interiors. It's mostly used by solo architects and small teams of startup designers working on home interiors.
3D view in Live Home 3D ( Source)
Live Home 3D automatically suggests and generates 3D views of floor plans. Users can either design their own floor plan or import an external image to extract a design and recreate it. In both cases, the software offers users the option of converting their design into a 3D plan.
We analyzed user reviews for Live Home 3D to understand what buyers liked and areas they felt could be improved. Here's what we found.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The software's UI is easy to use. | Not many terrain options are available. Even demo projects have the same standard terrain. |
| Users can choose a wide range of colors and furniture for their models. | The UI could be aesthetically improved, and the walkthrough mode is difficult to control. |
How much does Live Home 3D cost? | |
| Live Home 3D offers a free version with limited features, but users can upgrade to its paid version, Live Home 3D Pro, for a one-time payment of $19.99. |
3. Onshape
Onshape is cloud-based 3D CAD software that offers top-down designs with multipart modeling and in-context editing. It's useful for designers, engineers, and manufacturers who want the flexibility of working from anywhere on any device.
3D section view in Onshape (Source)
As a SaaS-based tool, Onshape uses online databases to store data, eliminating the need for any physical servers and other IT infrastructure costs.
We analyzed user reviews for Onshape to understand what buyers liked and areas they felt could be improved. Here's what we found.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A fast learning curve. Anyone with basic CAD knowledge can operate the software with ease. | Since Onshape is cloud-based, it lacks offline caching. Therefore, models have to be constantly reloaded during poor connectivity. |
| Users have access to detailed instructional videos to understand primary features. | Since the software operates via browsers, designing large models can be difficult. |
How much does Onshape cost? | |
| Onshape's free version has limited features, but users can upgrade to its paid version, which costs $125 per user per month and is billed annually ($1,500). |
4. SketchUp
Free 3d Drafting Software Download
1. BIMx
BIMx is a project presentation and collaboration software with integrated 2D and 3D navigation for building projects. Its cloud-integrated workflows and intuitive user interface make project management easier for architects and designers working on building information models and architectural documentation.
3D models in BIMx (Source)
BIMx helps users design interactive 3D models of buildings. Builders, clients, and consultants can use these 3D models to give prospects virtual tours of projects before construction is completed.
We analyzed user reviews for BIMx to understand what buyers liked and areas they felt could be improved. Here's what we found.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The software UI is intuitive. | A steep learning curve to master key commands. |
| Virtual tours allow customers to view every dimension of a property even before construction is complete. | The desktop version is less functional than the mobile version. |
How much does BIMx cost? | |
| BIMx offers a basic free version with limited features, but users can upgrade to the paid version for additional features. |
2. Live Home 3D
Live Home 3D is an interior and home design software that allows users to create 3D environments that give the actual look and feel of building interiors. It's mostly used by solo architects and small teams of startup designers working on home interiors.
3D view in Live Home 3D ( Source)
Live Home 3D automatically suggests and generates 3D views of floor plans. Users can either design their own floor plan or import an external image to extract a design and recreate it. In both cases, the software offers users the option of converting their design into a 3D plan.
We analyzed user reviews for Live Home 3D to understand what buyers liked and areas they felt could be improved. Here's what we found.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The software's UI is easy to use. | Not many terrain options are available. Even demo projects have the same standard terrain. |
| Users can choose a wide range of colors and furniture for their models. | The UI could be aesthetically improved, and the walkthrough mode is difficult to control. |
How much does Live Home 3D cost? | |
| Live Home 3D offers a free version with limited features, but users can upgrade to its paid version, Live Home 3D Pro, for a one-time payment of $19.99. |
3. Onshape
Onshape is cloud-based 3D CAD software that offers top-down designs with multipart modeling and in-context editing. It's useful for designers, engineers, and manufacturers who want the flexibility of working from anywhere on any device.
3D section view in Onshape (Source)
As a SaaS-based tool, Onshape uses online databases to store data, eliminating the need for any physical servers and other IT infrastructure costs.
We analyzed user reviews for Onshape to understand what buyers liked and areas they felt could be improved. Here's what we found.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A fast learning curve. Anyone with basic CAD knowledge can operate the software with ease. | Since Onshape is cloud-based, it lacks offline caching. Therefore, models have to be constantly reloaded during poor connectivity. |
| Users have access to detailed instructional videos to understand primary features. | Since the software operates via browsers, designing large models can be difficult. |
How much does Onshape cost? | |
| Onshape's free version has limited features, but users can upgrade to its paid version, which costs $125 per user per month and is billed annually ($1,500). |
4. SketchUp
Free 3d Drafting Software Download
SketchUp is CAD software that allows users to design and edit 3D models of interiors, landscapes, and more. It assists in end-to-end designing, starting from the earliest design stage to the end of construction. It can be used by architects and interior designers for different designing steps, such as initial diagramming, design development, detailing, documentation, and requests for information (RFI).
3D construction model in SketchUp (Source)
SketchUp allows users to include lighting effects, texture paintings, and animations in their design models. It also offers a wide range of symbols and predesigned models that allow designers to achieve desired outputs.
We analyzed user reviews for SketchUp to understand what buyers liked and areas they felt could be improved. Here's what we found.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The software modules are easy to navigate, even for beginners. | SketchUp cannot be integrated with other design software. |
| Besides drawing and sketching options, the software also offers built-in features such as animations, lighting, and texture effects. | Customer support isn't responsive, and most queries are answered only via online message boards. |
How much does SketchUpcost? | |
| The basic version (web only) of SketchUp is free, but users can upgrade to the paid version, SketchUp Shop (web only), for $119 per user, per year or the pro version, SketchUp Pro (both desktop and web), at $299 per user, per year. |
5. SkyCiv Structural 3D
SkyCiv Structural 3D is cloud-based structural analysis and design software that allows users to model, analyze, and design 3D structures. Due to its structural analysis capabilities, the software is well-suited for civil, mechanical, and structural engineers.
3D structural analysis in SkyCiv Structural 3D (Source)
SkyCiv Structural 3D allows users to analyze structural factors, such as bending, shear, stress, and deflection. Since the software is cloud-based, it requires no installation and works completely online.
We analyzed user reviews for SkyCiv Structural 3D to understand what buyers liked and areas they felt could be improved. Here's what we found.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A fast learning curve. | Only a limited number of structural analysis methods are available. |
| The customer support team is quick to respond. | The software's mobile app interface for iPhones isn't intuitive. |
How much does PRODUCT cost? | |
| SkyCiv Structural 3D offers a free version with limited features, but users can upgrade to the paid (basic) version at $69 per user, per month or the professional version at $109 per user, per month. |
The final decision: Which free 3D modeling construction software to buy?
Best Free 3d Drafting Software
Our list of the five best free 3D modeling solutions can get you started with your software search, but the right fit depends on your design needs.
We recommend the following approach to make your ultimate decision:
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If you've used or are currently using free 3D modeling construction software that works well for you, tell us about it in the comments section below.
Product selection methodology
To be considered for this list, products had to offer a free, stand-alone version of the software and not a trial version wherein users have to purchase the product after the trial period.
A product was classified as 3D modeling construction software if it contained the core 3D modeling and collaboration features and at least one design feature, such as design analysis, design templates, or design export.
We analyzed nearly 150 products from our engineering CAD software, architecture software, and BIM software market categories to identify these free products. To be selected, each product had to have a minimum user rating of 4 out of 5 on Capterra as of January 6, 2020.
Note: Listed pros and cons are derived from features listed on the product website and product user reviews on Gartner Digital Markets domains (Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice). They do not represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Capterra or its affiliates.
Looking for Construction Management software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Construction Management software solutions.
