I've been meaning to try my hand at CAD and designing models to print but I haven't quite made the jump.
One thing that has given me pause is a good CAD program for Linux, does anyone has any good tips for a complete Newbie where to begin?
- Solvespace --- small and lightweight, the UI may be a bit off-putting
- FreeCAD --- hugely improved in the recent 1.0 release, this is a large and impressive system
- Dune 3D --- the new kid on the block, it has the advantage of a modern appearance and UI standards, and the consistency of being a one-man project
If one moves away from traditonal/contemporary CAD there are a few other options:
- BRL-CAD --- intensely old-school, this is one of the oldest opensource codebases
- OpenSCAD --- programmatic CAD, this has inspired more successors than I would care to count (esp. look up libfive and Matt Keeter's Master's Thesis if you are academically mathematically oriented)
For that last, one of the more successful hybrids is "OpenPythonSCAD" which is just what it says on the tin --- Python in OpenSCAD:
which I have been using for a project on the other side of the fence --- making DXF and G-code for CNC mills and routers:
https://github.com/WillAdams/gcodepreview
EDIT: One additional tool to note is Fullcontrolgcode Designer, which to bring things full-circle, is the 3D-printing version of the above: