Login
If you have any trouble logging in to your account, contact us.
Sign Up
To start 3D printing or Laser Cutting, you'll need to create an account here. Once done, you'll be able to upload your files and get live quotes of yours parts
Already have an account? Log In
3D modeling software are useful for many different applications and could be a great asset for your business. It is a real advantage to develop your project, and it can be used for architectural projects, in the medical field, or even in the fashion sector. Everything is possible. In this blog post we are going to see how a 3D modeling program could help you in your daily work and what an open-source software exactly is. Then, we will see what are the best available open-source CAD software in order to help you find the right CAD tool for your company.
3D modeling software could be useful for your company for diverse applications. It can be used by engineers or designers, and even by amateurs. It is becoming a convenient and essential tool to work on designs, prototypes, or to produce 3D printed parts. You can use it to 3D model your parts in order to 3D print them, or just for the visualization of your projects.
Do you need to improve your design process or want to elaborate industrial designs?
These kinds of programs are particularly convenient if you are looking for a new prototyping process. Indeed, prototyping is becoming quite simple while using 3D modeling software and additive manufacturing. You can do many iterations at a lower cost, and you just have to modify your CAD model if you need to change something.
3D modeling software could also be a good solution to get a better visualization of your project or to improve your product design. From technical drawings to advanced 3D models for mechanical engineering, everything is possible if you choose the right CAD tool. We know that there is necessarily a software on the market that will fit your needs, and it may be an open-source software!
Open-Source software has a free public code that can be downloaded and modified by developers. It can be great if you want to add features to specific software in order to improve it and adapt it to the use of your business. All the community can participate in the software development, anyone can write an extension to make the software better. It clearly has a collaborative aspect.
There are various open-source CAD software programs available, that you can download for free. You can use them to create and modify your 3D models and develop your professional projects. Are you interested in starting 3D modeling with open-source CAD software? Let’s see what the best programs are for your business.
If you are looking for an open-source software for chara-design: you have to try Makehuman! It has an intuitive interface, and perfect software tools for beginners. It is allowing you to use parametric modeling to create your characters, and to work on body proportion, faces, eyes, etc. This software offers a lot of possibilities, but you will not be able to create realistic 3D models with this CAD program
OpenFX is a 3D modeling software, it has a powerful feature set. This open source software is majoritarly used for chara-design. OpenFX is a flexible program, offering you a lot of possibilities in terms of chara-design. For example, you can make good skeleton structures and skinning with this 3D software. You can even simulate actions with the character that you’ve created, to see how your design reacts.
MolView is a molecular modeling software. It is a free web-application, with a steep learning curve, so it is possible to use it even if you have no previous CAD experience. This open-source program allows to create various projects such as structural formulas, simulation of proteins, etc.
You can watch the video below to get more information about this software:
Open VSP (Vehicle Space Pad) is an open-source software for aircraft. It has been developed by NASA. This is a serious and intuitive tool that will allow you to create CAD models easily and create accurate designs and mechanical overview for all your aircraft projects.
If you are just getting started, here is a tutorial for you to discover the basic CAD software options of OpenVSP:
We hope that this top will help you to find the perfect open-source CAD software for your project. If you already have a 3D model, and want to try additive manufacturing, you can upload your 3D model right now on our online 3D printing service. You will access our 3D printers, allowing you to create amazing 3D printing projects.
If you want to read more about 3D modeling software and 3D printing, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter.
Get the latest 3D printing news delivered right to your inbox
Subscribe to our newsletter to hear about the latest 3D printing technologies, applications, materials, and software.