FreeCAD vs Fusion 360: Which 3D CAD Software Wins?

When you’re 3D printing, whether for mass production or prototyping, the software you use is arguably the most important factor in the whole process and can make or break your project. Two of the most common 3D software options are FreeCAD and Fusion 360, which we’ll look at in more detail in this article. Read on to find out which one is the best for your needs.

What is FreeCAD?

FreeCAD is a completely free and open-source computer-aided design (CAD) package—its source code is available under an LGPL-2.0 License which means it is free even for commercial use. It’s used to make parametric 3D models (those with dimensions that can be changed without having to redraw the entire model each time). FreeCAD’s open-source nature allows users to access and modify its source code, enabling customizations not possible with most commercial CAD tools. It has a computer-aided engineering (CAE) component that can be used to simulate how a part reacts to a load. It also has an experimental computational fluid dynamics (CFD) module, as well as some limited computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) functionality for preparing parts for CNC machining.

FreeCAD’s powerful 3D modeling workspace can compete with many commercial CAD packages, but it does have a steep learning curve and lacks formal technical support because of its community-driven nature (it’s not backed by a tech company). The software is continuously being improved and developed, which may come at the cost of some application stability—nothing new when it comes to open-source software packages. While it works with most open CAD formats, it doesn’t support a number of proprietary formats.

What is Fusion 360?

Fusion 360 is a cloud-connected engineering tool developed by Autodesk with an excellent set of features that assist engineers throughout the entire lifecycle of product development. It has a robust collaborative function that allows teams to work on projects without having to be in the same location. Like FreeCAD, Fusion 360 is also a parametric-style 3D modeling package. It has a wide range of features that include standard 3D modeling, and a very capable CAE module that includes features like FEA (Finite Element Analysis), mold analysis, motion analysis, and generative design. Fusion 360 also has an excellent CAM module that is regularly updated. This software runs more of its processor-intensive functions, such as simulation and rendering, in the cloud. This results in a significantly faster turnaround time to generate an output when making use of these computationally intensive functions.

Fusion 360 is easier to learn compared to FreeCAD, has a modern user interface, can import a wide range of proprietary file formats, and has a large, active user community. Multiple subscription models are also available at different price points. However, the pricing can get complicated, as Fusion 360 makes use of a token system to access some of its more advanced CAE and CAM features. For example, some types of FEA simulations will require more tokens to run and therefore cost more money. Fusion 360 does have free versions, but these have relatively limited capabilities when compared to the paid versions.