What is everyone using as far as free programs to draw with? I am searching for a program that allows me to do very precise measurements, and I am trained using CAD, but it doesn’t have to be that detailed. I really just need 2D, but if the program does 3D as well, I may play with that. I am just struggling to find a good fit. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!
Inkscape.
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I use Inkscape as well, but I also use eMachineShop’s free CAD program. It saves drawing files in a proprietary EMS format, but you can print them out to a PDF file if you have PDF Complete or similar program installed on your computer
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Inkscape is very capable and free, you will likely see a lot of “votes” for it.
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Inkscape as far as free!
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My answers are only partly FREE. More like FrEe.
For 2D, I really like
even though I don’t use it as much as I should. It’s been in free preview for a while and pricing hasn’t been decided yet, but be warned that you might get addicted to it and have to pay later.
But mainly I use Fusion 360. It’s still mostly technically free for hobby use, though they’ve tightened the screws a bit over the past few years, and if you do fall out of the free tier, it gets expensive fast. Nevertheless, it’s such a powerful tool I’d probably keep paying full price even as a hobbyist. I can’t imagine the code behind the scenes to do some of the stuff it does.
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If I had a background in CAD I would first look to Fusion 360.
If I was a masochist I would first look to Inkscape.
If I had any experience in other commercial 2d design apps, I would save up $50 and get Affinity Designer. The few things it can’t do, you can do by supplementing with Inkscape.
The UX in Inkscape is hateful, it’s like they tried hard to make it different than everything else.
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