Is there any way software wise to convert a 3d design to a set of 2d flat patterns? Specifically curious about software packages that might do this. Thanks for any help. I found one but it started at $6000.
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123D Make from Autodesk is free and does a good job if you’re using the right 3D models. That’s what I’ve been using
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Thanks for the quick reply.
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Another good one is AutoDesk Fusion360. (It’s free for enthusiast use, and very powerful.)
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Fusion360 is good, but maybe just a wee bit too powerful for first-time users. 
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Search the forum for slicer software or 123D Make. There is lots to see. This post from an excellent topic gives a good overview and tutorial links.
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I agree, Fusion does having a learning curve but its not too bad when you get the hang of things.
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It’s on a par with Rhino, (or almost Solidworks), if you are familiar with either of those programs. Not too bad, but yeah, there’s a learning curve. 
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I miss Solidworks. I hope they come out with a competitively priced maker version…
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Seriously, try Fusion 360. It’s like a free version of SW.
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I have and it works great! I need to use it on something more robust than my laptop I think to get a full appreciation. Solidworks is just so clean
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I will try out Fision 360. Thanks for the info.
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I’ll have to respectfully disagree on this one. I tried tinker cad and several others before finding out about f360. I wish I’d known about f360 from the get go.
The real beauty of it is that you can start super simple and add things as you need them.
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Solidworks is the company behind OnShape.com (free 3D Modeler)
Tell ya all what… after 25 years of using AutoCAD and cobbling together 3D models with it, I’ve moved into Inventor, Fusion360, Geomagic Design (formerly Alibre) and OnShape… and they’re all heaven-sent. LOL!
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Keep in mind that at the time I was making the statement, I was comparing Make 123D with Fusion 360. CAD software in general is much more complex than Make 123D. I agree, as far as CAD goes, F360 is reasonably easy.
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Okay with that, yes, I will still hand off from f360 to 123make for slicing.
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When you put it like that I don’t think I have much of a leg to stand on 
I like the mental exorcize of doing isometric drawings in AutoCAD but I’d never want to have to use ONLY 2D for drawing
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Not exactly. One or more founders of Solidworks have left that company to create Onshape from scratch. Also, while Onshape does have a free tier they have reduced the feature set in that twice in the past year or so, most recently to eliminate private documents in the free tier or plan. If you use the free plan now, anything you design will be available publicly for anyone to see. If you are clever you can make it difficult to find some of your public documents, at least until they make public documents searchable by user.
If you want private documents that only you can see right now you will have to pay $1200/year (as of today) for the privilege. Effective December 15, 2016 that price goes to $125/month or $1500 per year. Fusion 360 is still free for educators, hobbyists, and startups making less than $100k/year but I’d guess that they will eventually have to start charging even hobbyists as well, or at least reducing the feature set for free licenses.
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I think the original poster was looking for a CAD app that will unfold or unwrap a 3D object into a flat pattern, I am assuming for cutting?
If so , there are a few options.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcXlSD6oOhQ (exactflat)
Advanced Flattening [McNeel Wiki] (Rhino3D)
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Yes, that is what I was looking for. Thanks