Title basically.
One of my windows computers, which happens to be the one I happen to do the most CAD work on, can’t upgrade to windows 11 due to having an Ivy Bridge era Xenon (it’s an E5-1680 v2 for the curious, older used workstations are fantastic bang for the buck computers).
Switching to Linux on this computer has been in the cards for a while, but I hadn’t been in a hurry to do it. Looks like my hand might be getting forced…
I tried to make Fusion 360 run under wine and just couldn’t get it reliably working.
There were problems logging in, problems with resolution, issues with fonts and DLL errors. It just wasn’t stable enough to rely on.
I just normally end up using Onshape
Yep. Dont need to fuck and install it on other random PCs just login and use it. Its even for a mobile app, probably better for tablets.
And unlimited free designs. Yes there public but I’m not making $$$$ from my designs.
You’ll need to get used to many new things when switching to Linux. Changing to FreeCAD could as well be one of those
It will be frustrating, and it will take some time to get used to but honestly it’s worth it. If not for anything else then to flex your brain cells and keep them nimble
I’ve dabbled in Linux in the past and spend the majority of my time popping between windows and mac os. I also spend a decent amount of time in powershell/terminal, but largely in the context of work.
I’m not against investing the time learn new things, but time is very scarse these days with two younger kids.
My modeling workflow is often iterative and fusion’s timeline makes it very easy to edit a feature from way back when and then propagate that change through all subsequent steps that reference that feature. You can also add entirely new features and then update the next step in the timeline to reference them. The last time I looked at alternatives this either wasn’t supported or was fickle, but based on some comments in this post that may have changed. I’ll have to give FreeCAD a try.
I think it’s called parametric design right?, freeCAD suppports this but I have heard that there is a bug when trying to edit shapes with filet I think?
Yes, this approach is called parametric design. FreeCAD struggled with the topological naming problem for quite some time, which basically means that internally named things, and references to them, can break under certain situations. Exposure to this problem increased as the thing getting molded became more complicated, which seemed maddening from a user’s perspective. It seems like it may have been fixed in the main branch somewhat recently, which I was not aware of. That’s good news.
They have since released V1 that seems to be pretty solid. Still not 100% but for a free software it is a very useful tool that gets most jobs done
It’s about as good as Tinkercad.
Oh no. Way better that Tinkercad if you ask me. I have already been able to make way more complicated shapes and designs than I had ever thought possible with Tinkercad
I second freeCAD for complicated designs. For simple stuff I use tinkercad which runs from web browser
Personally I’d say go with freeCAD even for simple designs too. Its a great way to learn the software and you will not end up adjusting you designs to the limitations that tinkercad has. Them the transition to more complicated designs will be less painful
Also I feel like it is difficult to do premise placement on tinkercad
Does FreeCAD do CAM too?
I tried it some time ago and it was pretty usable, I reckon it is only better now.
It has a dedicated CAM workbench yeah
Here are some YouTube tutorials for CAM in freeCAD https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaUEbWaf2rhSGcjQK9LYuL4PkV1GzjeIY
And the CAM category on the freeCAD wiki https://wiki.freecad.org/Category:CAM
You could also try installing Windows IoT LTSC.
If you’re going to pirate, you might as well get Windows Server. It runs everything without any of the Windows garbage preinstalled like Xbox.
At this point I want to give Linux an earnest go on this box. I bought a second SSD and will just unplug the windows drive for a while.
I am curious if fusion will support LTSC and/of whatever version of 11 they call out.
It’s far easier to run Windows 11 on older hardware then getting random windows apps to ruin on Linux.
You know where else it’s easy to run Windows 11? In a VM on Linux.
Cool? Not what is being asked tho
If you open your mind a little it is kinda an answer :)
I will not ›:(
Fusion360 has been rated Silver on WINE (windows compatability tool) so you have a decent shot of running it. Silver means “couple of minor bugs, might need tweaks to run but runs well”.
In Linux we have FreeCAD but if you’re heavily dependent on Fusion360 I’d recommend trying a Virtual Windows Machine, Bottles, Lutris, Steam Proton, the installation script posted here and so on.
If you have space for two drives on your computer then worst case you could bypass the windows whatever and have two different OSs.
This, maybe with something with good wine/gpu compatibility like CachyOs. And if it fails there are ways to install windows 11 on IvyBridge
No luck. I use OnShape.
This has been my experience. I couldn’t even get logged in to Fusion via Bottles.
@IMALlama Make some pressure to Autodesk or try alternatives.
Pressure them about what exactly? Making the product for Linux or extending Windows 10 support?
@spitfire To support Linux because Windows are going worse.
lol, good luck with that. First of all it doesn’t really affect them commercially, second - there’s no single version/distribution to support.
Sweet, thanks!
This script is why I ended up learning how to use OnShape. It’s probably much better nowadays, but I could not get it working a few years ago. I needed CAD and OnShape was close enough to Inventor that it was almost frictionless.
So can still use it just not receive support right? They didn’t cripple the actual software just because windows 10 isn’t supported I hope?
Fusion said it will stop working. It’s normally a licensed product, although home users can get it for free. I suspect they have some kind of authentication mechanism built in and could prevent it from working if desired.
That seems pretty messed up.
I’m pretty sure it eventually stopped working altogether when Windows 7 was cut off. I’m like 80% sure that’s what eventually force me to upgrade to 10 but it’s been a while.
Wonder if they are in cahoots? I see no good reason why fusion would want to do this to customers? It’s one thing if they think the support burden for older OS is too great (silly, but whatever I guess) but to brick the actual software is fucked.
Or if like me, you want something closer to fusion or Solidworks, there’s Onshape. At least until it enshitifies.
Got to be fair, since the 1.x update it got so much more usable for me
Yep, very much improved. I recking it will turn out like Blender. It sucks right now compared to some other tools like Fusion360, but given time it will improve and at some point it will tip over into being the default. It all depends on buy in. If a few bigger players get behind it because they can avoid predatory fees and costs associated with using a proprietary piece of software they will switch, invest in their own mods, then drive the industry knowledge standard towards FreeCAD. That will break the hold the proprietary apps have as workers gain skills in the new context, leaving the old proprietary stuff to rot. I hope it is soon, but it will happen eventually.
That’s unhelpful. The person might be a professional in a work that mandates using Fusion360. “FreeCAD is the best Linux supported CAD program but you should try running a VM inside of Linux and see if fusion 360 works a” is way more helpful.
@olafurp sure, I was provoking obviously. Although, I doubt professional background, because companies would just buy a Windows 11 PC without thinking. On the other hand, I could imagine FreeCAD is nowadays usable even for professional purposes. People need to stop thinking professional software has to cost money and/or cannot be open source. So my comment could be helpful after all.
Well yeah, but some companies allow employees to choose their OS. Of course FreeCAD is good enough just like Gimp and Blender are good enough to replace Adobe stuff but sometimes people have workflows built around them or even custom scripts that only run on a specific platform.
You make a fair point but the tone might be off-putting for people thinking about switching to Linux. 100% mention FreeCAD as a fully featured CAD software that just works on Linux but we shouldn’t heckle him for wanting Fusion360.
I mean when I first tried FreeCAD a few months ago I couldn’t get it to function AT ALL. Literally everything I tried to do took minutes to process and this happened on several different PCs. That issue somehow resolved itself and it’s working now but it left me very wary of relying on the application, if I had been on a deadline I’d have been fucked. Never had a problem like that with Fusion360.
If they’re a pro and the software doesn’t support the OS, it’d be kinda foolish to not stick with what’s supported.i
Oh, I know. I am familiar with the fusion workflow and it generally just works - even when you mess with a feature way earlier in your timeline.
I model some vaguely complex things and find that I often fiddle with things. From the last I looked into it, OSS CAD didn’t handle this very well.
@IMALlama well, freecad really improved a lot recently. It may be worth looking again. One problem still may be the many different workflows you can use, some of which may be super inappropriate for complex stuff. I recommend the part design workbench with the sketch feature, combined with a spreadsheet for fully parametric designs. Sketches can now be attached to faces of the object, which is super helpful. Do all the fillets and chamfers at the end, ideally.
It really has. As a lover of FOSS I can say that there still is an order of magnitude regarding usability, workflow and robustness of the models between freecad and fusion. I dislike everything about autodesk and its business model but I have to admit that fusion is also my go-to when I need to model something fast.
@SW42 When I tried Fusion 360 a while ago, it was the other way round. I didn’t really get the workflow and it was crashing from time to time. I have to admit though it was in a VM and it was the free version only (not sure if that still exists). So your mileage can vary. Also: if you have not tried FreeCAD version 1.x, your experience certainly is outdated.
I used to work as a mechanical engineer, so I am used to CAD Systems since I started with Autocad, went on to Pro/E Wildfire 2, had a stint with NX and Inventor. All of them used productively within the context of professional work.
Fusion was the first CAD I used for my hobby (3D printing) and it is seriously powerful.
Freecad the way it is now (and I tried 1.0 as soon as it got out) is akin to the old days where it wouldn’t let you work with a partially defined sketch or implied confinements by hovering/snapping to the line. I feel like I have to get out a piece of paper and plan out my model before I begin modeling, while using fusion I feel I can just pick it up and develop whatever idea I have right then and there.
It has gotten a lot better - really came a long way since the previous versions where I tried easel as well for the better workflow before 1.0. I never managed to get the same efficiency and usability I get from fusion, despite really trying.
How old are the old days, I used CATIA V5 for a stretch around 20 years ago and I’ve mostly gelled with freecad pretty well (some odd decisions here and there and some bugs, though a lot of those can be attributed to the kernel). I’m wondering if I’ve just got an old CAD head.
Thanks, I’ll have to give it a try
OpenSCAD can also be fun if you like fiddling with parametric designs.
Hah, I was about to say they seem to have misspelled FreeCAD.
You can install a W11 VirtualBox VM on an old, unsupported processor without any special configuration. I have it running under Linux on a 10 year old AMD processor and it works fine.
Yeah, that is what I would have done. Check out Tiny10 and Tiny11, which is stripped down, but totally functional Windows versions that is perfect to use as base images for a VM. I used the default VM/QUEMU app that ships with Fedora, called Box (I think?). But you could install VirtualBox as well.
There are also scripts to unlock upgrade on „unsupported” processors which still technically work with 11
I think I remember people saying they got it working with this
https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps
That being said, stuff like Fusion 360 changes quite often and even if it works now it might break compatibility with the future update.
FreeCAD has come a long way since with the 1.0 release and the 1.1 release also has lots of good quality of life improvements.
After exploring options such as Fusion360 and SOLIDWORKS I ended up making a free account on onshape. It’s web-based and works flawlessly on Firefox and Linux. I should try a bit more FreeCAD, but lack motivation.
OnShape is just waiting to be enshittified
Freecad has gotten much better with the recent updates.
It’s UI is (obviously) different than fusion, but so are other CAD programs.
Sure, it may not be at the stage where it could be used to do 100% of the mechanical and electrical design on a jet helicopter, but how many people need that level of complexity for their projects?
Better, but it’s still pretty shit.
welp, looks like I won’t be using fusion when I inevitably need some design program on my personal computer again
