Picking Your CAD Stack

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Pick a depth. Each prompt opens in your AI pre-loaded with the lesson. Click a row to preview the prompt.

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Why this matters

Most builders don't use just one CAD tool. They use 2-3, picking the right one for each task. Setting up this 'CAD stack' early saves time switching between tools and helps you build muscle memory in the right places.

Demo

Building a CAD stack.

Try it yourself

Pick your CAD stack: primary, secondary, tertiary tools.
Install at least one. Watch 30 minutes of tutorial.
Design a simple part in each. Compare workflows.

References

THE HOBBYIST STACK (most common): PRIMARY: Fusion 360 (personal license) Use for: 90% of designs. Mechanical, parametric, assemblies, anything with dimensions. SECONDARY: Tinkercad Use for: quick 5-minute fixes, brainstorming, teaching kids. TERTIARY: Blender Use for: organic shapes, decorative pieces, when Fusion can't make smooth curves. THE OPEN-SOURCE STACK: PRIMARY: FreeCAD Use for: all parametric work. Slightly steeper curve but free + open. SECONDARY: OpenSCAD Use for: parametric customizable designs (e.g., box generators). TERTIARY: Blender Use for: organic shapes. THE TEAM/COLLABORATION STACK: PRIMARY: OnShape Use for: parametric CAD with team review and version control. SECONDARY: Tinkercad (for quick mockups) THE PROFESSIONAL STACK: PRIMARY: SolidWorks or Inventor Use for: complex mechanical design + simulation. SECONDARY: Fusion 360 (for CAM/production) THE BUDGET STUDENT STACK: PRIMARY: Tinkercad (free, browser) + OnShape (public docs, free) + FreeCAD (free, open-source backup) All free, all parametric. Start with Tinkercad, graduate to OnShape, fallback to FreeCAD. DECISION FACTORS: Cost: Tinkercad: $0 Fusion personal: $0 (1-year renewable; commercial requires paid) OnShape public: $0 (designs are public) FreeCAD: $0 Blender: $0 Fusion paid: $545/year SolidWorks: $4000+/year Learning curve: Tinkercad: 10 minutes OnShape, Fusion 360: 10-40 hours to be productive FreeCAD: 20-60 hours Blender: 30-100 hours (organic sculpting is its own world) Community: Fusion 360: largest community + tutorials OnShape: growing FreeCAD: passionate but smaller Blender: massive (but mostly for game/film, not 3D printing) Long-term: Fusion 360: subject to Autodesk's licensing changes (renewal terms changed before) FreeCAD: open-source; you own your designs forever OnShape: cloud-only; if PTC changes policy, you might lose access YOUR PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION: Start with Tinkercad (10 minutes). Graduate to OnShape (public docs, browser-based, no install) OR Fusion 360 (free personal). Add Blender if you do figurines or organic shapes. Add OpenSCAD if you want to ship parametric customizers. Add FreeCAD as backup if vendor changes worry you. FILE COMPATIBILITY: Most tools can import/export STEP (the universal CAD format). STL is universal but loses dimensional precision (mesh). Plan: design in your primary CAD; export STEP for sharing; export STL for printing.