Free Simple 3d Software For Mac
If you’re looking for CAD software for Mac, you’re not without options. We’ve found some standout Mac and cloud-based CAD platforms for you.
SketchUp is a 3D modeling software used for various drawing applications such as interior design, architecture, civil and mechanical engineering, film, and video game design. It allows you to build almost anything from scratch and be as meticulous as possible. The free software is called SketchUp Make and can be downloaded from the website. Aug 21, 2018 The Ranking: 3D Modeling Software for Mac Users The two most used 3D modeling software programs for Macintosh devices are freeware program Blender (score: 80) and freemium software SketchUp (75). Blender is known for its enormous design freedom and its endless number of tools and functions – however, it’s also known for its steep learning.
You’re likely to hit a wall if you’re searching for computer-aided design (CAD) software designed for Mac. There are plenty of CAD software options for Windows—you’ll see many of them in our list of the top AutoCAD alternatives—but only a handful offer support for Mac.
And, if you think you’ll bypass the issue by using a cloud-based CAD tool, you’ll quickly find that CAD vendors haven’t embraced the cloud as much as other types of software vendors have, so the offerings are still largely on-premise. According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle for IT Evolution (full content available to Gartner clients), cloud-native CAD applications still have five to 10 years before they reach mainstream adoption.
But fear not, Mac users. We’ve done some digging and have put together this list of the top-rated CAD software for Mac. Read more about our methodology at the bottom of this article.
5 Best CAD Software for Mac (presented alphabetically)
Jump to:
CorelCAD
FreeCAD
Fusion 360
LibreCAD
Onshape
1. CorelCAD
CorelCAD offers 2D drafting and 3D design capabilities, such as the drawing constraints feature for creating different geometric shapes faster and the push and pull feature for 3D direct modeling.
3D modeling in CorelCAD (Source)
Common user feedback trends
Based on analyses of user reviews on Capterra, here’s an overview of the areas of CorelCAD they like best, as well as those they feel could use improvement.
What users like:
- The short learning curve: Users mention that the tool is easy to use and beginners don’t have to spend a lot of time learning it.
- Compatibility with multiple file types: Users like the fact that the tool is compatible with DWG, PDF, ACIS, DXF, STL, CDR, and other file formats.
What users think could be improved:
- Software reliability issues: Some users mention that the software tends to crash at times.
- Better dimension functionality: Some users would like a better dimensioning feature for more accurate drawings of angles and proportions.
Who can use CorelCAD
CorelCAD can be used by construction businesses for collaborative editing on multiple devices. It offers native iOS applications, which makes it easy for field crews to add annotations in graphics and share files using their iPhones and iPads. Additionally, the tool allows team members to leave recorded messages and instructions for colleagues embedded in the graphics using a voice note tool.
2. FreeCAD
FreeCAD is an open source CAD tool that works on Mac as well as Windows and Linux. It reads many common file formats such as STEP, IGES, STL, SVG, DXF, OBJ, IFC, and DAE.
It offers different modules, including a drawing sheets module that converts 3D models into 2D views, a rendering module that can export 3D objects, and an architecture module for a BIM-like workflow.
3D model of a building in FreeCAD (Source)
Common user feedback trends
Based on analysis of user reviews on Capterra, here’s an overview of the areas of FreeCAD they like best, as well as those they feel could use improvement.
What users like:
- Feature-richness for a free tool: Users mention that, although it’s free, the tool comes with a full set of features.
- Reliability: Users mention that the tool does not demand a lot of CPU power and works well on devices with low RAM.
What users think could be improved:
- Steep learning curve: Users mention that the tool is not the most user-friendly solution and can be difficult for beginners to learn.
- Dependent on community for updates: Users mention that modules ignored by the community tend to become outdated quickly.
Who can use FreeCAD
FreeCAD appears to be best for hobbyists and home users. It’s also good for users who don’t have a high budget for software but still want to tinker with CAD modeling.
FreeCAD could also be a good choice for businesses on a budget looking for a free and open-source option.
3. Fusion 360
Fusion 360 is a CAD tool from Autodesk with design functionalities such as sketching and 3D modeling. It also supports project management with features such as task management, document management, and collaborative image editing.
Document management in Fusion 360 (Source)
Common user feedback trends
Based on analysis of user reviews on Capterra, here’s an overview of the areas of Fusion 360 they like best, as well as those they feel could use improvement.
What users like:
- Comprehensive design features: User mention that the tool offers all the functionalities necessary for 2D and 3D designing.
- Availability of training resources: Users like the fact that the tool comes with ample documentation and tutorials.
What users think could be improved:
- System crashes: Users mention that the tool tends to crash, especially when designing and rendering large files.
- Steep learning curve: Users mention that it can take a lot of time to learn the advanced functionalities of the tool.
Who can use Fusion 360
Fusion 360 is part of the Autodesk ecosystem designed for the AEC industry. This makes the tool suitable for construction businesses that are already using, or intend to use, other Autodesk solutions. Using a software vendor that offers multiple solutions will especially benefit larger businesses that invariably need software that can scale with their growing requirements.
4. LibreCAD
LibreCAD is an open source CAD tool that supports Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. The tool comes with 2D drawing features such as a snap tool, dimensioning, and annotations. It also supports multiple file imports and exports.
2D drawing in LibreCAD (Source)
If you can’t find it, or if this is a previously-uncategorized app, you’ll need to add the new key yourself. (You may be prompted as to whether or not you really want to unlock the file for editing; assure OS X that you would indeed like to do so.)If your app is already categorized in something other than Other, search for the string LSApplicationCategoryType. Open the Contents folder, look for the info.plist file, and open it in your plain-text editor of choice. Mac finder edit app categories group applications by category 1.
Common user feedback trends
Based on analysis of user reviews on Capterra, here’s an overview of the areas of LibreCAD they like best, as well as those they feel could use improvement.
What users like:
- Ease of use: Users mention that the tool offers an intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
- Lots of tutorials: Users like the fact that there are ample video tutorials that help them get started with the tool.
What users think could be improved:
- Software speed: Users mention that the software tends to lag, especially when trying to print designs.
- Add support for 3D design: Users would like to see functionalities for creating 3D designs.
Who can use LibreCAD
LibreCAD is an exclusively 2D CAD tool for drawing and designing blueprints of buildings, layouts of parks, and the like. As a free tool, the solution can be used by small and midsize businesses across different industries, including manufacturing, engineering, architecture, and construction.
5. Onshape
Onshape is a cloud-only CAD solution that comes with features such as document management with version control, collaborative design creation/editing capabilities, and reporting dashboards to understand project status.
Importing documents in Onshape (Source)
3d Design Software For Mac
Common user feedback trends
Based on analysis of user reviews on Capterra, here’s an overview of the areas of Onshape they like best, as well as those they feel could use improvement.
What users like:
- Document version control: Users like the document management features of the tool, such as version history.
- Intuitive interface: Users mention that the tool comes with an intuitive interface for easy image editing.
What users think could be improved:
- Performance issues: Some users mention that the tool does not function well on non-Chrome browsers and has file loading issues.
- Lack of features: Users mention that the tool should improve certain features such as 2D drawing and 3D surfacing.
Who can use Onshape
As a fully-cloud based tool, Onshape is ideal for businesses that need to manage design documents collaboratively with multiple stakeholders. The tool’s collaboration functionalities include document sharing, document editing, comments, and file downloads in multiple CAD formats, such as Parasolid, ACIS, STEP, and IGES.
Next steps
This report offers a mix of Mac CAD solutions—from free tools that can help you with basic 2D drawing to advanced solutions offering extensive 3D modeling functionalities.
If these tools don’t meet your needs, expand your search and check out more options. To help you, we’ve created a CAD software comparison page where you can explore products using different filters, such as features offered and pricing options.
If you’re looking to understand the CAD software market better, we also recommend that you read the articles listed below: |
Methodology
To be shortlisted, products had to fulfill the following criteria:
- Products had to be compatible with Mac and offer core CAD software capabilities, such as:
- 2D drawing or 3D modeling features
- Collaborative editing of drawings
- Products needed a minimum of 20 user reviews on Capterra (published in the last two years).
- Products had to have a high overall rating (an average of at least 4 out of 5 on Capterra).
Note: The content in this piece that provides opinions and points of view expressed by users. It does not represent the views of Capterra.
Looking for Construction Management software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Construction Management software solutions.
The community of 3D printing and modeling may have become much larger in the past few years, but most 3D models shared online nowadays are limited to a few file formats. One of these file formats is STL. Despite its ubiquity, STL files are notoriously difficult to edit. Should you find yourself with an STL file format that you’d like to tweak and play around with, what software should you use? What exactly is the STL file format, and why is it so important?
What is the STL file format?
STL stands for “Stereolithography” and is considered one of the simplest 3D file formats. It’s also one of the oldest, developed in the 1980s and was originally meant to simplify the transfer of data from 3D CAD models to a 3D printer.
A characteristic of the STL file format, which makes it one of the simpler options, is that it approximates a 3D surface as a triangular mesh. Thus, instead of a truly smooth surface, an STL object is composed of a high number of very small, non-overlapping triangles. This technique is known as tessellation and is considered one of the oldest methods of simplifying a smooth surface in 3D space.
By increasing the number and decreasing the size of the triangles that form the tessellated pattern, the resolution of a 3D file in the STL format can be enhanced. Naturally, a file that holds a higher resolution model will be larger. However, the accuracy at which an STL file can approximate a surface will always be at a lower fidelity compared to file formats that represent 3D surfaces using smooth splines, such as OBJ.
What are the benefits of STL?
The STL file format has been widely used for sharing of models within the 3D printing community. They may have limitations in terms of resolution and fidelity, but so do 3D printers. In fact, STL has become such a preferred file format that most 3D printers and slicer software used nowadays have been designed to work with STL files.
Since STL files are simple and have small file sizes, they are more easily shared and downloaded than other, high-fidelity alternatives. In most cases, users of 3D printers can just download a finished model off of file-sharing websites and print them at home. Beginners to 3D printing typically start this way before developing the skills to come up with their own models.
What are STL editors, and why use them?
While downloading finished models is certainly a quick and convenient way to get into 3D printing, some people may want to edit the features of a model to suit their needs. There could also be circumstances when you only need to print a part of a model. Not all models are perfect, so you may even find yourself needing to repair that model you just downloaded.
There are two different types of STL editing and modeling software. The first is based on CAD and is made for general 3D modeling. This technology has been the standard for industrial and professional 3D modeling and allows for extremely accurate measurement and modeling in 3D space. Since the resolution of 3D printers is limited, CAD software is considered overpowered for use in modeling for 3D printers. Thus, although CAD-based software platforms do an excellent job, editing STL files do not quite utilize the full potential of this type of software.
3D modeling software specially made for 3D printing are called mesh editing software. Instead of precise software representation, a mesh editing software instead reduces these objects into shells with no internal filling. This simplifies the modeling process, although the model can be quickly converted to solid objects right before printing. Within the 3D printing community, mesh editing software is considered more appropriate for STL editing.
The top 5 best free STL editors
1. FreeCAD
FreeCAD is one of the most feature-rich CAD design software platforms. Best of all, the software is open source and completely free. FreeCAD uses parametric modeling principles and has been widely used by both professionals and beginners.
With FreeCAD, you can add features, make measurements, and separate components of an existing STL file. Since FreeCAD was originally meant for mechanical and engineering design, it allows for extremely fine and precise edits. However, it’s very difficult to use FreeCAD for sculpting, so smooth surfaces can be challenging.
Even if you don’t already have an existing STL file, you can still use FreeCAD to come up with your own 3D sketches and model them in 3D space. It does take some time to get used to the FreeCAD platform and to learn how to use its functions, but it’s not so difficult to be inaccessible for beginners. One major flaw of the open source platform of FreeCAD is that it can be full of bugs, although this could be easily remedied by sticking to the latest stable version.
2. Blender
Blender is another free 3D printing software that is a little more sophisticated than FreeCAD. It has been touted as a software that can support the whole 3D design pipeline and is best suited for individual designers and small design firms. With a wide suite of excellent features, Blender has been used to for modeling, animation, video rendering, film and visual effects, and 3D simulation.
A huge part of why Blender has been able to extend its range of capabilities is that it’s completely community-driven. Users can introduce new features, make minor or major changes to the code, or implement bug fixes. Best of all, Blender is completely free, even if you use it for commercial purposes.
Although modeling is just one of the major functions of Blender, it has a very rich set of features. You can build your own models from 2D sketches or edit an existing STL file. Aside from the usual features, including STL repair, removal and addition of components, and partial masking of models, Blender has much more advanced sculpting capabilities. With twenty different brush types and dynamic sculpting, you can pretty much generate any type of smooth surface. You can grab and pinch areas, flatten sections, inflate and deflate a model, or sculpt the model like clay.
We wouldn’t classify Blender as beginner-friendly, but its learning curve is pretty friendly. With so many features, it will take some time before you can unlock the full potential of Blender. As far as 3D printing software go, Blender is one of the most comprehensive.
3. SketchUp
The SketchUp software platform, which used to be owned by Google, is now with Trimble but still retains the user-friendly characteristic for which it became famous for. You have the option of downloading the free SketchUp Make version or upgrading to the paid SketchUp Pro version. The good news is that you can use the free version to edit STL files, but you’ll need to make sure to download and install the SketchUp STL plugin first.
The simplicity of SketchUp is its strong suit. It’s very easy to learn, and its interface will feel familiar to anyone who’s ever used a graphic design program. However, this ease-of-use comes at the price of a limited feature set. The STL editing capabilities of SketchUp are pretty much limited to dragging edges and vertices and adding or deleting individual triangles. It has no built-in STL repair function, but you can still do it manually by using the Solid Inspector tool and correcting any hitches yourself.
Despite the limited features of SketchUp, it remains one of the most widely used 3D design software worldwide. It’s highly recommended for beginners. Even people with no 3D modeling experience can learn the fundamentals of SketchUp within a few minutes.
4. MeshLab
MeshLab, as its name implies, is a software platform for editing 3D triangular meshes. It’s also open source, which helps give it a rich set of functions and features. If you need modeling software specifically for 3D printing, MeshLab is one of the best options for editing, cleaning, rendering, and texturing mesh-based models.
You will need an existing STL file to make the most use out of MeshLab. It can combine different meshes of a 3D scan, remove parts of an existing, and automatically repair a 3D model. However, it cannot be used to build your own models from scratch. You can also simplify the triangular faces of a model, thereby reducing geometry complexity for easier file sharing.
MeshLab isn’t exceptionally user-friendly, but their website has several tutorials that can help get you started. They also have a dedicated community of developers that can provide support if you need bug fixes or if you just have any general questions or clarifications.
5. MeshMixer
In the field of free mesh editing programs, few can equal the quality of MeshMixer. Aside from having a huge set of the necessary mesh editing features, MeshMixer is also very user-friendly. It even has a built-in slicer tool so you can prepare your model for printing and send it directly to your 3D printer via MeshMixer.
The development team behind MeshMixer calls it the “Swiss Army knife” of 3D meshes. It does have just about everything you need, so we’re inclined to agree. You can combine meshes, drag edges and vertices, make measurements, smooth meshes, and even do free-form sculpting. The software comes with a couple of automated features that can help identify problems with your STL file such as holes, misaligned surface, and paper-thin walls.
By combining ease-of-use and an impressive array of features, MeshMixer is considered by many to be the best free mesh editing software. It’s only available for Windows and Mac, though, so Linux users will have to look elsewhere.
3d Software
Final thoughts
If you’ve gotten into 3D printing, then you probably have dozens to hundreds of STL files lying around in your computer. While printing them as they were modeled originally is fine, the next logical step you need to take is to learn how to edit existing models. This is best done with an STL editor. If you’re still a beginner, then we recommend starting with an STL editor that you can download for free.
As you can see from our list of the best free STL editors, being free for use has not hindered these software platforms from having excellent quality. With impressive features and intelligently designed interfaces, it’s almost unbelievable that they are free.