Free 2D CAD Program Suggestions

[DartGTDan]

I'm looking for a free 2D CAD program for home use. What do you use/suggest?

Before I retired from Chrysler (aka Stellantis), in November 2024, I used AutoCAD 2021, so I have some background with CAD.

TIA for any opinions!

 

[PROSTOCKTOM]

Fusion 360 is the best in today's world hands down.

Tom

 

[Cuda416]

Free
For 2D, Librecad is decent and it uses dxf files. For parametric modeling, FreeCad

Paid (with free version/access for hobbyist)
Fusion360: It has a learning curve beyond that of regular 2D but with a free account you can get a lot done if you keep to there limits on projects etc.

It really just depends on what your end goals are.

 

[Righty Tighty]

I've been using Fusion 360 for a few years now (both paid and free versions), and I really like it. It can be a little buggy at times, but overall it's a good program.

 

[RattyBarracuda]

Ondsel, i dont know if you can still download, I believe they have shut down. Freecad.

Ive been using the makers version of SolidWorks, the non cloud based version, $48 for the year.

These are all 3d CAD programs, but you can draw in 2D.

 

[krazykuda]

I'm looking for a free 2D CAD program for home use. What do you use/suggest?

Before I retired from Chrysler (aka Stellantis), in November 2024, I used AutoCAD 2021, so I have some background with CAD.

TIA for any opinions!

Take a CAD course at a local community college and you can download a student/teacher edition to your computer...

 

[gzig5]

I started using FreeCad a month ago to support my new Bambu 3D printer. I've been around CAD most of my adult career but usually as an end user, not content creator, so my learning curve creating objects has been steep but there are a lot of tutorial videos and chat groups to get help from. It is limited in what it can do, but that is from an inexperienced perspective. I don't know what I don't know. It's a good place to get your feet wet and will be pretty easy to do 2D stuff. I struggle in 3d getting planes and axes mixed up when trying to combine 2d sketches into more complex 3D objects.

I will start looking into Fusion360 and I'm also going to see if I can get a couple CAD classes at the community college nearby. A lot of my problems stem from lack of familiarity with terminology and understanding some basic stuff and a class should take care of that.

 

[MV8]

I had turbocad on an older machine. I'm using librecad now. I designed a crank adapter and I'm working on a one-piece slant intake/exhaust flange.

 

[72Duster440]

Dan, I'd go with Fusion 360, it's probably more than you need, but it's free for home use. I've been using it to design things to 3d print, it's pretty intuitive if you have some CAD experience, and if you come across something you aren't sure how to do, there are tons of youtube tutorials.

 

[MV8]

The nice thing about librecad is that it is a program (versus an app requiring an internet connection) and saves to your computer instead of a cloud where they have access to whatever you are working on. The difference may be trivial for what you are working on.

 

[DionR]

I will second the idea of Fusion360.

I went to school to be a drafter and have had access to AutoCAD since I graduated in '91 and even though I am now a (poor) software developer I am always sketching things. I have plenty of projects I have done in 2D using work software, but I want to potentially sell some stuff and needed to not use company software for legal reasons. So I went looking for something as well.

I was already using Fusion360 to loft my 2D layouts so I could 3D print them for mockup. But I decided I needed to jump in and see if I could make it work. Not going to lie, the first layout I did was an absolute pain, but I have learned some and the second one I did was so much better.

I just finished this project and hit the "buy it now" button yesterday. The first sketch I ever did was the top crossmember, while the second was the lower crossmember.

And Fusion is free even if are selling parts, provided you are under some gross sales number. You don't have access to strength test it and you have to stay at 10 projects or less, but you can archive projects so it's not like you are stuck at 10 only. It does work offline once it is running, but I haven't played with that any so no idea if there are other limitations. And the models can be archived locally so they aren't stuck in the cloud only.

I much prefer a software that isn't subscription based. I would love to find an earlier copy of AutoCAD like version 11 or something. Which makes Librecad a good option as mentioned above.

In this case, Fusion360 was free so I decided to see if I could make it work. In the end, pretty happy with it.

I need to do some things different to maybe make it more stable and need to get into the sheetmetal side of things. Found out after I got done that SendCutSend has settings you can download to match their machines which might have pushed me to figure out sheetmetal modeling for this project instead of next time. Might have saved me from making the mount too narrow and having to revise it after I submitted them for manufacturing.

 

[jos51700]

2D?

2D?!?

Seriously? That's like putting a carburetor on a horse. Legit curious, what are you doing in 2D that you wouldn't want in 3D?

 

[subcom]

I’ve used Shapr3D recently for some simple flat parts I sent off to be made.

 

[RattyBarracuda]

I will second the idea of Fusion360.

I went to school to be a drafter and have had access to AutoCAD since I graduated in '91 and even though I am now a (poor) software developer I am always sketching things. I have plenty of projects I have done in 2D using work software, but I want to potentially sell some stuff and needed to not use company software for legal reasons. So I went looking for something as well.

I was already using Fusion360 to loft my 2D layouts so I could 3D print them for mockup. But I decided I needed to jump in and see if I could make it work. Not going to lie, the first layout I did was an absolute pain, but I have learned some and the second one I did was so much better.

I just finished this project and hit the "buy it now" button yesterday. The first sketch I ever did was the top crossmember, while the second was the lower crossmember.

And Fusion is free even if are selling parts, provided you are under some gross sales number. You don't have access to strength test it and you have to stay at 10 projects or less, but you can archive projects so it's not like you are stuck at 10 only. It does work offline once it is running, but I haven't played with that any so no idea if there are other limitations. And the models can be archived locally so they aren't stuck in the cloud only.

I much prefer a software that isn't subscription based. I would love to find an earlier copy of AutoCAD like version 11 or something. Which makes Librecad a good option as mentioned above.

In this case, Fusion360 was free so I decided to see if I could make it work. In the end, pretty happy with it.

I need to do some things different to maybe make it more stable and need to get into the sheetmetal side of things. Found out after I got done that SendCutSend has settings you can download to match their machines which might have pushed me to figure out sheetmetal modeling for this project instead of next time. Might have saved me from making the mount too narrow and having to revise it after I submitted them for manufacturing.

Yep. Those sendcutsend parameters are handy, especially on bent parts.

I gave up on Fusion when they switched over from token use on the program extensions to having to pay. I had a pretty sum of tokens saved up, they jacked the sub fee, then they all disappeared. Made a lot of great parts with it though.

To the OP. Free and really good is Ondsel. Its a modified version of FreeCad. Used it for a while before switching to SolidWorks. I dont knoe if it's available, as of today I noticed the website says its done.

 

[Righty]

I'm looking for a free 2D CAD program for home use. What do you use/suggest?

Before I retired from Chrysler (aka Stellantis), in November 2024, I used AutoCAD 2021, so I have some background with CAD.

TIA for any opinions!

Like others have said Fusion 360 is worth looking at, if you are comfortable in 2d CAD, then the benefits of 3d will be relatively easy to pick up, the ability of Fusion to generate files that can be run on 3d milling machines, cNC lathes, 3d printers etc etc is incredible considering it is free.

 

[OttawaCharger]

I'm going to pile on the Fusion360 bandwagon. Amazing what you can do with it.