So, a couple years ago, somebody published the 2017 free desktop client of SketchUp on the chocolatey repos, and I managed to snag it before it got taken down. I use it primarily to make woodworking plans.
I’m wrapping up my transition plan to Linux, but I’m not really up to date on SketchUp alternatives. The only ones I know of are Blender (afaik more for animation and 3D printing) and FreeCAD (CAD seems like overkill, since I’m just doing simple cuts and joinery).
Are there good Linux/FOSS alternatives to SketchUp that have similar features, or is the web client the only reasonable option?
I’ve not come across anything with that sort of free form, intuitive (for vector artists) control paradigm.
For functional modelling, I’d recommend a parametric app (like FreeCAD, as you’ve mentioned), though it can be a bit trickier to use. You may feel as if the workflow has some gaps compared to something like SolidWorks.
And I’m willing to learn SketchUp, but it seems to be more program than I need for such a simple use case. I just need to be able to model basic rectangular prisms, maybe apply “difference” cutouts, and measure various pieces/voids.
For basic parts / geometry, I think FreeCAD will serve you decently well. There are several nice tutorial series for FC on YouTube and adjacent platforms.
Def stick to dedicated CAD software for your use case, though. You can technically use something like Inkscape for technical illustrations but I think it would become a bit of a battle. If all you need is 2D design, maybe LibreCAD or QCAD will work?
I really need the 3D modeling. I could do it in 2D, but at that point, I’d almost rather just draw it by hand.
I’ll look at some FC tutorials.
The only good free option for that is SolveSpace. Don’t bother with FreeCAD. It still isn’t usable. SolveSpace is remarkably good for an open source CAD program.
It does have some notable missing features though, e.g. no bevels, fillets, drafts, etc. and last time I used it it had accuracy issues with small holes. But for your use case it’s probably fine.
@Telorand I haven’t found anything similar to SketchUp (or Fusion360) for Linux that isn’t a full CAD and I don’t have time to invest in learning right now. I despise the web client and I’ve just been running SketchUp inside a virtual machine. 😞
Note that normal apps can work through WINE. try to just use sketchup through it first
Sketchup is paid software, the web version is free but extremely limited
The desktop client is no longer free, and I’m not paying $100+ for a license for a hobby. Also, their web client isn’t as good as the desktop version.
I’d definitely try that, but it’s getting harder and harder to find the last free version from non-sketchy places.
I thought you already had it installed?
Ah, sorry. I do, but it’s on a pure Windows install. I’m finishing up my last remaining “like to have” software before I switch to Linux, so I will lose SketchUp when I make the switch.
Just copy that software over? Thats how people install Photoshop on Linux too
I’ll have to see if that’s possible. Dunno what all it installs, but maybe that’s feasible.
I have used Sketchup for more than 4 years, and after looking around for Alternatives to use on Linux, the only thing that can do the job is Blender, it’s not just for animations and 3D printing, in fact blender can do anything you can imagine, if not by itself, then by the addition of addons
Out of the box, Blender doesn’t behave like Sketchup, but it can do so by enabling some preinstalled addons ( like Archimech, Measure it, Precision Drawing Tools, Stored Views, Auto Mirror… Etc ), also there are free and paid addons on the Blender Market
For modeling Blender is waaay more powerful than Sketchup ( but SU is much more simpler and I find myself using Addons for the stuff I can do in Vanilla Blender )
For Printing: they both suck ( in a paper printing use case ), if you wanna print in Blender you’ll need to export to a 3rd party program like Inkscape or LibreCAD, or use an addon
Sketchup printing is just painful, save a view, save the file, fire layout, import view, then print…like why ?!!
Okay! I may have misunderstood what Blender could do. I’ll look into that more
If you’re looking for something Foss the closest things I know are FreeCAD, and apparently there’s a blender addon that adds parametric cad functionality. I’ve found FreeCAD frustrating, but I’ve not tried the blender addon/extension or whatever
Thanks! I’ll look at both (somebody suggested a workbench for FreeCAD).
Get the weekly version of freecad, it’s like a month or two away from full release and changes a lot. As in gets rid of a ton of frustrations.
It’s worth knowing that the new versions of FreeCAD are way better, but that those improvements haven’t made it into the stable release yet (I think…). Also there’s a fork maintained by a company that apparently makes some improvements but has some tradeoffs like cloud saves or something
There was a ton of useful info in this video, if you’re considering free cad it’s probably worth checking out :)
