[thomasqbrady]

I started using Sketchup in 2005, I think, and got pretty good at it, even doing some paid projects. I found it's approach to 3D modeling intuitive. I have yet to find another 3D modeling tool that works this way or is nearly as intuitive (Tinkercad comes closest for me). I don't use SketchUp enough to justify the licensing fees they've been wanting for many years, now. $119 is close enough I'm tempted, but having to use it in a browser when I'm using it for the purpose of 3D printing does not sound fun.

Anyone have any recommendations for similar apps—i.e. apps that are focused on architecture/industrial design (not character modeling) that don't expect you to do CAD as soon as anything gets interesting?

[Ourgon]

Well, Sketchup itself fits the bill and can be used for free more or less indefinitely. I have used it to design an extension to our house, a 22x12 meter barn, a lean-to for my wife's horses, an octagonal chicken coop and much more. The drawings are accurate enough to use as templates for cutting wood to build trusses.

How to use Sketchup for as long as you need it? The solution lies in using Wine on Linux (or wherever you want to run it) to run Sketchup. Once Sketchup tells you the trial period is over - 30 days for Sketchup 2016, the version I use - you just wipe the relevant Wine directory and re-install Sketchup. Here's a script to automate this whole business:

   #!/bin/sh

   export WINEARCH=win32
   export WINEPREFIX=/home/username/.wine-sketchup
   export WINE=$(which wine)
   export sketchup_msi=/home/username/Downloads/SketchUp2016-x86.msi
   export gecko_msi=/home/username/Downloads/wine_gecko-2.40-x86.msi
   export vblank_mode=0
   export DRI_PRIME=1

   help () {
   echo <<-END
    use: $0 [-r] [-h]
   
    -r: reset sketchup (does a complete reinstall)
    -h: this help message
   END
   }

   sketchup_reset () {
    rm -rf $WINEPREFIX
    winetricks win7
    winetricks corefonts 
    winetricks vcrun2010 
    winetricks dotnet40 
    msiexec /i $gecko_msi
    winetricks win7
    msiexec /i $sketchup_msi
   }
   
   config () {
    winecfg
   }

   while getopts "chr" OPTION
   do
   case $OPTION in
   r)
    sketchup_reset
    ;;
   c)
    config
    exit
    ;;
   h)
    help
    exit
    ;;
   esac
   done

   $WINE "$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Program Files/SketchUp/SketchUp 2016/SketchUp.exe"

[burlesona]

I'm in the same exact boat. I haven't found any good alternative, but Sketchup in the browser is a much worse product than the old free Sketchup app was.

[lancewiggs]

Try https://www.spacesapp.io/

[jitl]

I suggest using an older version of SketchUp with a lifetime license. Outside of 3D Warehouse access, there's not much to be gained from their recent updates. I want to love the web version, but it's SO slow compared to the desktop version, even a desktop version running in a x86 CPU emulated Windows box on my ARM laptop. And the keybaord shortcuts all changed! I can't give up 15 years of muscle memory.

[datavirtue]

3D modelling is a desktop task. I can see using the iPad in the field and when collaborating and maybe swapping some prebuilt objects but going from blank to completed design is happing on multiple monitors with a mouse and keyboard.

[542458]

Have you tried onshape? It’s honestly pretty fantastic, and I think it shows that you can have good browser based CAD that can run on non-desktop hardware.

[pinot]

Downside to onshape is its generally a different use case than SketchUp. I use both for work and almost no overlap in their applications for me.

[greggsy]

The pricing is a bit off, and there isn’t a lot of innovation in today’s product compared to the one from ten years ago. The free web browser version has materialised from Pro license fees, but I don’t use or want a browser-based version.

[casey_lang]

I went with Shapr3d, originally on the iPad but I believe they have a Mac version now as well. I've found it fairly intuitive for my light complexity projects.

[015a]

Agreed. I'm a founder of a 3d design & printing shop; of the three of us, one prefers Fusion, one prefers TinkerCAD, and I prefer Shapr3D. It really distills Fusion down; taking the, maybe, 40% of Fusion that 70% of people use 90% of the time, and making it great. If you need the high-high-pro stuff, it probably doesn't have it; but its so rare for me to need it, and the experience is so much smoother & faster. Moreover its modeling... model... its modeling model is practically identical to Fusion, unlike TinkerCAD or Vectary, so if you need that extra oomph, transitioning over to Fusion for that model has been easy for me.

Its biggest issue right now for me is working with text. For example, sketching text on a model then extruding it to type on the model. They finally, like last year, added a text tool; its bad; primarily in the sense that you have to specify the size of the text upfront, the size you specify means literally nothing with respect to the model (just an integer). So its a dance of "op 20 is too big, lets try 18, lets try 15, ok 16 isn't perfect but fine". To be frank, I don't know how it existed for so long, at multi-hundreds-of-dollars per year, without this basic feature, and I can't imagine anyone involved feels pride in its state today.

It also doesn't have any document sync capability, which is unfortunate because, generally, getting files on and off iPads is a hassle; and Shapr3D's Windows & Mac apps have to my usage perfect parity.

[542458]

I tried shapr - it’s a lovely app, but the free version is extremely limited (only two files!) and $240 per year for the cheapest paid option is pretty steep.

[jaegerpicker]

I'm also a fan of Shapr3d on my iPad Pro it's a great app.

[asdfasgasdgasdg]

I found fusion 360 even easier to pick up than SketchUp, and it can do a lot of things that SketchUp just can't. Highly recommend trying it out.

[dahdum]

Fusion360's parametric modelling approach was a breeze to pick up after struggling with SketchUp for a while. Being a software developer probably helped as I was immediately comfortable with the formulas, variables, and constraints.

[asdfasgasdgasdg]

Yeah I love it. It made it easy to tweak various details of my design after I established the basic shape.

[smoldesu]

I used to love Fusion 360, but I eventually moved to Linux and couldn't use my school's copy, so I gave it up. I've mostly used Blender to replace it, and while their workflows are definitely not 1:1 comparable, Blender can still do 90% of the things Fusion can, with a much more palatable price tag.

[asdfasgasdgasdg]

Fusion 360 is free for hobbyists tho? So the price tag is about the same either way. Although Blender is a lot cheaper if you're doing professional work or need to upgrade F360.

[mardifoufs]

And for students. There is even a little documented (imo) way to use it on the browser with a student account. Autodesk basically runs an instance of fusion360 remotely for you in a VM for free.

https://fusion.online.autodesk.com

[amelius]

Is it suitable for engineering drawings (or just graphics design)?

[smoldesu]

It's a weird middle-ground. Blender's workflow is more comparable to Sketchup than it is to Fusion, but it has a ton of mesh editing capabilities that blow Sketchup and Fusion out of the water. The downside is that it doesn't really account for engineering stuff out of the box, but I've certainly used it to 3D print things in the past.

It's not a drop-in replacement, but since I'm already pretty familiar with the tool, I don't really have trouble making it work. YMMV.

[0x0203]

I've seen some good things about BricsCAD shape; free, similar workflows to sketchup, ability to open/load sketchup models, a couple of more advanced modeling features as well. Comes bundled with the full BricsCAD package which can be used for a few days free, but you don't actually need to touch it. From the little I've played with it, it seemed pretty good.

I've switched mostly to other open source CAD software and use an old desktop installation of sketchup 2017 when I still want to simply "sketch" a quick and dirty model, so I've not really used Brics. I've also heard some people don't like it, but it seems so few people know about it, it's hard to find many unbiased reviews/critiques of it.

[skybrian]

It's not quite what you asked, but I like OnShape for CAD. I mostly do 3D printing. Its approach to constraints took some getting used to, but it's sort of fun in a puzzle-solving kind of way.

It's free if you don't mind all your designs being public. I don't mind since I'm just using it for fun.

[laurensr]

As a not very skilled CAD drawer I went with Designspark Mechanical, which makes it very simple to go from a 2D sketch to a 3D model. I believe it is freeware but does require registration.

[evan_]

It's disappointing that there doesn't seem to be a "hobbyist" price tier. Maybe that's what the "web" product is intended for.