

owns and supports Fusion 360.įusion 360 is a professional CAD and CAM package by Autodesk, Inc. Today, we’ll compare Fusion 360 and SketchUp – two programs often debated in the woodworking industry. There are many variables to consider when choosing a 3D modeling program for woodworking. Hopefully, you agree that the chosen CAD package should make your life easier – saving time and money while helping mitigate potential issues in the middle of a project. That means there will be more to learn the longer you wait to add it to your workflow. Parts lists, cutting maps, material simulations, and photorealistic renderings are a few extra benefits CAD can provide.ĬAD programs will continue to provide additional benefits as computers get more advanced. Perhaps you’re testing out new ideas, helping clients visualize what’s in your head, or finalizing a specific detail or measurement before you head to your shop.īoth hobbyists and professional woodworkers find that Computer-Aided Design (CAD) packages provide more benefits than they originally desired. When Trimble acquired SketchUp, it forked the product into several tiers, keeping the free desktop version around as “SketchUp Make.There are many advantages to 3D modeling your woodworking projects. The SketchUp web app is decent and might be good enough for many people, but for a long time, the desktop version was completely free, too. If you want the latest full desktop app, you’re looking at $300 a year for personal use. At the time of this writing, the only modern free version of SketchUp is a web app. SketchUp has changed hands a few times over the years, once having been owned by Google, and currently owned by a company called Trimble. Trimble even warns it might have security problems as it hasn’t been updated since 2017. However, as of May 2022, the official SketchUp website is no longer offering the free version (SketchUp Make 2017) for download. Update, 5/23/22: This worked when we published it in 2021. Or does it? You can still download a free desktop version if you know where to look. Originally released as free open-source software, the popular 3D-modeling program SketchUp now comes with a premium price tag.
