I’m looking at getting back into CAD after a 25 year break(yes, it’s been around that long, and so have I) I won’t have a dedicated setup for this. It’ll mainly be for using services like Send cut send and the like or having local manufacturers make very small batch runs. Any reccomendations?

 

what did you use last?

out of the almost free stuff, I think onshape is the best, but fusion has better support and larger user group

solidworks probably has the largest user group but always felt like a kids toy to me

I use alibre at home. affordable and does most things I need. catia and inventor at work. both are old, and the interface shows it

 

Thanks for the advice. Most of my experience is with Cadkey and Autocad. Mind you, that was on a -486 machine, so it’s probably not relevant any more.

 

I would like to suggest OnShape. It's web based so you don't need a super powerful computer and free for the hobbyist. The only thing I've found it does not do well are 3d sketches and weldments.