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Submitted by bgirardot on Wed, 02/19/2014 - 11:15am
Google doesn't own SketchUp anymore unfortunately.
I have not tried the new SketchUp Make version, which is the free hobbyist version, but the standard SketchUp Pro is now USD$590.
I think one of the best applications for starting out with CAD is TinkerCAD, owned by AutoCAD, it is very basic and only useful for basic items, but it will get you started.
AutoCAD's 123D application is one step up from TinkerCAD, but also more useful and a pretty natural progression from TinkerCAD.
Google doesn't own SketchUp anymore unfortunately.
I have not tried the new SketchUp Make version, which is the free hobbyist version, but the standard SketchUp Pro is now USD$590.
I think one of the best applications for starting out with CAD is TinkerCAD, owned by AutoCAD, it is very basic and only useful for basic items, but it will get you started.
AutoCAD's 123D application is one step up from TinkerCAD, but also more useful and a pretty natural progression from TinkerCAD.
I agree 100%, CAD tools are one of the biggest barriers to 3D printing becoming more common and useful.
I think a place on the this site to allow folks to post links to tutorials that they have used and found useful would be a good first step.