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 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 - in SU - for the stuff I can do in Vanilla Blender directly )
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 up Layout, import view, then print…like why ?!!
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 FreeCAD, 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.
Edit: typo
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?
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.
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
It’s worth knowing that the new versions of FreeCAD are apparently 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 :)
Note that normal apps can work through WINE. try to just use sketchup through it first
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.
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.
@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. 😞
