Thoughts on what software to use?
When talking about Open Source software, there's a few things to consider, one of them being "What software do I use?"... unfortunately, this is part of where I'm getting stuck. In some cases, such as firmware development for the PIC or AVR, for example, your choices are rather limited and there *does* tend to be a best choice. When it comes to modeling, things become a bit more tricky as there's more options of what software you can use, all with their pros and cons and it's difficult to say what really contributes best to the Open Source model. For example, you can design something in Solidworks (a single license is $4,000) and release the Solidworks file for anyone to do what they'd like with... of course, unless those people have Solidworks, it won't do much good. You could release just the STL file which should allow end-users to fabricate what you've created, but will be unlikely able to edit it.
So, when looking at modeling an object (such as a trigger) and looking at the Open Source route, what software would you think is best? I've narrowed things down to three options:
1. Designspark Mechanical
2. Autodesk Fusion 360
3. Blender
Designspark Mechanical
Pros
- Free
- "easy to use"
- can save the Designspark file, allowing other users to edit the original model
- can export a model to stl
Cons
- requires an online account
- direct modeling, not parametric or history based (could be considered a pro to some)
Autodesk Fusion 360
Pros
- Has free options suitable for open source development
- "easy to use"
- includes other options such as a renderer, drawings, animation and cam
- can directly share links to each project through the application
- can share projects with other users
- includes a version control system
Cons
- can only export to stl
- requires an online account
- no local save option; all of the files / projects live on Autodesks servers
Blender
Pros
- Free
- can save files locally
- no online account required
Cons
- not easy to use (lots of shortcuts, lots of options)
- best for organic modeling, not precision object modeling
Designspark seems like it has a slight edge on Fusion in that you can save the original file, though if you can't connect to their servers for some reason, it'll do you no good. Going with Fusion sounds great, but putting 100% trust in another company to handle everything just seems a bit sketchy. Thoughts, comments, suggestions?