A couple of days ago I wrote a post called Why I'm learning FreeCAD. After that I wrote this post in Waves:
Just created a new post. It's the first where I've used ChatGPT to proof-read. Please note, that post was not written using ChatGPT, only proof-read. Incidentally, I've been using Apple Intelligence to do the same. ChatGPT is only slightly better... JUST.
One of the comments got me interested:
Careful out there using Ai got my account flagged still waiting for responds from [name withheld] team so I can appeal
I get there are teams that patrol Hive to try and keep the content real and not AI generated, nor polluted with (possibly) illegal trading information. I think that's a great idea but there's also the old adage:
Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely
I'm 100% against bullies, online or otherwise and I feel we do need to stand up to that sort of corrupt behaviour any way we can. This post is NOT in any way shape or form one of those.
Instead, what I thought was it might be interesting for readers to see the difference between an AI proof-read version and a post straight from the lump of fat between my ears looks like. So here is the same blog post I posted but not proof-read by ChatGPT. I would be genuinely interested which version you liked more, verses what version you felt was more easily readable.
So without further ado, here is the non-proof-read version:
I’ve been using Autodesk’s Fusion 360 for a long time. I’ve grown to love its ease of use coupled with huge power. However, if you do a read of many comments and videos and blog posts, Fusion 360 is starting to get worse.
I don’t use it enough to make money from it. As such, paying for a license is not worth it, in my opinion. I have no problem paying, IF it is worth it. The problem is, the cost is too prohibitively high to make that an option.
So I use the hobby license. It allows me to use the full Fusion 360 power, with some limitations.
But a couple of years ago, the limitations started to get too stupid. The first of these limitations was the 10 drawing limit. This means you can only work on 10 drawings at a time as editable objects. Okay, for my needs I could live with that. All I need to do is change one drawing to not editable and either change an existing drawing to editable or create a new drawing. It’s not a deal breaker as I don’t work on lots of drawings anyway.
The second is a recent change which kind of has me worried. That is the move towards a Team system. I’m a hobbyist. I work on my own. I have no need for a team of drawers. This makes me worried that Autodesk is going to kill off the hobbyist license.
I’ve tried a number of CAD packages and I kept coming across FreeCAD. For a long time, however, FreeCAD has been a nightmare to use and completely limited compared to Fusion 360. But now, at 1.0, it’s starting to move towards being a Fusion 360 replacement package. It’s not without its issues though.
For instance, the workflow seems to favour saving each individual component as a separate file. Not a deal breaker, it has its advantages, it’s just a little more of a pain. Fusion 360 keeps every part in a single file. However, the big advantage of the individual part comes from being able to build a library of components that can be used on other projects.
There's a nice little feature that Fusion 360 has in that you can set variables for dimensions. This simply means calling those variables to set dimensions of parts. FreeCAD has this feature only it's slightly different. It uses CSV files that can be edited in any spreadsheet. This makes life so much easier to make quick changes without having to open FreeCAD. Simply open the CSV, make the change, then everything gets updated when you open FreeCAD later. It's a little more convoluted than using an internal system, but I find Fusion 360's parameter editor to be limited in value. For instance, you can't move variables around later for easier viewing, for example if you wanted to group dimensions of parts. I'll give you an example of this. Say you add a dimension in later that you missed. Using a spreadsheet you can drag that row to group it with the other dimensions for that part. This makes it easier to see which dimensions go to which parts. In Fusion 360, anything you add later stays at the bottom. It can get unwieldily as your project grows. I think this is a neat feature and one I will make considerable use of as I learn.
For architects, there is a BIM feature. This allows you to create full architectural drawings and collaborate with various parties over the course of a project.
The Assembly Workbench is a little odd, going back to my having to get used to the individual files for parts I mentioned above. I love Fusion 360’s ability to join parts effortlessly. But I feel getting to know FreeCAD’s ways will be better in many respects because it can provide a more efficient workflow given time.
My only biggest gripe is it’s taken 20 years to get to version 1.0. Will it take longer to progress? I don’t think so because that development period was getting it to a polished level. I feel like the 1.0 moniker is now a substantial foundation for rapid development. At least, I hope it will be.
Another gripe is the lack of an internal updater. I get around this using HomeBrew on macOS. It would be nicer to not have to rely on 3rd party tools, but it is what it is and it works.
All in all, if it wasn’t for the needless changes by AutoDesk, I don’t think I’d have moved from Fusion 360 to FreeCAD. I’d tried it in the past but disliked it. But I’ve given it a good chance now and I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. I’ve watched many of the tutorials by MangoJelly on YouTube and I’ve come to realise FreeCAD is far more powerful than I’d given it credit for in the past. It’s 100% free. Going forward, this move is going to protect my designs and allow me to make plans I can sell. It's also going to allow me to make plans that I can build and sell. In other words, it's going to allow me to create my own small business. I can't say the same for Fusion 360 which has limitations on the "Hobbiest" license.keep me going for a long time yet. It will allow me to make plans and sell them as well as design woodworking projects that I can build and sell as well. In other words, this free application is going to be important to me building my own small business. I can’t say that with Fusion 360.