3D Modelling Applications
Solidworks
SOLIDWORKS covers all aspects of your product development process with a seamless, integrated workflow—design, verification, sustainable design, communication and data management. Designers and engineers can span multiple disciplines with ease, shortening the design cycle, increasing productivity and delivering innovative products to market faster.
SketchUp
SketchUp is a perfect mix of simplicity and functionality, with a user-friendly interface and relatively flat learning curve, which makes it the ideal 3D printing software to design 3D print models.
The SketchUp Make edition is free and has everything you need for 3D modeling, so long as you download the free STL export module and install it. There’s also a professional edition for architects, interior designers and engineers.
Blender
Blender is a popular computer-aided design (CAD) software with a steep learning curve. It’s really not the best choice for newbies, but it’s an ideal for when your skills have fully developed and you need more sophisticated 3D modeling software for 3D printing.
In a nutshell, Blender is one of the most powerful tools you can use. It has a very helpful community and a huge amount of tutorials. And it’s open source, so people are often writing extensions for it to make it even better and more capable.
ZBrush
ZBrush is a digital sculpting and painting program that has revolutionized the 3D industry with its powerful features and intuitive workflows. Built within an elegant interface, ZBrush offers the world’s most advanced tools for today’s digital artists.
With an arsenal of features that have been developed with usability in mind, ZBrush creates a user experience that feels incredibly natural while simultaneously inspiring the artist within. With the ability to sculpt up to a billion polygons, ZBrush allows you to create limited only by your imagination.
Rhinoceros 3D
Rhino, or Rhinoceros 3D, is a 3D modeling software that uses “NURBS” to allow users to generate complex and unique 3D shapes. Although one of the newer players in the 3D modeling game, Rhino has quickly become a favorite of professionals in industrial design, jewelry design, automotive design, reverse engineering, and 3D printing.
The platform also has over 100 third-party plugins developed for more advanced modeling and rendering. It’s plugins are a big selling point as these allow the user to customize the application for their specific needs.
Maya
Autodesk Maya commonly shortened to Maya, is a 3D computer graphics software that runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation (formerly Alias. … It is used to create interactive 3Dapplications, including video games, animated film, TV series, or visual effects.
3Ds Max
Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio, then 3DStudio Max is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D animations, models, games and images. It is developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment.
Fusion360
Fusion 360TM is the first 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool of its kind. It connects your entire product development process in a single cloud-based platform that works on both Mac and PC. Design, test, and fabricate in a single tool.
Make human
Makehuman is a free and open source 3D computer graphics software middleware designed for the prototyping of photo realistic humanoids. It is developed by a community of programmers, artists, and academics interested in 3D modeling of characters.
