Free CAD software to compliment MOI work

 From:  Michael Gibson
4034.4 In reply to 4034.1 
Hi Michael, that's a great tip! One thing to keep in mind though is this part here:

> So, if you can import a MOI model into Sketchup, you can
> import it into DCAD or 2CAD as well.

One problem with this is that SketchUp is a polygon format, so all curved objects in your model are diced up into triangular facets when exporting to SketchUp and that could be an issue. For example it may be hard to accurately measure a diameter dimension or stuff like that with just a bunch of faceted data.

It tends to be better to use one of the NURBS formats for transferring data into other CAD programs, which are: 3DM, IGES, SAT, and STEP formats. These formats hold the same kind of curved surface data as you create in MoI so when you use these formats things like a sphere will stay as a true sphere when imported into the other CAD program.

- Michael