Top 10 Free Open Source CAD Software for Designing a DIY Shipping Container House

Top 10 Free Open Source CAD Software.

Top 10 Free Open Source CAD Software for Designing a DIY Shipping Container House 2019.

In this Arcticle we bring to you Top 10 Free Open Source CAD Software for Designing a DIY Shipping Container House 2018. Stay tuned as we elaborate on them, one by one.

Engaging a building professional to design and make drawings for your shipping container dream home is almost the industry standard. However, to design or come up with your own house plan you will need a special software in a Computer Aided Design (CAD) Program. Most of this softwares don’t come cheap hence making them out of reach to many architectural design newbies and DIY enthusiasts. We will be showing a live demonstration on how to use each of the featured softwares in our upcoming videos. For this and more, subscribe to our YouTube channel and click on the bell to get notified immediately w post our new weekly videos.

Without further ado, here are the top10 powerful free Open Source CAD Software Alternatives to use on your shipping container design project.

10. DraftSight DraftSight (the Individual version) is a free software package that is ideal for personal use. There are no fees or limitations on usage or plotting. The only requirement is that you must activate the program with a valid email address. DraftSight is a basic 2D drafting package that looks and feels very much like AutoCAD. It has all the drafting tools you'll need for generating professional-looking plans. It espouses the use of lines and polylines, dimensions and text, and full layering capabilities with the output file in DWG format. DraftSight is the Best free CAD software suitable for Intermediate to advanced users focused on technical designs.

9. LibreCAD Another Open Source offering, LibreCAD is a high-quality, 2D-CAD modeling platform. LibreCAD grew out of QCAD, and, like FreeCAD, has a large, loyal following of designers and customers. It includes lots of powerful features that include snap-to-grid for drawing, layers, and measurements. Its user interface and concepts are similar to AutoCAD, so if you have experience with that tool, this should be easy to master. LibreCAD is a free Open Source CAD application. Interestingly, LibreCAD is also free to hack and copy. It's available in over 30 languages with cross-platform support for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

8. QCAD QCAD is an old school 2D free CAD software that is partly inspired by AutoCAD. So it is mostly geared towards technical drawing. As the user interface is remarkably neat, and clean, even beginners will find their way around this free CAD software quickly. For more intricate work, you can switch into an isometric view. Also, the QCAD Library browser brings you more than 5000 CAD parts available as free add-ons (e.g. screws, nuts). Though the free CAD software is released under Open Source license, AutoCAD DWG export is only available as a commercial plugin. QCAD is the Best free CAD software for Intermediate to advanced users focused on technical designs.

7. ArchiFacile Archifacile is a free, easy to use software to design a house online or build a house online. It is used to design 2-D house plans, floor plans, and home plans. This is free software used to design 2-D house plans, floor plans and home plans. With this software, you are the architect of your own house plan. The construction of the house plan is done in several stages. At first, you draw walls to create each room that are the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom and the rooms. You can also build the attic or calculate the surfaces to paint your walls. Then you add the openings that are the doors, the windows and the shutters. You can choose the opening direction of doors and shutters. Finally you can arrange your house with objects and furniture and the electric plan of your installation.

When the plan is complete, you can download your plan in PDF format to print it or send it to your friends.

Archifacile is a Free Open Source software that is browser based.

6. SweetHome 3D SweetHome 3D is an open-source software. It is for people who want to redesign their own homes. Users can arrange furniture in the house and see a 3-D version of how everything looks. There are additional 3D models to use, and one can create pretty realistic images of the house and all its parts. SweetHome 3D is an interior design application that helps you to quickly draw the floor plan of your house, arrange furniture on it, and visit the results in 3D. SweetHome 3D comes with several features that allow you to accomplish the following things; Draw walls and rooms upon the image of an existing plan, on one or more levels; Drag and drop doors, windows and furniture from a catalog onto the plan; Update colors, texture, size and orientation of furniture, walls, floors and ceilings; and View all changes simultaneously in the 3D view from any view point.

5. TAD (The Architect's Desktop) It was developed by an Indian architectural firm in 1989, TAD is a free BIM software that tries to improve on conventional solutions. This 3D architecture software over-emphasizes the engineering aspect and neglects the conceptual side of architectural design. As the name TAD (The Architect’s Desktop) suggests, TAD is unique in the sense that is supposed to be used from the earliest conceptual sketches and doodles. From this description it becomes clear that TAD is intended for use by experienced designers who outline the concept of a building rather than detailing program like other free BIM software. B-processor is design to be used on various and is a Free Open Source software.

4. B-processor B-processor is a free BIM software that is being developed by the Arhus School of Architecture (Denmark) in cooperation with the Alexandra Institute. Its name derives from the word for B “building” in various languages and the second component in “word-processor”. This 3D architecture software dispenses with 2D views altogether – all modeling is done in 3D. All objects in this 3D architecture software adhere to a strict object structure describing either their function or properties. Necessary repetitive tasks can be automated using components called ’modellors’ which can be designed to create elements like windows, doors, and stairs. For a free BIM software, B-processor is remarkably comprehensive, architects can calculate quantities and costs, but even perform energy efficiency simulations on their projects. , B-processor is design to be used on various platforms including Windows, macOS and Linux. FreeCAD is a Free Open Source software.

3. Dynamo Dynamo belongs to a new species of 3D architecture software that can produce designs based on a set of parameters. Since the program is spearheaded by Autodesk, although published under an open-source license, it ties in well with Revit. Users can design buildings in this 3D by programming the relevant parameters by combining nodes in a graphical interface. The overall technique is intuitive and easy to pick up allowing to create intricate facades with hundreds of different panels or complex infrastructure projects. Dynamo is an amazing tool that can used in various stages of the design process. This 3D architecture software is available in a free and in a commercial version. The free BIM software is an extension to Autodesk Revit. The commercial version, Dynamo Studio, is a stand-alone program that costs $305 per year.

2. FreeCAD FreeCAD, is a free CAD software designed around parametric modeling. FreeCAD has been developed to create 3Dreal-life objects of any size – including buildings. The FreeCAD software offers a modular architecture that is dedicated to very specific fields using workbenches. Among these workbenches is one that enables fully fledged BIM software capabilities. Although FreeCAD is a free BIM software, it has a few advantages over commercial alternatives. For instance, objects such as wall, floors etc. are not restricted to stereotypical shapes. Meaning you can create a floor slab curving up and becoming a wall. The parametric modeling capability FreeCAD software allows you to easily modify your component by going back into your model history and changing its dimensions.

SketchUp is design to be used on various platforms including Windows, macOS and Linux. FreeCAD is a Free Open Source software.

1. SketchUp SketchUp was originally developed by Google and was one of the greatest free CAD packages ever put on the market to create architectural conceptual drawings. In 2012, Google sold the product to Trimble. Trimble has enhanced it and developed it further and now offers a slew of related products. The free version of SketchUp is still a very powerful design software, but if you need additional functionality, you can buy SketchUp Pro .SketchUp can be used as a 3D architecture software and even a BIM (Building Information Modeling) program. However, the stand-out feature that makes SketchUp a game changer is its vast marketplace of extensions and plugins such as; PlusSpec; OpenStudio and 4D Virtual Builder, In addition to a wide range of rendering engines available as extensions. SketchUp is design to be used on various platforms including Windows and macOS. The basic version of SketchUp is available free of charge. SketchUp Pro costs $695. Students and educators are eligible for discounts on this 3D architecture software.

We hope this presentation makes it easy for you to choose your program of choice from our comprehensive list for your DIY container home project. If you have used any of the above programs or any other not on this list, kindly give us your opinion by posting in the comments below. If you are looking for quality and high performance Desktops, Workstations, laptops and Tablets for graphics and CAD, use our links below for your purchase.

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