# A free, open source Fusion 360 alternative From Preston (@quickfinesse): https://quickfinesse.dev/videos/2026-10-26-solidcraft Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@quickfinesse/video/7701113391196196127, posted October 26, 2026 ## What I'd like help with I watched this video and want to try it. Walk me through it one step at a time, and check the official links below before giving exact commands, since they change. ## In plain English Fusion 360 costs $57 a month. SolidCraft is a free, open source CAD app for Windows, Mac, Linux and the browser, with AI built in. I had Claude design a stand for the new iPhone Duo in about two minutes. Would you switch from Fusion? ## What was used - tangency-labs/solidcraft (GitHub): https://github.com/tangency-labs/solidcraft - SolidCraft (Site): https://solidcraft.io ## Credits SolidCraft: bherbruck, tangency-labs and the SolidCraft contributors. Footage: SolidCraft's own demo videos and our own recordings in the app. The iPhone Duo stand is our own design. The full guide for this video is on the page: https://quickfinesse.dev/videos/2026-10-26-solidcraft # A free, open source Fusion 360 alternative > From Preston (@quickfinesse) > SolidCraft is a free, open source CAD app for Windows, Mac, Linux and the browser, with AI built in. Fusion 360 costs $57 a month. Here's what SolidCraft does, the phone stand we had Claude design in it, and what to know before you try it. > Page: https://quickfinesse.dev/videos/2026-10-26-solidcraft > Updated: October 26, 2026 ## What I'd like help with I want to try SolidCraft, the free, open source CAD app at github.com/tangency-labs/solidcraft. Ask me which computer I have and what I want to make, then walk me through it one step at a time. ## The short version SolidCraft is a CAD app, the kind you use to design parts in 3D before you print them or have them made. You sketch a shape, pull it into 3D, then round the edges, drill the holes and add the threads. It's free and open source under the MIT or Apache-2.0 licence, with no account and no subscription. Fusion 360 costs $57 a month, paid for the whole year. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and there's a browser version you can try without installing anything. It was started by bherbruck and is now built by the tangency-labs team and its contributors. The first release came out on October 9. See SolidCraft on GitHub: https://github.com/tangency-labs/solidcraft ## What it does - **Parts** (pick: Parametric): Extrude, revolve, sweep, loft, fillet, chamfer, shell, draft, holes, threads, patterns, mirror, split and combine, all on a timeline you can go back and edit. - **Every size is a setting** (pick: Rebuilds): Dimensions are parameters. Change one number and the whole part rebuilds around it. - **Assemblies** (pick: Joints): Put parts together with joints, then run motion studies and check for parts that hit each other. - **Files** (pick: STEP and STL): It opens and saves STEP, IGES, 3MF, STL, OBJ and glTF where supported. STL goes to a 3D printer, and STEP is what a machine shop asks for. - **3D printing** (pick: Slicer): It can hand an exported part straight to a slicer app you already have installed. ## AI built in, on your own subscription SolidCraft has a chat panel that talks to a coding agent you already use, like Claude Code, Codex, Google Antigravity, OpenCode or Grok Build. The agent drives the app's own commands, so you watch it build the part on screen. SolidCraft doesn't sell or proxy a model and needs no key for it. If you'd rather use an API key from Anthropic, OpenAI or another provider, the app keeps it in your system's keychain. Read how the agent chat works: https://github.com/tangency-labs/solidcraft/blob/main/docs/agent-chat.md ## What we built with it 1. One request. We asked Claude, through the agent panel, for a printable stand for Apple's new iPhone Duo that holds the phone half open. 2. About two minutes. It drew the base, a lip that holds the bottom half and a back support for the screen, seven steps in all, and finished in about two minutes. 3. A steeper angle. We asked for a steeper screen angle. It changed one parameter to 75 degrees, and all seven steps rebuilt with no errors. 4. Ready to print. We exported it as an STL. The stand is our own design, and the Raspberry Pi case in the video is the project's own demo. ## Worth knowing - **Still early** (pick: Simple parts): The project calls itself early but usable for simple parts. - **Tested against real parts** (pick: 83 of 83): The team rebuilds 83 reference parts and checks each one's volume, area and shape against values worked out by hand or by FreeCAD. We ran the same test on version 0.23.1 and all 83 passed. The README still says 75 of 76, from an older count. - **Unsigned downloads** (pick: Allow it once): On a Mac, the first open is blocked until you allow it in System Settings, under Privacy & Security, with Open Anyway. On Windows, SmartScreen asks first, so click More info, then Run anyway. - **Fast updates** (pick: 42 versions): There have been 42 releases since October 9. Version 0.23.1 came out on October 26. ## Try it - **The web app** (browser): Runs in your browser with nothing to install. A quick way to see if it's for you. https://solidcraft.io/app - **Windows, Mac or Linux** (desktop): A universal app for Mac, an installer or portable zip for Windows, and AppImage, deb, rpm, Flatpak or Snap for Linux. https://github.com/tangency-labs/solidcraft/releases/latest - **SolidCraft's own site** (website): Demo videos of the Pi case and a rover built entirely in SolidCraft. https://solidcraft.io