The company no longer develops Sketchup Make, its free desktop software, but you can download it from Trimble's archives. The SketchUp website offers a really impressive array of video and self-paced training options to help you along the way.

Of course, if you're looking to put out detailed designs with accurate sizing and tolerances, you'll need to spend some time learning the ins and outs of the program. Even if you've never done any CAD work or 3D modeling before, you can pull together some really nice presentations in minutes. QCAD is a free, open source application for computer aided drafting (CAD) in two dimensions (2D).

The interface makes it easy to get up to speed on the basics. SketchUp's free web-based version has plenty of power, but if you need additional functionality, you have to buy SketchUp Pro-and pay a hefty price tag. Trimble has enhanced it and developed it further and now offers a slew of related products. This is good 2d cad software that will be helpful to anyone building. In 2012, Google sold the product to Trimble. Librecad is open source software that can run on many operating systems. Start with any of the built-in CAD templates and drag and drop. SketchUp was originally developed by Google and was one of the greatest free CAD packages ever put on the market. SmartDraws CAD drawing software has the CAD tools you need to make scaled drawings of all kinds. Free feature is web-only with many important features hobbled.

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