SolidCraft Features Test(0.40.0-rc.2) How Good Is The Free SolidWorks & Autodesk Fusion Alternative?
9702 次观看 · 2026-11-05
工业设计
SolidCraft is a free, open source parametric 3D CAD application written in pure Rust, from Tangency Labs. It is a community app that ships through the ArtCraft launcher, and it is built in its own GitHub repository. This is the baseline test of version 0.40.0-rc.2, a pre-release build of the next 0.40 version: ten basic features, each checked in the real app and measured against numbers we calculated by hand, graded PASS or FAIL, plus a bonus stress test with a model built by a community member.
In this video (1.0x chapter times):
00:00 The test
00:16 What SolidCraft is
00:44 Pre-release and CadCraft
00:59 How fast it is moving
01:19 How we test
01:39 Test 1: Launch and open a new design
01:51 Test 2: Sketch and dimension
02:06 Test 3: Extrude a solid
02:20 Test 4: Fillet and shell
02:35 Test 5: Holes and patterns
02:51 Test 6: Change a dimension and rebuild
03:07 Test 7: Undo and redo
03:20 Test 8: Save and reopen
03:34 Test 9: Export STEP and STL
03:50 Test 10: Import STEP files
04:11 Bonus: a community rover
04:31 The score
04:44 What we did not test
04:54 Gaps checked in the app
05:12 Other open source options
The ten tests: launch and open a new design; sketch and dimension; extrude a solid; fillet and shell; holes and a circular pattern; change a parameter and rebuild; undo and redo; save and reopen; export STEP and STL and read the STEP file back; import STEP files. Bonus: open a community model with 3,324 timeline steps.
How the tests work: we use the feature in SolidCraft, show it on screen, then measure the result: volumes from the model compared with hand calculations (for example 40 x 30 x 20 mm = 24,000 mm3), exported files read back with a second program, and a design saved, closed, reopened and edited again. A test passes only when the numbers match. We drove the app through its built-in automation pointer (the purple Agent cursor you see), not a person with a mouse. These are the ten basics the project says work, so a perfect score is a baseline, not a finished app.
What we did not test: assemblies and motion studies, sheet metal, lofts and sweeps, threads, rendering, and the many other file formats. SolidCraft's workflow feels closest to Autodesk Fusion (browser tree, history timeline, joints, Fusion navigation by default) with some SolidWorks style depth (sheet metal, weldments, configurations); the project says it is independent of both. Its roadmap lists drawings, manufacturing and simulation as work ahead: we searched all 595 commands in the app and found no simulation, no CAM toolpaths and no drawing sheets, only DXF exports and Send to Slicer for 3D printing. Other free options in this space include FreeCAD, OpenSCAD, SolveSpace and Blender.
Credits: Rover model: SELENE by 0xlillith (https://github.com/0xlillith/solidcraft-rover), Apache-2.0. Public domain STEP test parts: https://github.com/dan335/step-conformance (CC0). The Pi case example: the SolidCraft project's own example. Pace of development chart: Craft Watch, public GitHub data of November 5, 2026. SolidCraft: https://github.com/tangency-labs/solidcraft and https://solidcraft.io (MIT or Apache-2.0).
We will run this same test on new versions. Tell us which area you want tested next, such as assemblies, sheet metal or the browser version.
More tests and news on open source software for creative professionals: https://opendesignercloud.com (the new website of Open Designer Cloud, formerly Open Creative Cloud)
Subscribe so you do not miss the next one.
## Chapters at 1.1x
00:00 The test
00:14 What SolidCraft is
00:40 Pre-release and CadCraft
00:53 How fast it is moving
01:11 How we test
01:29 Test 1: Launch and open a new design
01:40 Test 2: Sketch and dimension
01:54 Test 3: Extrude a solid
02:07 Test 4: Fillet and shell
02:20 Test 5: Holes and patterns
02:35 Test 6: Change a dimension and rebuild
02:50 Test 7: Undo and redo
03:01 Test 8: Save and reopen
03:14 Test 9: Export STEP and STL
03:29 Test 10: Import STEP files
03:48 Bonus: a community rover
04:06 The score
04:18 What we did not test
04:27 Gaps checked in the app
04:43 Other open source options
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In this video (1.0x chapter times):
00:00 The test
00:16 What SolidCraft is
00:44 Pre-release and CadCraft
00:59 How fast it is moving
01:19 How we test
01:39 Test 1: Launch and open a new design
01:51 Test 2: Sketch and dimension
02:06 Test 3: Extrude a solid
02:20 Test 4: Fillet and shell
02:35 Test 5: Holes and patterns
02:51 Test 6: Change a dimension and rebuild
03:07 Test 7: Undo and redo
03:20 Test 8: Save and reopen
03:34 Test 9: Export STEP and STL
03:50 Test 10: Import STEP files
04:11 Bonus: a community rover
04:31 The score
04:44 What we did not test
04:54 Gaps checked in the app
05:12 Other open source options
The ten tests: launch and open a new design; sketch and dimension; extrude a solid; fillet and shell; holes and a circular pattern; change a parameter and rebuild; undo and redo; save and reopen; export STEP and STL and read the STEP file back; import STEP files. Bonus: open a community model with 3,324 timeline steps.
How the tests work: we use the feature in SolidCraft, show it on screen, then measure the result: volumes from the model compared with hand calculations (for example 40 x 30 x 20 mm = 24,000 mm3), exported files read back with a second program, and a design saved, closed, reopened and edited again. A test passes only when the numbers match. We drove the app through its built-in automation pointer (the purple Agent cursor you see), not a person with a mouse. These are the ten basics the project says work, so a perfect score is a baseline, not a finished app.
What we did not test: assemblies and motion studies, sheet metal, lofts and sweeps, threads, rendering, and the many other file formats. SolidCraft's workflow feels closest to Autodesk Fusion (browser tree, history timeline, joints, Fusion navigation by default) with some SolidWorks style depth (sheet metal, weldments, configurations); the project says it is independent of both. Its roadmap lists drawings, manufacturing and simulation as work ahead: we searched all 595 commands in the app and found no simulation, no CAM toolpaths and no drawing sheets, only DXF exports and Send to Slicer for 3D printing. Other free options in this space include FreeCAD, OpenSCAD, SolveSpace and Blender.
Credits: Rover model: SELENE by 0xlillith (https://github.com/0xlillith/solidcraft-rover), Apache-2.0. Public domain STEP test parts: https://github.com/dan335/step-conformance (CC0). The Pi case example: the SolidCraft project's own example. Pace of development chart: Craft Watch, public GitHub data of November 5, 2026. SolidCraft: https://github.com/tangency-labs/solidcraft and https://solidcraft.io (MIT or Apache-2.0).
We will run this same test on new versions. Tell us which area you want tested next, such as assemblies, sheet metal or the browser version.
More tests and news on open source software for creative professionals: https://opendesignercloud.com (the new website of Open Designer Cloud, formerly Open Creative Cloud)
Subscribe so you do not miss the next one.
## Chapters at 1.1x
00:00 The test
00:14 What SolidCraft is
00:40 Pre-release and CadCraft
00:53 How fast it is moving
01:11 How we test
01:29 Test 1: Launch and open a new design
01:40 Test 2: Sketch and dimension
01:54 Test 3: Extrude a solid
02:07 Test 4: Fillet and shell
02:20 Test 5: Holes and patterns
02:35 Test 6: Change a dimension and rebuild
02:50 Test 7: Undo and redo
03:01 Test 8: Save and reopen
03:14 Test 9: Export STEP and STL
03:29 Test 10: Import STEP files
03:48 Bonus: a community rover
04:06 The score
04:18 What we did not test
04:27 Gaps checked in the app
04:43 Other open source options
SolidCraft, SolidCraft test, SolidCraft review, free SolidWorks alternative, free Fusion 360 alternative, open source CAD, parametric 3D CAD, open source CAD software, Rust CAD, SolidCraft 0.40.0, ArtCraft, Open Designer Cloud, FreeCAD, OpenSCAD, SolveSpace, CAD test