FreeCAD has long been celebrated as a powerful, open-source CAD tool, but its steep learning curve and cluttered interface have left many users frustrated. Enter AstoCAD – a sleek, intuitive evolution of FreeCAD designed to transform how we interact with open-source CAD. Built on top of FreeCAD, AstoCAD combines the software’s core strengths with a polished experience, all while fueling FreeCAD’s long-term growth. This is the story of how AstoCAD aims to make FreeCAD the best CAD software ever – with your help.
What is AstoCAD?
AstoCAD isn’t a traditional fork of FreeCAD. Instead, it’s a “soft-fork” – a layer of enhancements that sits atop the latest FreeCAD version. Think of it as FreeCAD’s stylish, forward-thinking sibling. AstoCAD introduces streamlined workflows, cleaner toolbars, and cutting-edge features. Over time, these innovations will flow back into FreeCAD, ensuring the entire community benefits.
Why a soft-fork?
- Stay aligned: AstoCAD avoids fragmenting the FreeCAD ecosystem.
- Accelerate progress: New features debut in AstoCAD first, then merge into FreeCAD.
- Sustainable development: Subscriptions fund ongoing improvements for both platforms.
The Man Behind the Mission
Meet Pierre, a core FreeCAD contributor with over 300 pull requests to his name. His story explains why AstoCAD exists:
“I started as a user, designing the RetroStone2 retro gaming console. FreeCAD 0.20 was… painful. The UI was cluttered, tools were confusing. So I began contributing – first a small fix, then major features in sketcher, in core and in techdraw.”
When Ondsel hired him full-time, Pierre’s work accelerated and the Assembly workbench appeared. However today Ondsel closed, leaving behind the question of “What’s next?”. And so sustainability became a challenge: “To work on FreeCAD full time, I need to make a living. AstoCAD lets me earn a living while giving back.”
Roadmap: What’s Next for AstoCAD (and FreeCAD)
AstoCAD’s roadmap reads like a wishlist for frustrated CAD users:
- Reduce Frustration: Smoother Sketcher, PartDesign, and Assembly workflows by fixing bugs.
- Additional features: Like Assembly array and fasteners tools, reworking sketcher’s polyline tool.
- UI Overhauls: TechDraw and FEM workspaces are next in line for decluttering.
- MBD Integration: Bring physics-based simulations to Assembly.
Every AstoCAD subscription directly fuels these projects – meaning your support accelerates FreeCAD’s evolution.
Why Your Support Matters
For just €4/month, an AstoCAD membership unlocks:
- Early access to features before they hit FreeCAD.
- A seamless, frustration-free CAD experience.
- The satisfaction of funding open-source innovation.
“Your subscription isn’t just about AstoCAD,” Pierre emphasizes. “It’s about building a future where FreeCAD rivals commercial software – without the price tag.”
Conclusion: Join the Movement
AstoCAD isn’t just a tool – it’s a bridge between FreeCAD’s potential and its future. By subscribing, you’re not just getting a better CAD experience today; you’re ensuring FreeCAD becomes the powerhouse it deserves to be.
Ready to create, innovate, and shape the future of open-source CAD?
👉 Visit astocad.com to become a member.
Together, let’s make FreeCAD – and AstoCAD – unstoppable.
9 responses to “AstoCAD: Announcing a polished FreeCAD”
Will there be work done in the CAM workspace as well? It’s basically the only thing that keeps me from switching over to freecad/asto ad
Yes most likely, this is on my roadmap, I have a XCarve sitting in my garage and I’ve been planning to set it up for a long time. But I will first fix bugs and improve things in sketcher,partdesign, assembly and techdraw before starting to look at CAM.
Awesome, i’ll keep an eye on this project. Really looking forward to this!
Do I just launch the ASTOCAD.exe?
Yes, we don’t have the installer yet. Just launch the AstoCAD.exe in the bin folder.
Does Astrocad work on Linux? I’ve ditched Windows as year ago. I know you can disable the the screen capture and other bloat stuff but just the fact that they want my data is enough to for me to step away.
Thanks for your efforts!
Chuck
Yes it works. The Frameless feature is not perfect depending on the distro. But it can be disabled.
Does other forms of payment (e.g. blik) will be available in the nearest future?
I don’t have credit cart witch is required by paypal…
If you want you can do a bank transfert and I will create the order manually. For this you would need to contact me by email to confirm me payment was done and with account details.