One of the engineers that I work with forwarded me this software.  I know that some people on here use Sketchup and other modeling software.  I don't have a lot of experience using modelling software, so I can't give a review of how this package performs.  He doesn't recommend stuff that he thinks is a toy or a waste of time, so I thought maybe you guys would like to give it a try too.

 

http://www.ptc.com/product/creo/elements/direct-modeling/express

There is a long advertisement that you must deal with before it releases the program. I can not find any price for the full version of the softwear.

 

 

He did say it was FREE. Proceed with caution.

There's an old adage in business.  If you're not paying for it, you're not the customer.

 

In the construction industry there are software services that contractors use to transmit electronic blueprints.  Many of them feature a "free" software tool for the subcontractors to use to do all their measurements and pricing.

 

The software they're providing is literally thousands of dollars to purchase. 

 

I noticed that it's a web-based deal so whoever owns the site is able to keep all the data you'd generate using the software to bid.  Folks using this stuff might find their hard-earned knowledge in the hands of whoever's willing to pay for it.

 

I was once offered a job by a competitor who was exclusively looking to know how I was beating them.  I had little doubt that he wanted to duplicate my methods with cheaper staff whereupon I'd be let go. 

 

An awful lot of design and construction programs require continuous web connections to work properly. It's a concerning trend for sure.

If you want a free CAD package, try DraftSight (from Dassault Systems). They offer a full functioning 2D CAD package that's completely free:
http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight/overview/

If you want to work in 3d then you can try Freecad Parametric (Opensource). For 2d cad, you can try LibreCad (opensource).

Both packages offer heaps of tutorials on youtube.

 

I personally use Rhinoceros 5, which is an organic Nurbs modeller. It isn't free, but offers a 90 day trial.

I am only familiar professional paid cad software (Autocad, Solidworks, etc...), but I have a friend who is an architect and swears by rhino3d.  

 

Scratch that idea,  I just looked on their site and realized that it requires a purchased license as well.  They do give you a free 90 full demo though.  

Thank you Neil. I didn't know dassault had a free cad version available. Very helpful.

I use LibreCAD not for major design work as I am a hobbiest. It does help when designing tools (belt grinder) to get clearances and relative positioning correct. fairly easy to learn.