Viable in terms of functionality for creating models for e.g. hobbyist 3d printing? Yes, there's a bunch of people using it, and I've managed to use it for this (admittedly very simple models).

Is it as nice/easy to use? Not quite. Although Qt is pretty good on some Linux flavours and Windows. With more donations, I'm sure this could improve, too.

But on a deeper level, the feature set is large/mind-boggling, and I think this is a problem for adoption for a specific use-case like FDM/FFF/3d printing design, but also in general for software quality and software development.

For example, some workbenches work better than others - one even straight up threw a classic Python 3 error, "bytes required, not str". This can be mitigated to a certain extent by disabling workbenches you don't need [0]. But it feels like a jack of all trades, master of none situation.

What are the alternatives? I don't know. OpenSCAD basically has no editing GUI and a bizarre language. Fusion 360 still works, even though it's clear Autodesk will continue to squeeze it (not only the non-commercial restrictions, but the significant price in 2018 if i'm remembering correctly). Blender is great, and boolean tools are improving, but it isn't parametric, and the non-destructive workflow is unusual.

[0] https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Interface_Customization#Workbenc...

> Blender is great, and boolean tools are improving, but it isn't parametric, and the non-destructive workflow is unusual.

I recently discovered https://github.com/aachman98/Sorcar which looks intriguing but there is UI friction with these workflows and node-based systems offer power but add clutter and complexity.

I wish a non-destructive modifier stack was front and center in Blender. I know it's in there but it's not the primary focus and that hurts UX.

I am experimenting with it as a replacement for hobby projects that I want to share and collaborate on. I was always leery of Fusion 360 precisely because it was not truly free, and instead encumbered by the whims of Autodesk. If I want to create things that are meant to become part of the creative commons, then my whole creative toolchain should be part of that same commons.

There is a learning curve to it, as the interface and a lot of the paradigms are different than what is typical of other design tools. I've had to humble myself and follow through a lot of video tutorials (Joko Engineering is pretty good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h1ofkRFdeI). I'm then re-modeling some simple projects just to assure myself that I can replicate what I've done before (for example, https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4616582/files). Some aspects of it seem fairly unfriendly initially, but the experience smooths out once you grok the approach. I'm so used to using Solidworks that I kind of forget what it was like to first learn how to use parametric modelers.