Tell me about it, I also use some professional CAD tools (Revit) but on my day job.

I hate to say it, but maybe no one would really care if you would pirate it? It just doesn't seem right to spend so much money on such expensive software that is probably that expensive due to big business using it and no competition.

Looking at the workflow I guess it's SOLIDWORKS.

I used to pirate everything, but is it a solution? In the past perhaps, I wanted to use expensive software, I was experimenting, didn't have the means to buy a license, and there weren't many alternatives to mainstream software, either proprietary or free. But nowadays things has changed for the better, so I try to build my workflow around what I can afford.

On a tangent, in my opinion, the advent of crazy cloud subscriptions have stimulated the community to find alternatives and promote more sustainable software. GIMP or Blender wouldn't be what they are today if everyone kept easy pirating Photoshop or Maya for example.

To op, if SOLIDWORKS is draining your pockets look at these alternatives[1], it's not my field, I can't say anything about them.

[1] https://expertratings.net/solidworks-for-free-and-alternativ...

> I used to pirate everything, but is it a solution?

Well it could be a solution if you are just starting out. CAD is very complex stuff so it's not likely that there will be a good open source replacement to Revit for example any time soon.

I really don't want to pirate software in general but if the license is like $2500 / yearly it's such a ridicolous amount that there is no good options left.

I've managed to find some middle ground by taking advantage of short term licenses, i.e. renting software for a couple of months to get the work done after balking at four to five-digit sums to own perpetual licenses. Still, would be nice to own the software outright.

Appreciate the links! Indeed, we're seeing OSS tooling getting better and better!

I built up my CAD and rendering chops with the free tier of fusion360. Legit and cheap way to learn the basics.

Did you take a look at Shapr3D?

Wow thanks for the heads up on Shapr3D, definitely going to check it out :)