Dune 3D
FreeSolveSpace-style constraints, plus the STEP support and fillets SolveSpace lacks
Open-source parametric 3D CAD from the developer of Horizon EDA. Sketches can be drawn and constrained directly in 3D, and extrusions can be constrained too. The geometry kernel is Open CASCADE, so it imports and exports STEP and does fillets and chamfers; the constraint solver comes from SolveSpace. It exports STEP, STL and DXF.
Why we picked it
GPL-3.0, 2,090 stars. Version 1.0 shipped in January 2024 and the latest, 1.4.0, in January 2026.
The README explains why the author built another CAD. He mostly designs 3D-printed enclosures for his electronics projects. FreeCAD could do the job, but its sketcher is modal and 2D-only, extrusions cannot be constrained, and references break easily. SolveSpace had the right workflow but could not import STEP and its kernel could not do fillets or chamfers. Dune 3D combines the strengths of both.
That is practical for enclosure work: export the board as STEP from KiCad or Horizon EDA, import it into Dune 3D as a reference model, draw the case and place the cut-outs around it, then export STL for slicing or STEP for another CAD tool.
The interaction model comes from Horizon EDA: every tool lives in a menu that opens on the space bar, searchable by name, so you are not hunting through toolbars. It supports extrude, revolve, loft, pipe, arrays, mirror, boolean operations, fillets and chamfers, and 1.4 added DXF export.
To be clear about:
- There is no macOS installer. Windows gets an MSI, Linux uses Flathub or the AUR, and macOS users have to build it following the docs.
- It is essentially a one-person project: the author has more than 800 commits and every other contributor has at most a couple of dozen. Releases come roughly once or twice a year.
- It centers on modeling parts and enclosures. There are no equivalents of FreeCAD's technical drawing, finite element or CAM workbenches.
- Documentation and interface are English only.