This resource covers some of the free, open-source software tools, as well as some free, closed-source commercial software that Makers Making Change recommends for designing and building AT (Assistive Technology) devices. Documentation and media software are included as well.
Why use Open-Source software?
The Open-Source Hardware Association (OSHWA)’s Best Practices for Open-Source Hardware includes providing design files which can be opened and modified by any designer, user, or person who wishes to engage with the open-source hardware. Design, documentation and media files created with expensive, proprietary commercial software can be difficult to access without a license for this software. Therefore, it is preferred practice to design open-source hardware using software which is free and also open-source. If you do create a design using commercial software, it is still helpful and considered best practice to share the proprietary design files. Another thing to consider is using file formats which are supported by both commercial and open-source software, such as .pcb, .docx, .psd, etc.
Free, Open-Source software
Designing open source AT devices can be done at little to no cost using free, open source software. All the tools listed below are completely free and open source, and available on Windows, Mac and Linux:
CAD (Computer Assisted Drawing)
OpenSCAD
OpenSCAD (Pronounced Open-S-CAD) is a software for creating solid 3D CAD models. It’s designed for practical use projects, not artistic 3D modelling, similar to engineering CAD software such as Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Fusion 360 and SolidWorks.
Website home page: https://openscad.org/index.html
Download page: https://openscad.org/downloads.html
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://openscad.org/documentation.html
FreeCAD
FreeCAD is a 3D solid modelling CAD software which can produce full precision models for 3D printing or CNC machining. FreeCAD also offers tools for 2D drawings, Finite Element Analysis, and can export data such as material quantities or bills of materials. File formats such as STEP, IGES, OBJ, STL, DWG, DXF, SVG, SHP, DAE, IFC, and OpenSCAD are supported in FreeCAD.
Website home page: https://www.freecadweb.org/
Download page: https://www.freecadweb.org/downloads.php
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://wiki.freecad.org/Getting_started
3D Surface/Mesh Modelling
Blender
Blender is a surface/mesh modeler with tools for animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, motion tracking and more. Blender is widely used by designers, developers, artists, and other professionals. The documentation is extensive and a huge amount of tutorial content can be found online.
Website home page: https://www.blender.org/
Download page: https://www.blender.org/download/
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://docs.blender.org/
Graphics
Inkscape
Inkscape is a vector graphics editor, widely used for both technical and artistic purposes. Inkscape can be used for creating logos, diagrams and flowcharts. It is compatible with vector graphics, which allows for renderings at unlimited resolution for sharp images and prints. Inkscape’s default file format is SVG, which is a standard two-dimensional vector graphic file format supported by many other applications. PNG, PDF, PS, AI, and EPS and other file formats are also supported.
Website home page: https://inkscape.org/learn/books/
Download page: https://inkscape.org/release/inkscape-1.2/
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://inkscape.org/learn/books/
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)
GIMP is an image editor, comparable to Adobe Photoshop, containing tools for photo retouching, image composition, graphic design, illustrations and more. For improved workflow, GIMP has many customization options and third party plugins for a user-tailored experience.
Website home page: https://www.openoffice.org/why/index.html
Download page: https://www.openoffice.org/download/index.html
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation, https://www.openoffice.org/support/index.html#books
Video Editing
OpenShot Video Editor
OpenShot Video Editor is a full-featured, free video editing software comparable to CyberLink PowerDirector or Adobe Premiere. OpenShot is intuitive, easy to use and includes a comprehensive user guide listed below.
Website home page: https://www.openshot.org/
Download page: https://www.openshot.org/download/
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://www.openshot.org/user-guide/
Documentation
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is a full set of office software, with separate programs for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, diagrams, and mathematical formula editing. It is the leading free replacement for the expensive Microsoft Office Suite. The respective programs are compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx files), Microsoft Excel (.xlsx files), Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) as well as the other equivalent Microsoft products.
Website home page: https://www.libreoffice.org/
Download page: https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://documentation.libreoffice.org/en/english-documentation/, https://www.openoffice.org/support/index.html#books
Apache OpenOffice
An alternative to LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice is another free set of office software. Apache Open Office contains programs for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, drawings, and mathematical formula editing. The respective programs are compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx files), Microsoft Excel (.xlsx files), Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) as well as the other equivalent Microsoft products.
Website home page: https://www.openoffice.org/why/index.html
Download page: https://www.openoffice.org/download/index.html
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation, https://www.openoffice.org/support/index.html#books
3D Printing
PrusaSlicer
PrusaSlicer is a 3D printing slicing software. Slicing software, or cutting software, takes 3D model files and produces a file which contains instructions for a 3D printer to build the 3D model. PrusaSlicer is intuitive, easy to use, contains presets for many common printers and filaments and supports more advanced features such as variable layer height, paint on support, single extruder multi-colour prints and more.
Website home page: https://www.prusa3d.com/page/prusaslicer_424/
Download page: https://www.prusa3d.com/page/prusaslicer_424/
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://help.prusa3d.com/article/general-info_1910
Ultimaker Cura
Ultimaker Cura is another 3D printing slicing software. Cura is intuitive, easy to use, and contains presets for many common printers and filaments. Cura lacks some features of PrusaSlicer but still produces great results.
Website home page: https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura
Download page: https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/sections/360003548599-Using-Ultimaker-Cura
PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Design
KiCAD
KiCad is a PCB design software which can be used for editing schematics, PCB layout and has a built-in 3D viewer. KiCAD uses standard PCB files which are compatible with other programs such as Autodesk Eagle.
Website home page: https://www.kicad.org/
Download page: https://www.kicad.org/download/
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://docs.kicad.org/
Fritzing
Fritzing is an open-source software for designing electronic hardware, intended for amateurs and hobbyists. The software is easy to use for beginners and includes built-in templates for building breadboards and simple PCB circuits with Arduino and other microcontrollers. Although this software is open-source, Fritzing asks for a donation on the download page of their website and does not provide a free download link. However, there are free downloads available on other third-party websites.
Website home page: https://fritzing.org/
Download page: https://fritzing.org/download/
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://fritzing.org/learning/ (Instructions and Tutorials), https://github.com/orgs/fritzing/repositories (GitHub Repositories Link)
Software Development
Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
Arduino IDE is a program designed specifically for writing code for the Arduino open-source microcontroller hardware. Arduino supports C and C++ languages with special code structuring rules. The documentation page below provides a complete set of rules and tutorials for programming Arduino systems.
Website home page: https://www.arduino.cc/en/software
Download page: https://www.arduino.cc/en/software
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://docs.arduino.cc/?_gl=1*163lq8r*_ga*MTk1ODM3Mzk2My4xNjU0MTE3ODg4*_ga_NEXN8H46L5*MTY1NDExNzg4Ny4xLjEuMTY1NDExNzk0Ny42MA..
Thonny IDE
Thonny IDE is an easy-to-use python editor suitable for beginners and simple projects. Thonny features a simple, stripped-down user interface and a built-in installation of Python 3.7 so only one installer is needed to get started.
Website home page: https://thonny.org/
Download page: https://thonny.org/
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://github.com/thonny/thonny/wiki
Mu IDE
Mu IDE is a beginner python editor made to learn programming, but can still be used in practical projects, such as programming a Raspberry Pi. The project is based on feedback from teachers and learners.
Website home page: https://codewith.mu/
Download page: https://codewith.mu/en/download
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://codewith.mu/en/about (For Mu users), https://mu.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ (For developers)
Visual Studio Code IDE
Visual Studio Code is a widely used powerful code editor with built-in support for JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js and has a huge amount of available extensions to support C, C++, C#, Java, Python, PHP, and GO languages. Built-in and installable features such as syntax highlighting, bracket-matching, auto-indentation, and many others help make Visual Studio Code one of the leading Integrated Development Environments and one of the most popular.
Website home page: https://code.visualstudio.com/
Download page: https://code.visualstudio.com/#alt-downloads
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://code.visualstudio.com/docs
Free but not Open-Source software
Below are some useful, free programs which are commercial products and not open-source. However, these are commonly used by the AT community and should be included as part of this list.
CAD (Computer Assisted Drawing)
Autodesk Fusion 360
Autodesk Fusion 360 is a closed-source commercial product, however there is a limited-feature free license available for hobbyists and non-commercial purposes. Autodesk Fusion 360 is designed for creating 3D CAD models, and includes many powerful Engineering tools, including solid, surface and mesh modelling, finite element analysis simulations, CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) tools, PCB design and more.
Website home page: https://www.autodesk.ca/en/products/fusion-360
Download page: https://www.autodesk.ca/en/products/fusion-360/personal
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://help.autodesk.com/view/fusion360/ENU/?guid=GUID-1C665B4D-7BF7-4FDF-98B0-AA7EE12B5AC2
Onshape
Onshape is a commercial engineering software which contains tools for CAD design and product data management all in a web browser. Powerful collaboration tools and the cloud-based platform allows for teams to seamlessly design products together. Although Onshape is not open-source, there is a free version available for hobbyists and makers.
Website home page: https://www.onshape.com/en/
Free Use Start page: https://www.onshape.com/en/products/free
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/EnterpriseHelp/Content/EnterpriseLandingPage.htm?tocpath=Welcome%20to%20Onshape%20Help%7C_____0#_ga=2.94232287.379885347.1654115805-1259057799.1654115805
Autodesk Tinkercad
Autodesk Tinkercad is a 3D CAD software, fully usable in a web browser, which is completely free and easy to use, though not open-source. Tinkercad is a great way to learn CAD software and 3D design, with an extensive learning page and an easy-to-use interface. Tinkercad also contains a simple graphical interface for building circuits and an easy way to animate 3D designs with coding blocks.
Website home page: https://www.tinkercad.com/
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://www.tinkercad.com/learn
PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Design
Autodesk Eagle
Autodesk Eagle is a PCB design software, and a closed-source commercial product. However, there is a limited-feature free license available for hobbyists and non-commercial purposes. Autodesk Eagle includes powerful electrical engineering tools such as schematic editing, PCB layout editing, a PCB library content and more. Additionally, Autodesk Eagle integrates seamlessly with Fusion 360 allowing for both electronics and mechanical components to be modelled in a single project.
Website home page: https://www.autodesk.com/products/eagle/overview
Download page: https://www.autodesk.ca/en/products/eagle/free-download
Documentation (Tutorial, User manual, etc.): https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/eagle?sort=score