Originally Posted by
Jeffrey Meyer
As far as "...the usual combinations of sketches, extrusions, etc." is concerned, this is an issue of expectations. There exist international standard cross-platform translators - IGES, STEP, ParaSolid, etc. - that translate basically only the final geometry without the engineering intent and history of how you built the geometry. The history protocol does not exist in any of these translators. SolidWorks, Alibre, FreeCAD, and Blender are not exceptions. Furthermore, the intimate connection between part files and drawing files, as well as mates in assemblies also get lost in the transfer.
That's the bad news.
Good news: I've been trying FreeCAD and I find that STEP files go across just fine, although the modeling interface takes a little getting used to. The program also includes FEM/A modules that I want to use. Obviously it isn't as mature as SolidWorks, it certainly doesn't have a massive user base, but equally obviously the developers are doing a pretty good job coming up with regular fixes and improvements. It seems to me that FreeCAD is engineering software developed by engineers for engineers. IMHO this is definitely a viable alternative to SW.
Jeffrey