Solid Edge Community Edition
Solid Edge has a maker edition, which I guess is the same as the Community Edition. It won’t install if you also have a commercial edition installed. I believe the Community Edition is the Premium level, so you get a lot of tools.
The limitations are that you can’t send files to people with a commercial version, and you get a watermark on your drawings. But you can 3D print your parts and save out translated formats. This is perfect to play with the software, make 3d print models, and test out ideas.
I just installed this version so I can keep writing about it, learning about it, and generally messing around with the many interesting aspects of this software. It has full ordered modeling, including surfacing, synchronous, subd, convergent, simulation, rendering, motion, data management, 3d print tools…
To download it, you just have to put in some information that you’ve probably given away for much smaller return in the past. It looks like the full install, about 3.5 gb. I had mine set up in less than an hour. Time well worth it.
Another software I was using also has a “maker” edition, but it’s 3DX, not the desktop version of the software you want to use. They tried to get me to use this version. Unsuccessfully. Not that I’m not curious, just that I’m not curious about that.
The SE software is free, and it didn’t have a license file the way the commercial version does. I disconnected my network, and the software still starts. The site seemed to say that this version never expires, and this is the 2022 version. Maybe they have a new version every year.
Can’t remember if SE 2021 stopped working, I did the SE 2022 upgrade with no issue.
The SolidWorks Makers versions appears to include the desktop version. Not sure if it “has” to be connected to their cloud or not though.