We need something like Affinity for CAD. Surely it must be possible to make a CAD program that can do the basics you need for 3D printing without all the advanced simulations and analysis. I just want to draw some sketches and extrude them.
I've used it for the past year, and no - you aren't doing anything wrong. Had the same experience, and the privilege to compare it to Solidworks. There is no contest, other than price ofc
Hell, I'd rather use Blender than FreeCAD. FOSS devs really need to get some UI and UX designers involved. Or at least someone with the skill set to know how to make not-ass UIs and UXs
IMHO its because the software lack a lot of polish. At times i found FreeCAD is better that fusion. But for the amount of pain it takes to get the software to work, it makes me want to look elsewhere.
But man are the tools in freecad good, when they work. Just wish it was multithreaded
Solvespace might be exactly what you're looking for. It is FOSS and works well for simple models. Some functionality is missing though, for example chamfers and fillets.
I wish I had time and domain knowledge to add those two to Solvespace. It's the only thing that I'm really missing. And for 3D printing design chamfers are really necessary, the models print much nicer when there are no sharp corners.