Anybody know of any good programs for designing machines or mechanical parts?
What about blender (the freeware). would you recommend something like that?

I recommend Rhino. It's not too expensive, especially if you qualify for the student discount.

I recommend Rhino. It's not too expensive, especially if you qualify for the student discount.

Do you mean "rhinoceros"
http://www.rhino3d.com/

I'm not a student :(
Looks like I'd have to dish out ~1 grand

SolidWorks is kick ass for CAD/CAM but not cheap.
You can make 3D model assemblies that are animated and tell you where your crash points are.

All the Engineers I know from school use Autodesk Inventor. Rhino is pretty good, but more for graphic rendering than technical assembly in my experience. I don't know anything about blender or solidworks. You can get most of these programs free through unconventional methods... though don't let anyone know I told you that.

All the Engineers I know from school use Autodesk Inventor.
Not from choice I bet!
Autodesk Inventor sucks majorly...