Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#1

Post by blobfish01 » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 6:35 PM UTC

Cadseer is in the same genre as: solidworks, inventor, freecad etc... Cadseer is alpha software, so lots of missing features, bugs, crashes, file incompatibilities etc...

About me: I spent 15 years designing stamping dies on a high end cad system. During that time, I also developed and marketed extensions/plugins toward that cad system. Through that experience, I came disillusioned with 'vendor lock-in' and proprietary software in general. I basically retired, took the vow of poverty and moved all my computing to open source. I have since, and continue to, try and improve the open source cad environment.

Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application
gitlab.com

Re: Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#2

Post by akiselev » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:20 PM UTC

I haven't tried it out yet but screenshots are available here: https://gitlab.com/blobfish/cadseer/-/wikis/screenshots

Looks pretty advanced already! It would be great to have more screenshots of the sketch mode though

Did you write your own geometric modeling kernel or are you using an existing one?

Edit: The git history goes back at least seven years! That's a lot of dedication

Re: Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#3

Post by blobfish01 » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:55 PM UTC

akiselev wrote: post #2

I haven't tried it out yet but screenshots are available here: https://gitlab.com/blobfish/cadseer/-/wikis/screenshots Looks pretty advanced already! It would be great to have more screenshots of the sketch mode though Did you write your own geometric modeling kernel or are you using an existing one? Edit: The git history goes back at least seven years! That's a lot of dedication

I made a screen cast a few days ago. https://vimeo.com/813202571 If you watch that you can see the sketch mode. Sketcher need a lot of love. No I didn't write a geometric kernel and I am using opencascade. I think my first git commit is about 10 years ago, but I didn't get serious until about 6 years ago.

Re: Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#4

Post by mitthrowaway2 » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 11:44 PM UTC

Very cool! I always like to see more activity in the open-source CAD space.

It must take a lot of motivation to create your own CAD. Were you dissatisfied with other open-source offerings, or do you have a different philosophy you're shooting for, or did you want to try it yourself for the satisfaction?

Re: Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#5

Post by blobfish01 » Sat, Apr 01, 2023, 12:12 AM UTC

mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #4

Very cool! I always like to see more activity in the open-source CAD space. It must take a lot of motivation to create your own CAD. Were you dissatisfied with other open-source offerings, or do you have a different philosophy you're shooting for, or did you want to try it yourself for the satisfaction?

I think most will agree open source cad is lacking. At least in the 3d solid modeling world. Philosophy? Tough question! I guess, "Everything Should Be Made as Simple as Possible, But Not Simpler".

Re: Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#6

Post by georgeoliver » Sat, Apr 01, 2023, 12:27 AM UTC

As someone who just started with FreeCAD last week (and have never used CAD tools previously) I'm wondering what its major pain points for you are?

Re: Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#7

Post by rafamvc » Sat, Apr 01, 2023, 12:28 AM UTC

What is the difference between this and openscad?

I want to love openscad but it is hard to encapsulate and distribute code, as the library system is non existent.

Why is this better for stamping dies? I don't know much about it, but often wondered why there aren't cads specifically made for every fabrication style.

Re: Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#8

Post by mitthrowaway2 » Sat, Apr 01, 2023, 12:40 AM UTC

blobfish01 wrote: post #5

mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #4

Very cool! I always like to see more activity in the open-source CAD space. It must take a lot of motivation to create your own CAD. Were you dissatisfied with other open-source offerings, or do you have a different philosophy you're shooting for, or did you want to try it yourself for the satisfaction?

I think most will agree open source cad is lacking. At least in the 3d solid modeling world. Philosophy? Tough question! I guess, "Everything Should Be Made as Simple as Possible, But Not Simpler".

I see why you wouldn't be satisfied with FreeCAD then!

Re: Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#9

Post by inportb » Sat, Apr 01, 2023, 1:02 AM UTC

rafamvc wrote: post #7

What is the difference between this and openscad? I want to love openscad but it is hard to encapsulate and distribute code, as the library system is non existent. Why is this better for stamping dies? I don't know much about it, but often wondered why there aren't cads specifically made for every fabrication style.

This appears to implement nontrivial features such as constraint solving and the ability to easily fillet edges.

I like the idea of programming geometry, but never got the hang of the OpenSCAD language. I eventually settled on JSCAD.

Re: Show HN: Cadseer. a parametric solid modeling CAD desktop application

#10

Post by blobfish01 » Sat, Apr 01, 2023, 1:27 AM UTC

georgeoliver wrote: post #6

As someone who just started with FreeCAD last week (and have never used CAD tools previously) I'm wondering what its major pain points for you are?

If you are just starting with 3d modeling, you have a learning curve ahead of you regardless of the software. I am not sure at this point if I should be giving you advice.