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Curated Code CAD (2020)

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Re: Curated Code CAD (2020)

#21

Post by regularfry »

ur-whale wrote: post #6
guitarbill wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can only speak from a 3d printing perspective, and I've only tried OpenSCAD and FreeCAD. As rough as OpenSCAD is, I find myself coming back to it, because CAD-as-code is just so useful (including leaving comments). For bashing out quick, fairly simple models I still like it. The various OpenSCAD DSLs can help, but also not when they get superseded or get in your way. I think the review on the posts blog summarizes…

Yeah, I've tried to digest the Freecad UI / worflow many times, it's just horrible.

There's definitely room for a UI remix that just embeds a couple of critical workbenches for specific workflows. I use it for designing things for 3d printing, and I spend all of my time in 3 workbenches, maybe 4 if I'm doing something unusual. There's a lot of UI/UX noise I don't need to care about.

Re: Curated Code CAD (2020)

#22

Post by rjsw »

irevdev wrote: post #17

Hey, the author here. I'm sure I'm missing some, let me know if you know of any. One project that's not on there and frankly it's too early to list but I'm hopeful for is KittyCAD [1] Getting funding behind one of these projects could go a long way. [1] https://kittycad.io/blog/introducing-kittycad

I would urge the KittyCAD people to join in with the STEP development effort, the world doesn't need yet another incompatable CAD exchange file format.

Re: Curated Code CAD (2020)

#25

Post by guitarbill »

irevdev wrote: post #20
guitarbill wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can only speak from a 3d printing perspective, and I've only tried OpenSCAD and FreeCAD. As rough as OpenSCAD is, I find myself coming back to it, because CAD-as-code is just so useful (including leaving comments). For bashing out quick, fairly simple models I still like it. The various OpenSCAD DSLs can help, but also not when they get superseded or get in your way. I think the review on the posts blog summarizes…

I kinda think the many of workbenches in FreeCAD might have been a mistake, it's confusing to know where to start.

I'm inclined to agree, although I'm not trying to bash FreeCAD. The benefit of hindsight is unfair, and FreeCAD set out to be a "full" CAD package, which are naturally complex. Widespread 3d printing came after FreeCAD's inception. No doubt the 3d printing "sphere" could benefit from an open Fusion 360 replacement though...

Re: Curated Code CAD (2020)

#26

Post by Asooka »

sfvisser wrote: post #11

There is an OpenCascade version compiled down to wasm [1] that we're currently using embedded in our own app. Rendering to WebGL is relatively straight-forward and the system as a whole works well. Gives me a lot of power when designing mechanical systems and running simulations on the resulting models. Perf of the CAD kernel on the web is not great, but 'just good enough'. Troubleshooting issues is tricky though. If…

What do you use for running simulations of your mechanical models?

Re: Curated Code CAD (2020)

#27

Post by guitarbill »

gene-h wrote: post #14

I honestly do no see the point of code CAD for anything but a couple limited cases. Designing is an inherently visual process and you lose a lot by working with code. In modern CAD software one already does 'programming' by specifying geometric constraints. For a great example of the power of this approach, see Ivan Sutherland's sketchpad. Specifying geometry using equations as one often does in code CAD is a much mo…

That may or may not be true. Certainly I'd like the option of good open source visual CAD software.

But the code/textual format is a boon for me personally: version control, Thingiverse's customizer, and easy re-use. You can grab geometry or constructs from other projects. Whether or not those properties are incompatible with a visual approach - I'm not sure?

Re: Curated Code CAD (2020)

#28

Post by ur-whale »

regularfry wrote: post #21
ur-whale wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I've tried to digest the Freecad UI / worflow many times, it's just horrible.

There's definitely room for a UI remix that just embeds a couple of critical workbenches for specific workflows. I use it for designing things for 3d printing, and I spend all of my time in 3 workbenches, maybe 4 if I'm doing something unusual. There's a lot of UI/UX noise I don't need to care about.

I'm curious: have you found a way to export your models to a mesh file format (eg obj) with some amount of control tessellation?

Last I tried, I didn't manage to find the control. I assume it exists, but the UI was simply to painful to navigate.

Re: Curated Code CAD (2020)

#29

Post by the__alchemist »

londons_explore wrote: post #2

When I last used OpenSCAD, I found it rather lacking. Basic things like 'hollow this object out, leaving a 3mm shell' are nearly impossible. Anything non-trivial takes minutes or hours to compile, making debugging really hard. Are these newer tools better?

I agree. Articles like this may be confusing to people new to or unfamiliar with CAD: Tools like OpenSCAD aren't on the same level as the better GUI tools like SolidWorks and Fusion. Even FreeCad is a better bet for anything other than experimenting.

Re: Curated Code CAD (2020)

#30

Post by the__alchemist »

guitarbill wrote: post #3
londons_explore wrote: post #2

When I last used OpenSCAD, I found it rather lacking. Basic things like 'hollow this object out, leaving a 3mm shell' are nearly impossible. Anything non-trivial takes minutes or hours to compile, making debugging really hard. Are these newer tools better?

I can only speak from a 3d printing perspective, and I've only tried OpenSCAD and FreeCAD. As rough as OpenSCAD is, I find myself coming back to it, because CAD-as-code is just so useful (including leaving comments). For bashing out quick, fairly simple models I still like it. The various OpenSCAD DSLs can help, but also not when they get superseded or get in your way. I think the review on the posts blog summarizes…

> I've only tried OpenSCAD and FreeCAD.

This is the crux of why you've come to this conclusion: FreeCAD is frustrating to work with compared to other CAD platforms.

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