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CadQuery –- A Python parametric CAD scripting framework based on OCCT

github.com

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Re: CadQuery –- A Python parametric CAD scripting framework based on OCCT

#2

Post by samwillis »

Slight aside, does anyone know of a more modern open source parametric CAD kernel than OpenCascade (which this is built on)?

When I have looked into it before it seems to be criticised for being somewhat dated and not have the power and developer ease as Parasolid (which costs big bucks). Having both a software and mechanical engineering background (I spent a lot of time in SolidWorks) I regularly get the itch to try and combine the two and create a CAD tool.

Re: CadQuery –- A Python parametric CAD scripting framework based on OCCT

#4

Post by rjsw »

samwillis wrote: post #2

Slight aside, does anyone know of a more modern open source parametric CAD kernel than OpenCascade (which this is built on)? When I have looked into it before it seems to be criticised for being somewhat dated and not have the power and developer ease as Parasolid (which costs big bucks). Having both a software and mechanical engineering background (I spent a lot of time in SolidWorks) I regularly get the itch to try…

The only other open source full function CAD kernel that I know of is BRL-CAD, have only poked around a bit in it and OCCT.

Re: CadQuery –- A Python parametric CAD scripting framework based on OCCT

#5

Post by mikebannister »

I made this keyboard case with CadQuery. In the long run I'm working towards generating cases (and PCBs) for keyboards with many parameters available for configuration (e.g. number of columns, number of rows, number and position of thumb keys, case style, rotary encoders, etc).

https://imgur.com/a/VfOyAjP

https://github.com/possibilities/unkeyboard

Note I chose a somewhat non-idiomatic approach (in terms of cadquery) writing this and I'm new to python.

Re: CadQuery –- A Python parametric CAD scripting framework based on OCCT

#6

Post by samwillis »

rjsw wrote: post #4
samwillis wrote: post #2

Slight aside, does anyone know of a more modern open source parametric CAD kernel than OpenCascade (which this is built on)? When I have looked into it before it seems to be criticised for being somewhat dated and not have the power and developer ease as Parasolid (which costs big bucks). Having both a software and mechanical engineering background (I spent a lot of time in SolidWorks) I regularly get the itch to try…

The only other open source full function CAD kernel that I know of is BRL-CAD, have only poked around a bit in it and OCCT.

Yes, I have come across BRL-CAD but never tried it. I believe it’s even older and more complex than OpenCascade. How did you find the two of them?

Re: CadQuery –- A Python parametric CAD scripting framework based on OCCT

#7

Post by Already__Taken »

I tried this a couple of months ago, I found what it's trying to do very pleasant to use but the tooling around it is very annoying. The up-to-date version 2 isn't on pypi, conda is thoroughly unpleasant to have as an environment. There seems to be a drive to using it inside it's own editor https://github.com/CadQuery/CQ-editor while nice seems like wasted engineering effort in developing an editor when the language needs so much work. I didn't have much success structuring cad into modules as they wouldn't import well.

The point IMO of parametric cad in an existing language is to use the ecosystem. Lots of choices in this project make that really hard.

Re: CadQuery –- A Python parametric CAD scripting framework based on OCCT

#8

Post by unfocussed_mike »

This is absolutely an impressive toolset, because it provides a bridge between the CSG => STL world (OpenSCAD, boolean operations, cutting shapes out of other shapes) and the STEP world of GUI CAD (faces, fillets, chamfers).

I struggle with GUI CAD and I'm still learning all of this stuff at the most noddy level, but I am very conscious that I will want to send stuff out to be manufactured one day, and that means I have to be able to get beyond STL to STEP. So I am going to be spending more time with CADQuery and trying to use what it helps me visualise in FreeCAD as well.

There is now a FreeCad workbench for CadQuery 2.0 which I have not yet tried:

https://github.com/jpmlt/freecad-cadquery2-workbench

Re: CadQuery –- A Python parametric CAD scripting framework based on OCCT

#9

Post by jkic47 »

Already__Taken wrote: post #7

I tried this a couple of months ago, I found what it's trying to do very pleasant to use but the tooling around it is very annoying. The up-to-date version 2 isn't on pypi, conda is thoroughly unpleasant to have as an environment. There seems to be a drive to using it inside it's own editor https://github.com/CadQuery/CQ-editor while nice seems like wasted engineering effort in developing an editor when the language…

I actually found it fairly intuitive to use for an admittedly simple use-case, but I agree with you on CQ-editor being sub-optimal. The docs could have provided an example of displaying / saving assemblies to popular image formats
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