11–20 of 88 posts
I met a bunch of aerospace engineers a long time ago -- thinking about working on a software product in contract manufacturing or PDM -- and a common theme was the struggle to optimize the design for cost of manufacture.
Seems like something you guys are thinking about if focused on manufacturability.
I always wondered if there's a VR app (or market for one) that can map out an area and let you virtually model your project within it using standard building components (9" solid blocks, cavity blocks, lengths of timber in standard sizes, various sheets materials etc). It should be able to do basic calculations (rafter spans, roof pitch etc). Once you're done, it spits out CAD files, bill of materials etc. Bonus points for looking up local suppliers and offering to order everything for you, or even modifying the design to accommodate what's available.
It's a completely different project and target audience to OP's app, so sorry for the tangent.
That bit about auto-generating BOMs is awesome. Any chance you've thought about supporting the engineer with cost-saving recommendations? I met a bunch of aerospace engineers a long time ago -- thinking about working on a software product in contract manufacturing or PDM -- and a common theme was the struggle to optimize the design for cost of manufacture. Seems like something you guys are thinking about if focused o…
? As someone said: the most expensive is the microcontroller. If you remove it, you save a lot of costs.
I wonder if the prevalence of coding LLMs will bring renewed attention to code-based modeling systems like OpenSCAD. It seems much easier to get them to generate code vs. translating into GUI interactions or modifying some other internal state directly.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m sure there will be some value, especially as the LLM systems become capable of doing more of the work, but as a professional robotics engineer with a focus on mechanical engineering, OpenSCAD just cannot perform appropriately to serve as a primary CAD platform for professional mechanical design. Parametric GUI based design has so many advantages, a key one being that you can click on a feature and change it easil…
I think both approaches have merit, I find the ability to have proper libraries/functions (such as "place M4x8 socket head countersunk bolt here") is really nice, though I'm faster with the click&change approach for exploratory design. However the thing holding OpenSCAD back is the fact it is CSG (basically booleans on primitives) which is just not good enough for non-trivial parts. More interesting tool is cadquery[…
Code-cad is great because you get exactly what you put in, but sometimes it can feel like starting with a bucket of logic gates instead of a microcontroller.
I've had "test LLM's with code-cad" on my todo list for a while, as I think it has the possibility of greatly accelerating the production of the additional part libraries that I'd need to able to make more regular use of it.
My brother in law is in construction and has built and project managed dozens of houses, small apartment blocks etc. He said that if a building job doesn't require planning permission (small extension, temporary structure, certain farm buildings, large sheds, pergolas, verandas, sunrooms etc) then the customer might ask if he can save money by skipping the architect and engineer. A competent builder can generally wor…
[1] https://impresamodular.com/design-modular-home-plan-using-in...
I wonder if the prevalence of coding LLMs will bring renewed attention to code-based modeling systems like OpenSCAD. It seems much easier to get them to generate code vs. translating into GUI interactions or modifying some other internal state directly.
Was a Mechanical Design Engineer for about a decade. Personally, the CAD part was the easy and fun part (Used Solidworks, Creo, Inventor, Catia v5 extensively. Professionally trained in all four as well). The “tedious” part was SAP (part number and material management), drafting, ECN/R/O, BOM handling, etc. I would be more excited for “AI” for PLM like Windchill, TeamCenter, or Cadedge (or whatever SAP PLM packages y…
Autodesk Fusion already knows how to apply those kinds of constraints. This is an easier way to input them. The general problem is to express "what am I pointing at" in cluttered situations. Just figuring out how to do that was a huge problem in CAD. For decades, you had to have multiple views on screen just to select. The UI for doing it in one view was really tough.
It still doesn't translate well to fat-fingered devices such as tablets and phones. There are lots of construction people who could really use a tablet that has the design, knows where it is in space, and shows what's supposed to go there.