Is the site working? It accepts input, but the windows just show "Generating", even though the message "You are all caught up" appears.
Try refreshing.
Text-to-CAD
51–60 of 98 posts
Re: Text-to-CAD
#52As someone who has used 3D CAD professionally for decades, I must confess I had low expectations for this tool. My expectations have been greatly exceeded, and there is real value in something like this. The value is not in creating models of new/custom parts, but in quickly generating models of standard parts such as pipe fittings, bolts, connectors, and stuff you could buy from a catalog. Prompts like "m4 cap screw…
I'm sure there are instances where you have to model these parts manually, but I've never run into a situation where McMaster-Carr[1] didn't have the models I'm looking for.
- [1]: https://www.mcmaster.com/
Re: Text-to-CAD
#53What about dimensions? It's a good starting point, but which software can use this to alter the dimensions precisely? This should have been called Text-to-3D.
> Today, you can take the generated STEP file of any CAD model from Text-to-CAD and import it into an existing CAD program and edit it. Even more exciting, in the future, we will give you the generated KCL (KittyCAD Language) code so that you can edit it in our Modeling App!
Oh great, it's like a more advanced OpenSCAD but cloud-only, not open-source, and pay-as-you-go.
Re: Text-to-CAD
#54Disappointing to see Jessie Frazelle building closed source centralized tech. This approach mirrors "Open"AI sending all queries to central servers with no mention of any privacy measures. The admins surely get to see who is making sex toys, prop weapons, or medical parts and that data will be sold or leaked, as is tradition. This is a great idea though and I look forward to supporting whoever makes an open source al…
As someone who spent an enormous amount of free time with zero pay contributing to one of those open source cad tools you mentioned, i say good for her. Make that bag. I work in a low level job thats got nothing to do with open source nor with CAD because i spent way too much time waiting for open source to magically produce income. There is a spectrum between open source dreams and pragmatic reality. People who judg…
I'm inclined to believe that the people who make proprietary software are the ones with the "wrong worldview", if there is such a thing. People with morals are not the ones at fault for making the world parasitic to its core.
You say you had to stop with the open source because you needed money. That has nothing to do with open source, and everything to do with the fact that you're not allowed to access the basic necessities of life if you don't allow yourself to be exploited for profit.
Re: Text-to-CAD
#55When ever I see CAD mentioned on hackernews it's always 3D and never the more ubiquitous (in the construction industry) 2D documentation CAD. I wonder if this would be able to generate 2D vector files.
The gateway to 3d cad is a properly functioning 2d cad system. At least, that’s how I view 3d. At the very least, the tool should be able to do additive and subtractive operations (boolean). Union, add, subtract, intersect, etc.
The way I see it, 2D is inherently included in 3D CAD, but 2D CAD is limited it's 2D-only nature.
Parts physically exist in 3D CAD. When you're working on your blueprint, it's done more-or-less by performing the operations on the part that will be performed when it's manufactured. Every 2D view you could ever want is inherently included in a 3D part.
But 2D... it's not much better than sketching by hand on a piece of paper. Everything's disconnected. You can forget to add a feature to a view, you can make mistakes between views. With 3D if you add a new flange or a hole or whatever to a part, every drawing is instantly updated.
Re: Text-to-CAD
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're getting your engineering plans from Midjourney etc., something is likely to explode.
To be honest from the sample prompts they provide you would be lucky if any two pieces fits together.
It's like the joke about the group of engineering professors who were invited to fly in a plane.
After they get comfortably seated, they are informed that the plane was built by their students.
All but one jump out of their seats and immediately run for the exits.
Later, the lone professor who remained calm was interviewed, as he clearly had more confidence in the ability of his students than any of the others.
“It's true, I know my students' ability very well, and I can tell you for a fact this plane won't move an inch.”
Re: Text-to-CAD
#57As someone who has used 3D CAD professionally for decades, I must confess I had low expectations for this tool. My expectations have been greatly exceeded, and there is real value in something like this. The value is not in creating models of new/custom parts, but in quickly generating models of standard parts such as pipe fittings, bolts, connectors, and stuff you could buy from a catalog. Prompts like "m4 cap screw…
This is good feedback thank you! The model will only get better from here and we will work on speed and UX, we are also getting a bit pounded at the moment which might account for some slowness.
Re: Text-to-CAD
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
i've definitely used 2-d cad programs that can't handle 3-d, and 3-d cad programs that are at best anemic for making 2-d drawings they're not one and the same, although some programs are capable enough to do both
That a CAD program can only handle 2D doesn't mean that it doesn't describe 3D. Even when plans where physical large format blueprints, 2D, the product they described was of course always 3D. In French, the draughtsman was called a "dessinateur projeteur" - as projecting the 3D objects to a 2D plane (the plan !) was his core skill.
Seems like a massive waste of time to me, like hours vs seconds kind of waste of time. With 3D CAD, if I have a top view of a part and want to add a side view, it's like 3 clicks to just... make it exist. All views are derived from the 3D part/assembly, there's no effort needed to make new views pop into existence.
Maybe I'm out of date on 2D CAD knowledge, but from what I remember you'd literally have to re-sketch the entire part for the new view. Because it's drawn in 2D, you can't just "flip it on its side" like you can a 3D part. And then you have to make sure you actually sketched the part correctly and didn't forget anything.
I see it as analogous to programming with toggle switches.
Re: Text-to-CAD
#59As someone who has used 3D CAD professionally for decades, I must confess I had low expectations for this tool. My expectations have been greatly exceeded, and there is real value in something like this. The value is not in creating models of new/custom parts, but in quickly generating models of standard parts such as pipe fittings, bolts, connectors, and stuff you could buy from a catalog. Prompts like "m4 cap screw…
This is good feedback thank you! The model will only get better from here and we will work on speed and UX, we are also getting a bit pounded at the moment which might account for some slowness.
Also the goal is ultimately to return a KCL file which is our scripting language for CAD which is very parametric :) and easily editable, this will come next year
Re: Text-to-CAD
#60Is the site working? It accepts input, but the windows just show "Generating", even though the message "You are all caught up" appears.
Try refreshing.
Came back after dinner, and it was done.
Trying some prompts:
- "1/4 inch bolt, hex head" -- result is a cylinder with no bolt head.
- "1/4 inch bolt" -- "The prompt must clearly describe a CAD model"
- "1/4 inch threaded rod, 3 inches long" -- same
- "0.25in threaded rod, 3 inches long" -- same
- "Plate, 3in x 5in, with rounded corners." -- same
- "Plate with rounded corners" -- blank result
Now it's too overloaded to do anything.
This is kind of an interesting idea. It's a good project to get a large language model and a constructive solid geometry model on speaking terms.
This needs to be a dialog. Something like this:
> Create a flat plate, 100mm x 300mm x 3mm thick.
> Round corners, 20mm radius.
> Drill four holes in the corners.
> Holes are inset 20mm from edges.
> Holes are 6mm diameter.
> Allow extra hole diameter for standard 6mm screw.
> Round edges of top surface of plate.
Those are all things you can express to Autodesk Inventor through its GUI.
What you'd really like to say is:
> Import this file. Here is a mounting plate for a motor.
OK
> The four holes near the center are mounting bolts for a standard NEMA motor.
OK.
> What motor frame size is it for?
NEMA 42
> Change the bolt holes to fit a NEMA 56 at the same position.
OK. (Drawing changes).