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Launch HN: Adam (YC W25) – Open-Source AI CAD

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Re: Launch HN: Adam (YC W25) – Open-Source AI CAD

#94

Post by imtringued »

edoceo wrote: post #84
alnwlsn wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most difficult thing about these projects is for me to consider why anyone would want to use words to describe a 3D object. How do you reference objects? Saying "Make the hole at the end of the bracket 3 mm and move it up" isn't going to cut it. How do you know which end of the bracket I mean, and which direction does up refer to? So then I'd have to be more precise in what I'm asking for, and structure my words…

Hi. I'm an idiot and I don't understand anything about CAD or 3D modeling. But! I want to build a machine I've dreamed up. It's got many parts, it's big? 2x1x2m. The current method is to talk to Blender experts and have them make mocks to see the draft running. Them pick some parts, properly model them (CAD), print them, test in real world. Loop. I would love a text to Blender Animation to Things to Print then things…

I wouldn't. I'd rather draw a sketch or image of what I want and hand that over to the AI. There is no universe where I'd want to describe a CAD model as a text prompt (no, Patrick, OpenSCAD source files are not prompts, mayonnaise is not an instrument either).

Re: Launch HN: Adam (YC W25) – Open-Source AI CAD

#95

Post by fxtentacle »

Congratulations on the launch. The propeller demo looks good :) BTW, customising gears (which are then laser cut from sheet metal) is also a common request from untechnical people who need CAD help.

How do you differentiate from other open source AI CAD solutions? I’ve also had a good experience with Claude Code and CadQuery, which is a Python toolkit for generating CAD designs based on OpenCascade. I.e. what’s your moat?

And given that you’re YC funded .. what’s your plan for millions in MRR?

I’m asking because I would like to launch some useful open source tools myself (but for PIM, not CAD) and I just can’t figure out how to make open source sustainable, let alone profitable enough for hockey stick revenue growth. Any tips? Book recommendations?

Re: Launch HN: Adam (YC W25) – Open-Source AI CAD

#99

Post by KolibriFly »

incorene2 wrote: post #58

What exactly is the use case for this? Just making pretty little 3d models? There are so many reasons why I, as an engineer, will never even attempt to use AI for mechanical design, that trying to list them all is about to give me an autistic screeching fit. Even if all I need is a simple little bracket or something, I can model that and know it's right much quicker than I can ask the AI to do it and then check it's…

[dead]

Re: Launch HN: Adam (YC W25) – Open-Source AI CAD

#100

Post by KolibriFly »

dvh wrote: post #14

I asked it to create 3d model of "AMF-O97L45-DB". It pulled datasheet and generated 3D model. Left is reality, right is what was generated: https://imgur.com/a/oNaz51q - wrong pitch - wrong pins position - missing pins

That's why a hybrid approach is needed. The agent shouldn't be making up dimensions based on an image. It should use OCR to extract the size table from the datasheet, feed it into a parametric table, and only then map it onto the base enclosure template.
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