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Is anyone aware of a project that would be creating an open source alternative to SketchUp? It's one of the two pieces of proprietary software (other being Mat

by exDM69 10y ago

Is anyone aware of a project that would be creating an open source alternative to SketchUp? It's one of the two pieces of proprietary software (other being Mathematica) I rely on day-to-day life. I've even considered starting such a project, but it's near the end of my very long TODO list and I'm unlikely to have time to make it into something usable by the general public. I really enjoy using Blender for my more art-oriented 3d needs, but I use SketchUp for more engineering oriented tasks like making drawings for my woodworking projects.

zokier 10y ago
Would a full-blown CAD like SolveSpace be overkill for your uses? http://solvespace.com/ http://solvespace.com/ discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12650290 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12650290
- exDM69 10y ago
  Yes, it's probably overkill. What I'm after is the simplicity, even if it comes with limitations. My woodworking plans are pretty simple, and I have no need for fancy shapes or parametric stuff (I can't design more complex things than I can cut and chop with chisel and saw). I wouldn't go designing fancy shapes for machining with SketchUp, but it's great for doing plans for simple projects.
  - tshannon 10y ago
    Yep, Sketchup is excellent for planning out woodworking. It lets you figure out how everything will fit together in 3d space, and then you can just measure all your cuts in your finished design. I really wish there was an open source alternative, or at least a linux one (Sketchup works ok in wine).
    - exDM69 10y ago
      I've been really considering starting a SketchUp -style 3d drawing program project. I have a background in 3d graphics and data structures/algorithms, so it would be right down my alley. But I don't have a lot of time on my hands :(
GregBuchholz 10y ago
Can you briefly outline what features of SketchUp you like best? Have you looked at FreeCAD?
- exDM69 10y ago
  I don't know if you've used it, so this may be hard to describe. What I like the most is the simple drawing tools that have intelligent "snapping" (to axes, edges, surfaces, etc), which makes it really easy to draw things that have exact dimensions and align perfectly with all the other pieces. This coupled with the smart move/replicate tool makes it a breeze to design furniture with elaborate joinery. I've not tried FreeCAD. It looks like it could work for my use case, although it looks much more complex and I do like the simplicity of SketchUp, even if it makes it a bit more limited tool (desinging round shapes in SketchUp is a pain, it's a very polygon-oriented tool).
  - GregBuchholz 10y ago
    I'm just a newbie when it comes to 3D modeling. I've never used SketchUp, so I don't know how they compare in complexity, but FreeCAD does have quite a wide assortment of "snapping" features: http://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Draft_Snap http://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Draft_Snap
    - exDM69 10y ago
      Looks handy, I'm going to try it out! SketchUp is so simple, I'd call it 3d drawing app, Just the pen tool and snapping is enough to get stuff done.

by exDM69 10y ago

zokier 10y ago

Would a full-blown CAD like SolveSpace be overkill for your uses? http://solvespace.com/ http://solvespace.com/ discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12650290 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12650290

exDM69 10y ago
Yes, it's probably overkill. What I'm after is the simplicity, even if it comes with limitations. My woodworking plans are pretty simple, and I have no need for fancy shapes or parametric stuff (I can't design more complex things than I can cut and chop with chisel and saw). I wouldn't go designing fancy shapes for machining with SketchUp, but it's great for doing plans for simple projects.
- tshannon 10y ago
  Yep, Sketchup is excellent for planning out woodworking. It lets you figure out how everything will fit together in 3d space, and then you can just measure all your cuts in your finished design. I really wish there was an open source alternative, or at least a linux one (Sketchup works ok in wine).
  - exDM69 10y ago
    I've been really considering starting a SketchUp -style 3d drawing program project. I have a background in 3d graphics and data structures/algorithms, so it would be right down my alley. But I don't have a lot of time on my hands :(

GregBuchholz 10y ago

Can you briefly outline what features of SketchUp you like best? Have you looked at FreeCAD?

exDM69 10y ago
I don't know if you've used it, so this may be hard to describe. What I like the most is the simple drawing tools that have intelligent "snapping" (to axes, edges, surfaces, etc), which makes it really easy to draw things that have exact dimensions and align perfectly with all the other pieces. This coupled with the smart move/replicate tool makes it a breeze to design furniture with elaborate joinery. I've not tried FreeCAD. It looks like it could work for my use case, although it looks much more complex and I do like the simplicity of SketchUp, even if it makes it a bit more limited tool (desinging round shapes in SketchUp is a pain, it's a very polygon-oriented tool).
- GregBuchholz 10y ago
  I'm just a newbie when it comes to 3D modeling. I've never used SketchUp, so I don't know how they compare in complexity, but FreeCAD does have quite a wide assortment of "snapping" features: http://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Draft_Snap http://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Draft_Snap
  - exDM69 10y ago
    Looks handy, I'm going to try it out! SketchUp is so simple, I'd call it 3d drawing app, Just the pen tool and snapping is enough to get stuff done.