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> We've played with Jupyter/Python. My son is learning solid modeling using some free app. Have you seen OpenSCAD? It's open source constructive solid geometry

by japhyr 9y ago

> We've played with Jupyter/Python. My son is learning solid modeling using some free app. Have you seen OpenSCAD? It's open source constructive solid geometry modeling software, and I use it in my math classes. If your son enjoys Python, he might really enjoy this approach to modeling. http://www.openscad.org/ http://www.openscad.org/

bambax 9y ago
I absolutely love OpenSCAD! (for me, not for my kids yet; in my son's class they're taught 3D modeling with SketchUp -- don't know if it's good or bad but it certainly is more immediately rewarding as one can apply textures, etc.) The limiting thing about OpenSCAD is its inability to import svg; for complex shapes it makes much more sense to draw them in a graphic software, import into modeling software and extrude them there. How do you go around this problem?
- japhyr 9y ago
  For the modeling I've wanted to do, I haven't run into any limitations through openscad. As a programmer and not much of an artist, it's perfect for me. I also love that I can use it as a core part of my math curriculum, which I couldn't do as easily with most other modeling software. Students are learning measurement, geometry, and most importantly relationships through the use of parameters. It also makes for a great segue into more general programming languages. I recently started working with polyhedrons for a terrain modeling project. Could you convert svg data to a polygon and then extrude it?
  - bambax 9y ago
    > Could you convert svg data to a polygon and then extrude it? Yes, there are some tools that do this, but they're a hassle to use and usually only support a subset of svg, so many times I use FreeCAD instead...
  - zxcmx 9y ago
    So I invested weeks in openscad but as a fusion 360 user now I have to shamefully admit that I choose fusion every time I want to make real parts. I switch accounts regularly here to not tie to my real life identity but hopefully I hve enough unrelated crap not to seem like a shill. Just silly stuff like I want to print part of it but laser cut other parts of it and I can't find an easy way to get the surfaces out, or I have to go back and remodel because my fabrication approach has changed. It's probably me. But I feel like I'm fighting the software sometimes more than using it. Also no fit or mechanical (altho those features are often crap). I want to like openscad but I can't efficiently use it to make stuff.
Confiks 9y ago
Thanks for linking to OpenSCAD. I'm very interested in how you're using this in your math classes. What level are you teaching? Could you offer an example on how you're using this in your classes?
- japhyr 9y ago
  I teach high school math and science, mostly to students who have not done well in math earlier in their education. So I spend a lot of time doing pre-algebra and algebra 1 work. I love teaching at a school that lets students spend as long as they need on these topics until they truly understand them and can use them in real-world projects. There's no effort to rush students into algebra 2, although I can support students all the way through calculus if it's appropriate for them. Students do a separate, adaptive curriculum for their skills work. For modeling, they do a series of mini-projects that build their skills. They sketch a number of things like snowmen, robots, apartment buildings, skateboards, ice cream cones - things that can be represented through cubes, spheres, cylinders, and cones. Then they model these shapes and learn to translate and rotate elements. They also learn to use the difference function. The last required skill is using parameters, which is the core of the reason we can offer this for math credit. It makes them think about the relationships between all the parts in their model. They also have the option of using modules, hull, minkowski, rotate_extrude, or any other feature that helps in their projects. They propose a final project of appropriate complexity. The range of projects is just fascinating. We may open a Shapeways shop for our school in the next few months. I have two students designing a chess set as an extension project, and one student who came up with a functional design that hasn't really been done well on Shapeways. I'm happy to share more if you're curious, my email is in my profile. Also, I wrote a student-friendly intro to openscad a few years back: https://peak5390.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/an-introduction-to-3d-modeling-with-openscad-openscad-basics/ https://peak5390.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/an-introduction-to...

by japhyr 9y ago

bambax 9y ago

I absolutely love OpenSCAD! (for me, not for my kids yet; in my son's class they're taught 3D modeling with SketchUp -- don't know if it's good or bad but it certainly is more immediately rewarding as one can apply textures, etc.) The limiting thing about OpenSCAD is its inability to import svg; for complex shapes it makes much more sense to draw them in a graphic software, import into modeling software and extrude them there. How do you go around this problem?

japhyr 9y ago
For the modeling I've wanted to do, I haven't run into any limitations through openscad. As a programmer and not much of an artist, it's perfect for me. I also love that I can use it as a core part of my math curriculum, which I couldn't do as easily with most other modeling software. Students are learning measurement, geometry, and most importantly relationships through the use of parameters. It also makes for a great segue into more general programming languages. I recently started working with polyhedrons for a terrain modeling project. Could you convert svg data to a polygon and then extrude it?
- bambax 9y ago
  > Could you convert svg data to a polygon and then extrude it? Yes, there are some tools that do this, but they're a hassle to use and usually only support a subset of svg, so many times I use FreeCAD instead...
- zxcmx 9y ago
  So I invested weeks in openscad but as a fusion 360 user now I have to shamefully admit that I choose fusion every time I want to make real parts. I switch accounts regularly here to not tie to my real life identity but hopefully I hve enough unrelated crap not to seem like a shill. Just silly stuff like I want to print part of it but laser cut other parts of it and I can't find an easy way to get the surfaces out, or I have to go back and remodel because my fabrication approach has changed. It's probably me. But I feel like I'm fighting the software sometimes more than using it. Also no fit or mechanical (altho those features are often crap). I want to like openscad but I can't efficiently use it to make stuff.

Confiks 9y ago

Thanks for linking to OpenSCAD. I'm very interested in how you're using this in your math classes. What level are you teaching? Could you offer an example on how you're using this in your classes?

japhyr 9y ago
I teach high school math and science, mostly to students who have not done well in math earlier in their education. So I spend a lot of time doing pre-algebra and algebra 1 work. I love teaching at a school that lets students spend as long as they need on these topics until they truly understand them and can use them in real-world projects. There's no effort to rush students into algebra 2, although I can support students all the way through calculus if it's appropriate for them. Students do a separate, adaptive curriculum for their skills work. For modeling, they do a series of mini-projects that build their skills. They sketch a number of things like snowmen, robots, apartment buildings, skateboards, ice cream cones - things that can be represented through cubes, spheres, cylinders, and cones. Then they model these shapes and learn to translate and rotate elements. They also learn to use the difference function. The last required skill is using parameters, which is the core of the reason we can offer this for math credit. It makes them think about the relationships between all the parts in their model. They also have the option of using modules, hull, minkowski, rotate_extrude, or any other feature that helps in their projects. They propose a final project of appropriate complexity. The range of projects is just fascinating. We may open a Shapeways shop for our school in the next few months. I have two students designing a chess set as an extension project, and one student who came up with a functional design that hasn't really been done well on Shapeways. I'm happy to share more if you're curious, my email is in my profile. Also, I wrote a student-friendly intro to openscad a few years back: https://peak5390.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/an-introduction-to-3d-modeling-with-openscad-openscad-basics/ https://peak5390.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/an-introduction-to...