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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 ce

by 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.

by bambax 9y ago

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.