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If you can code, OpenSCAD might be the best place to start. I have 3D modeling experience, but CAD is sort of a different beast and a skill of its own. Most o

If you can code, OpenSCAD might be the best place to start. I have 3D modeling experience, but CAD is sort of a different beast and a skill of its own. Most of the free tools that exist are pretty complicated (FreeCAD makes me want to claw my eyes out) and the professional software packages are outrageously expensive. Once I found OpenSCAD, which is basically just modeling by code, I got way more use out of my 3D printer without just relying on other people's models. There's even an extension for VS Code that allows you to use it as an IDE for it with previews. This isn't to say that you can't take the time to learn more standard CAD software, but for what I'm doing I haven't had the time for that and I imagine you probably don't either. After a few hours of learning OpenSCAD and reading the cheat sheet, a whole world of possibilities was opened to me.

varelse 5y ago
OpenSCAD's biggest problem appears to be that it is single-threaded. I learned this from a guy printing parts for my RV. Is there an open CSG package out there somewhere that does operations like Minkowski Sums as convolutions so that they can be expressed as multiplies in frequency space and then brought down to real space for tessellation? Not only could you take that multi-threaded but you could potentially run it on a GPU hundreds of thousands of times faster.
OJFord 5y ago
I would love to use OpenSCAD, just seems to have a really steep learning curve that I can't get up. Even though I write code professionally and have no professional CAD experience, Fusion360 just clicked in a way that OpenSCAD didn't for using my 3D printer (Prusa Mini). I agree about FreeCAD, lacks a lot of polish, but there's a big update coming from it seems basically one maintainer that looks pretty promising. I found it looking for a way to save in a git-sane format (which this branch/fork has). Main problem with Fusion360 (for me) is the lack of Linux support.
- ravenstine 5y ago
  I haven't used Fusion360, but I have to say the screenshots of the UI make it look appealing and pretty straight forward (more so than say Solidworks). My assumption is that it and other standard CAD packages would have a greater learning curve for a programmer who mostly wants to print simple but custom objects. Granted, I have a background in non-CAD 3D, but OpenSCAD was incredibly fast for me to pick up not just because it relies purely on code but that it eliminates a lot of concepts that you are forced to learn otherwise. In OpenSCAD, there are no units (though STLs seem to come out in millimeters), no object hierarchies, no sketches, no key combos, etc. All you have is code, in a domain-specific language, that describes what is being built. This can be difficult or unappealing, especially for someone who isn't a full-time programmer, but it can also be freeing to just deal with code and not have other things potentially get in the way or cause confusion. Of course OpenSCAD probably doesn't scale the more complicated a project gets. But for Arduino/RPi boxes, replicating parts, screws and bolts (given a 3rd party module), it's a powerful and handy tool. However, it might be horrible for someone with limited coding skills.
  - spiderice 5y ago
    Fusion 360 is pretty easy and fun to learn. I became productive in it within just a couple hours, and used it to print some things for some house projects. Just my $0.02.
    - ravenstine 5y ago
      Nice. I'll have to give it a try!
  - svrourke 5y ago
    I've also a programming background however I got very intimidated by openSCAD though I think that might've just been because I had been using tinkercad for a year an a half beforehand and was just coddled.
ssl232 5y ago
I started out with OpenSCAD but found it limited me eventually with some of its lack of advanced features, probably because it focuses on solid geometry. I recently switched to CadQuery which uses the same CAD kernel as FreeCAD and haven't looked back. It's also Python rather than a domain specific language.
svrourke 5y ago
I would like to add onshape has a good free plan (your designs will be public) but it is a great midpoint between tinkercad and full on CAD.

varelse 5y ago

OpenSCAD's biggest problem appears to be that it is single-threaded. I learned this from a guy printing parts for my RV. Is there an open CSG package out there somewhere that does operations like Minkowski Sums as convolutions so that they can be expressed as multiplies in frequency space and then brought down to real space for tessellation? Not only could you take that multi-threaded but you could potentially run it on a GPU hundreds of thousands of times faster.

OJFord 5y ago

I would love to use OpenSCAD, just seems to have a really steep learning curve that I can't get up. Even though I write code professionally and have no professional CAD experience, Fusion360 just clicked in a way that OpenSCAD didn't for using my 3D printer (Prusa Mini). I agree about FreeCAD, lacks a lot of polish, but there's a big update coming from it seems basically one maintainer that looks pretty promising. I found it looking for a way to save in a git-sane format (which this branch/fork has). Main problem with Fusion360 (for me) is the lack of Linux support.

ravenstine 5y ago
I haven't used Fusion360, but I have to say the screenshots of the UI make it look appealing and pretty straight forward (more so than say Solidworks). My assumption is that it and other standard CAD packages would have a greater learning curve for a programmer who mostly wants to print simple but custom objects. Granted, I have a background in non-CAD 3D, but OpenSCAD was incredibly fast for me to pick up not just because it relies purely on code but that it eliminates a lot of concepts that you are forced to learn otherwise. In OpenSCAD, there are no units (though STLs seem to come out in millimeters), no object hierarchies, no sketches, no key combos, etc. All you have is code, in a domain-specific language, that describes what is being built. This can be difficult or unappealing, especially for someone who isn't a full-time programmer, but it can also be freeing to just deal with code and not have other things potentially get in the way or cause confusion. Of course OpenSCAD probably doesn't scale the more complicated a project gets. But for Arduino/RPi boxes, replicating parts, screws and bolts (given a 3rd party module), it's a powerful and handy tool. However, it might be horrible for someone with limited coding skills.
- spiderice 5y ago
  Fusion 360 is pretty easy and fun to learn. I became productive in it within just a couple hours, and used it to print some things for some house projects. Just my $0.02.
  - ravenstine 5y ago
    Nice. I'll have to give it a try!
- svrourke 5y ago
  I've also a programming background however I got very intimidated by openSCAD though I think that might've just been because I had been using tinkercad for a year an a half beforehand and was just coddled.

ssl232 5y ago

I started out with OpenSCAD but found it limited me eventually with some of its lack of advanced features, probably because it focuses on solid geometry. I recently switched to CadQuery which uses the same CAD kernel as FreeCAD and haven't looked back. It's also Python rather than a domain specific language.

svrourke 5y ago

I would like to add onshape has a good free plan (your designs will be public) but it is a great midpoint between tinkercad and full on CAD.