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I've experienced that user unfriendliness too. I'm not at all an expert in this, I'm a FreeCAD newbie that has been trying to decide whether to invest in learni

I've experienced that user unfriendliness too. I'm not at all an expert in this, I'm a FreeCAD newbie that has been trying to decide whether to invest in learning FreeCAD or not. I keep wishing that FreeCAD had the UI polish of Blender, and ask myself if Blender can do enough of the CAD workflows that it makes sense to learn Blender instead of FreeCAD. I keep reading that technically speaking, mesh-based modelers are woefully insufficient for CAD tasks. But then I see videos like this, which suggest that Blender can handle most modeling tasks, with the main exception of bevels and chamfers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5SehCbhxFs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5SehCbhxFs

jackyinger 5y ago
Mesh modeling in blender has similar downfalls to OpenSCAD. When you’re designing a bit of precision equipment (or what have you) you don’t want your circles turned into high degree polygons. Can a lathe turn a polygon? Can a drill drill a polygonal hole? Maybe you can machine a polygon on a fancy CNC lathe, but you certainly wouldn’t do so for a turbine shaft. Also for less precise things, say construction, you care about dimensions. Select an arc to get it’s radius for instance. This is why design for traditional construction techniques best done in boundary representations: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_representation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_representation I will concede that one can easily create nasty insoluble problems with boundary representations if not familiar with the limitations of splines, but this only really is a problem with curvy things like ship’s hulls and aircraft.
eindiran 5y ago
There is no downside in my opinion to learning a bit of OpenSCAD, FreeCAD, and Blender and reaching for the right tool when you need it. Personally, I have found the UI/UX of FreeCAD painful to use, but it is sufficient for most of my CAD needs. And after Fusion 360 crippled their hobbyist licensing, I don't really want to get in bed with any of the non-free CAD tools.

jackyinger 5y ago

Mesh modeling in blender has similar downfalls to OpenSCAD. When you’re designing a bit of precision equipment (or what have you) you don’t want your circles turned into high degree polygons. Can a lathe turn a polygon? Can a drill drill a polygonal hole? Maybe you can machine a polygon on a fancy CNC lathe, but you certainly wouldn’t do so for a turbine shaft. Also for less precise things, say construction, you care about dimensions. Select an arc to get it’s radius for instance. This is why design for traditional construction techniques best done in boundary representations: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_representation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_representation I will concede that one can easily create nasty insoluble problems with boundary representations if not familiar with the limitations of splines, but this only really is a problem with curvy things like ship’s hulls and aircraft.

eindiran 5y ago

There is no downside in my opinion to learning a bit of OpenSCAD, FreeCAD, and Blender and reaching for the right tool when you need it. Personally, I have found the UI/UX of FreeCAD painful to use, but it is sufficient for most of my CAD needs. And after Fusion 360 crippled their hobbyist licensing, I don't really want to get in bed with any of the non-free CAD tools.