8 ms·

Just came to say FreeCAD is also really good.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
seanw444 5y ago
All the reviews I hear about it are generally poor. That said, I hear a lot of poor reviews on open-source software, which I generally have a good experience with. I don't do any CAD, and haven't used FreeCAD personally, so I can't say for certain.
- dylan604 5y ago
  Tranlasted: "I have no knowledge of the subject you speak, but here is some hearsay information for you that I can't personally vouche for or dispell." Love it
  - seanw444 5y ago
    What was the point of this? Yes, that's what I said. And?
blutack 5y ago
It is, I also have a big soft spot for SolveSpace[1] - the feature to speed/binary size ratio is fantastic. 1: https://solvespace.com https://solvespace.com
- speps 5y ago
  You didn't read the link, it's a Blender plugin to use SolveSpace inside of it.
  - blutack 5y ago
    It uses the same python sketch constrainting module derived from a SolveSpace internals fork that FreeCAD also uses [1]. I'll give the parent project a go anyway, it's a cool idea. 1: https://github.com/realthunder/slvs_py https://github.com/realthunder/slvs_py
    - rbanffy 5y ago
      And it's also worth noting one of the SolveSpace folks is in Ukraine and his people could use our support. https://twitter.com/app4soft/status/1499029843689852934?s=20&t=W4X2McMRkDv0vtdSc9ve1A https://twitter.com/app4soft/status/1499029843689852934?s=20...
      - phkahler 5y ago
        That guy is... Well, he was a large contributing factor to the previous Solvespace lead maintainer quitting. I find him both useful for bug reports and some feature ideas, but he can also be one to overstep (to put it kindly). He goes under multiple user names, and it's not entirely clear if he Ukrainian or Russian - he did contribute one of those language translations, but I forget which one.
        app4soft 5y ago
        Hi, Paul. Lets clear what You just said about me: > He goes under multiple user names. Not true. I'm using `app4soft` almost everywhere now: https://git.io/DailySolveSpace https://git.io/DailySolveSpace On GitHub my account name is "Symbian9", but nickname is `app4soft` too. > I find him both useful for bug reports and some feature ideas, but he can also be one to overstep (to put it kindly). Its just because I'm a human living in free country, where each citizen has a right to being criticize something in same time trying to help fix & improve it. > it's not entirely clear if he Ukrainian or Russian. I'm Ukrainian living in Ukraine. Here is my statement for HN:[0] I has nothing to connect me with Russia, so do not do that anymore. > he did contribute one of those language translations, but I forget which one. Common man, You know that I contributing to Ukrainian locale:[1] > Well, he was a large contributing factor to the previous SolveSpace lead maintainer quitting. Not true: `whitequark`, being on HRT therapie, completely broke communication between bug reports & feature request contributors and main SolveSpace development branch. Also, `whitequark` resigned from SolveSpace project itself, just after `Evil-Spirit` (Russian living in Russia) mistakenly call they "him", instead of "she/they" — `Evil-Spirit` did not know that `whiteaqurk` was on HRT and transited gender from men to girl.[2] Also, `whitequark` is the man who near converted SolveSpace to doble-licensed open-source, far away from its inital GPLv3.[3] Thanks to `jwesthues` (SolveSpace founder), we rolled to GPLv3, removing CLA & double-licensing. Since then SolveSpace is FLOSS, fully Free/Libre Open-Source Software again. Any questions? [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30395897 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30395897 [1] https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/commits/master/res/locales https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/commits/master/res/... [2] http://web.archive.org/web/20201013183045/https://nitter.net/whitequark/status/1315985772252594180 http://web.archive.org/web/20201013183045/https://nitter.net... [3] https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/issues/1098 https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/issues/1098
- ArtWomb 5y ago
  Exact package that got me back into Blender again, and discovered right here on HN too ;)
taneq 5y ago
Last time I tried FreeCAD it seemed like a bunch of really good tools that had kind of been thrown in a bag and shaken around a bit. All the bits were there but it just seemed so clunky. Then I tried Fusion 360 and it's like the exact same Lego pieces had been rearranged into something that made sense, with the timeline and nonlinear editing tying it all together. Is FreeCAD different now, or was I expecting it to be something it's not, or was I just using it wrong?
- phkahler 5y ago
  >> Last time I tried FreeCAD it seemed like a bunch of really good tools that had kind of been thrown in a bag and shaken around a bit. All the bits were there but it just seemed so clunky. That's my impression too - and it tends to crash. If you look at how FreeCAD imports DWG files for example, it runs an external instance of a DWG->DXF converter built from (I think) LibreDWG, and then it uses their other python DXF importer to bring it in. In a way it makes sense because LibreDWG is GPLv3 only (not LGPL) so they can't directly incorporate it. But the awkward way it gets used feels like the way a lot of FreeCAD is put together. OTOH it can do a LOT and it is Free Software.
the__alchemist 5y ago
Compared to what? I can't think of a CAD program I could compare it to, and say this about!
- IshKebab 5y ago
  It's really bad compared to every commercial parametric CAD program I've used (SOLIDWORKS, Pro/E, NX, Fusion 360). It's pretty bad compared to Solvespace too. One of those FOSS programs like KiCAD where it is full of features but they've done absolutely zero work on UX, which makes using it a frustrating "ok you don't do it the obvious way, let me spend 15 minutes googling how to extrude a square" experience.
  - phkahler 5y ago
    >> It's pretty bad compared to Solvespace too. That sounds like a partial dig toward Solvespace. Aside from lack of features and the 90's UI look, what don't you like about it? Asking as one of the people trying to make it better.
    - IshKebab 5y ago
      I didn't mean to give that impression - I do really like Solvespace! It has a slightly unusual but pretty intuitive UI and the modelling actually works! But it's still clearly in another class to the commercial software I listed. Both in terms of UI polish and features. Though in fairness it's way ahead of them in terms of being light and quick to run. The main issues I ran into were no bevels/fillets/drafts, and the fact that small circles become octagons. Last I looked into it the latter was fixable, it just hasn't been fixed, and the former was too difficult to implement with the surface representation it uses. I got the impression that only the guy who originally wrote it understands the actual CAD stuff, and he doesn't work on it any more so the fundamental CAD operations are probably fixed now.
      - traverseda 5y ago
        The person you're responding to has done some great work on the fundamental CAD stuff, moving some functions to use eigan for significant performance increases. They seem to me like they've got a pretty solid grasp of the underlying CAD kernel. I think it would be great if some other people were able to step up and help modernizing other parts of it, making distribution easier, that kind of stuff. I think phkahler has the skills to revive solvespace, but there needs to be some other core contributors who can help out with the build, UI, on-disk format, and the like.
ynniv 5y ago
I assume this project is about making it easier to make renderable models in Blender, not about using Blender as a true CAD/CAM tool, so it wouldn't compete with FreeCAD.
fartcannon 5y ago
I use Freecad everyday and I love it. Version 0.20 is very stable. I build relatively complex robot assemblies for 3D printing in it. Reminds me of solidworks.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 5y ago
  Are you using Assembly3 or 4 or dodo? Do you ever use spreadsheet to control the whole assembly or just each part?
  - fartcannon 5y ago
    Assembly 3! I've never used 4 or dodo. Do you recommend?
ramses0 5y ago
Also consider OpenSCAD: https://files.openscad.org/examples/Basics/union.html https://files.openscad.org/examples/Basics/union.html difference(); union(); def my_obj(p1, p2, p3) { for(...p1...) { sphere(p2); cube(p3); } }; ...etc...
moffkalast 5y ago
Does it have the option to lock the camera rotation around the Z axis yet like any other sane 3D viewer? Otherwise hard pass, because it's impossible to rotate the view properly.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

All the reviews I hear about it are generally poor. That said, I hear a lot of poor reviews on open-source software, which I generally have a good experience with. I don't do any CAD, and haven't used FreeCAD personally, so I can't say for certain.

dylan604 5y ago
Tranlasted: "I have no knowledge of the subject you speak, but here is some hearsay information for you that I can't personally vouche for or dispell." Love it
- seanw444 5y ago
  What was the point of this? Yes, that's what I said. And?

blutack 5y ago

It is, I also have a big soft spot for SolveSpace[1] - the feature to speed/binary size ratio is fantastic. 1: https://solvespace.com https://solvespace.com

speps 5y ago
You didn't read the link, it's a Blender plugin to use SolveSpace inside of it.
- blutack 5y ago
  It uses the same python sketch constrainting module derived from a SolveSpace internals fork that FreeCAD also uses [1]. I'll give the parent project a go anyway, it's a cool idea. 1: https://github.com/realthunder/slvs_py https://github.com/realthunder/slvs_py
  - rbanffy 5y ago
    And it's also worth noting one of the SolveSpace folks is in Ukraine and his people could use our support. https://twitter.com/app4soft/status/1499029843689852934?s=20&t=W4X2McMRkDv0vtdSc9ve1A https://twitter.com/app4soft/status/1499029843689852934?s=20...
    - phkahler 5y ago
      That guy is... Well, he was a large contributing factor to the previous Solvespace lead maintainer quitting. I find him both useful for bug reports and some feature ideas, but he can also be one to overstep (to put it kindly). He goes under multiple user names, and it's not entirely clear if he Ukrainian or Russian - he did contribute one of those language translations, but I forget which one.
      - app4soft 5y ago
        Hi, Paul. Lets clear what You just said about me: > He goes under multiple user names. Not true. I'm using `app4soft` almost everywhere now: https://git.io/DailySolveSpace https://git.io/DailySolveSpace On GitHub my account name is "Symbian9", but nickname is `app4soft` too. > I find him both useful for bug reports and some feature ideas, but he can also be one to overstep (to put it kindly). Its just because I'm a human living in free country, where each citizen has a right to being criticize something in same time trying to help fix & improve it. > it's not entirely clear if he Ukrainian or Russian. I'm Ukrainian living in Ukraine. Here is my statement for HN:[0] I has nothing to connect me with Russia, so do not do that anymore. > he did contribute one of those language translations, but I forget which one. Common man, You know that I contributing to Ukrainian locale:[1] > Well, he was a large contributing factor to the previous SolveSpace lead maintainer quitting. Not true: `whitequark`, being on HRT therapie, completely broke communication between bug reports & feature request contributors and main SolveSpace development branch. Also, `whitequark` resigned from SolveSpace project itself, just after `Evil-Spirit` (Russian living in Russia) mistakenly call they "him", instead of "she/they" — `Evil-Spirit` did not know that `whiteaqurk` was on HRT and transited gender from men to girl.[2] Also, `whitequark` is the man who near converted SolveSpace to doble-licensed open-source, far away from its inital GPLv3.[3] Thanks to `jwesthues` (SolveSpace founder), we rolled to GPLv3, removing CLA & double-licensing. Since then SolveSpace is FLOSS, fully Free/Libre Open-Source Software again. Any questions? [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30395897 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30395897 [1] https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/commits/master/res/locales https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/commits/master/res/... [2] http://web.archive.org/web/20201013183045/https://nitter.net/whitequark/status/1315985772252594180 http://web.archive.org/web/20201013183045/https://nitter.net... [3] https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/issues/1098 https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/issues/1098
ArtWomb 5y ago
Exact package that got me back into Blender again, and discovered right here on HN too ;)

taneq 5y ago

Last time I tried FreeCAD it seemed like a bunch of really good tools that had kind of been thrown in a bag and shaken around a bit. All the bits were there but it just seemed so clunky. Then I tried Fusion 360 and it's like the exact same Lego pieces had been rearranged into something that made sense, with the timeline and nonlinear editing tying it all together. Is FreeCAD different now, or was I expecting it to be something it's not, or was I just using it wrong?

phkahler 5y ago
>> Last time I tried FreeCAD it seemed like a bunch of really good tools that had kind of been thrown in a bag and shaken around a bit. All the bits were there but it just seemed so clunky. That's my impression too - and it tends to crash. If you look at how FreeCAD imports DWG files for example, it runs an external instance of a DWG->DXF converter built from (I think) LibreDWG, and then it uses their other python DXF importer to bring it in. In a way it makes sense because LibreDWG is GPLv3 only (not LGPL) so they can't directly incorporate it. But the awkward way it gets used feels like the way a lot of FreeCAD is put together. OTOH it can do a LOT and it is Free Software.

the__alchemist 5y ago

Compared to what? I can't think of a CAD program I could compare it to, and say this about!

IshKebab 5y ago
It's really bad compared to every commercial parametric CAD program I've used (SOLIDWORKS, Pro/E, NX, Fusion 360). It's pretty bad compared to Solvespace too. One of those FOSS programs like KiCAD where it is full of features but they've done absolutely zero work on UX, which makes using it a frustrating "ok you don't do it the obvious way, let me spend 15 minutes googling how to extrude a square" experience.
- phkahler 5y ago
  >> It's pretty bad compared to Solvespace too. That sounds like a partial dig toward Solvespace. Aside from lack of features and the 90's UI look, what don't you like about it? Asking as one of the people trying to make it better.
  - IshKebab 5y ago
    I didn't mean to give that impression - I do really like Solvespace! It has a slightly unusual but pretty intuitive UI and the modelling actually works! But it's still clearly in another class to the commercial software I listed. Both in terms of UI polish and features. Though in fairness it's way ahead of them in terms of being light and quick to run. The main issues I ran into were no bevels/fillets/drafts, and the fact that small circles become octagons. Last I looked into it the latter was fixable, it just hasn't been fixed, and the former was too difficult to implement with the surface representation it uses. I got the impression that only the guy who originally wrote it understands the actual CAD stuff, and he doesn't work on it any more so the fundamental CAD operations are probably fixed now.
    - traverseda 5y ago
      The person you're responding to has done some great work on the fundamental CAD stuff, moving some functions to use eigan for significant performance increases. They seem to me like they've got a pretty solid grasp of the underlying CAD kernel. I think it would be great if some other people were able to step up and help modernizing other parts of it, making distribution easier, that kind of stuff. I think phkahler has the skills to revive solvespace, but there needs to be some other core contributors who can help out with the build, UI, on-disk format, and the like.

ynniv 5y ago

I assume this project is about making it easier to make renderable models in Blender, not about using Blender as a true CAD/CAM tool, so it wouldn't compete with FreeCAD.

fartcannon 5y ago

I use Freecad everyday and I love it. Version 0.20 is very stable. I build relatively complex robot assemblies for 3D printing in it. Reminds me of solidworks.

0xdeadbeefbabe 5y ago
Are you using Assembly3 or 4 or dodo? Do you ever use spreadsheet to control the whole assembly or just each part?
- fartcannon 5y ago
  Assembly 3! I've never used 4 or dodo. Do you recommend?

ramses0 5y ago

Also consider OpenSCAD: https://files.openscad.org/examples/Basics/union.html https://files.openscad.org/examples/Basics/union.html difference(); union(); def my_obj(p1, p2, p3) { for(...p1...) { sphere(p2); cube(p3); } }; ...etc...

moffkalast 5y ago

Does it have the option to lock the camera rotation around the Z axis yet like any other sane 3D viewer? Otherwise hard pass, because it's impossible to rotate the view properly.