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N.B. I'm a mod of r/SolveSpace community on Reddit.[0] > There is a reason people love Solvespace over FreeCAD even though it is incredibly limited in comparis

N.B. I'm a mod of r/SolveSpace community on Reddit.[0] > There is a reason people love Solvespace over FreeCAD even though it is incredibly limited in comparison. As a SolveSpace user for nearly a decade, who started to learn FreeCAD last month, I may say that both apps has own pros'n'cons: SolveSpace has simpler UI (but lack of features for experts), while FreeCAD has a lot of features (but UI to complex for "normal" users). About "limited in comparison", he is may latest quick comparison of both apps:[1] SolveSpace is a good "Stage 1" tool for sketching ideas, while FreeCAD is more like "Stage 2" tool for converting sketch into real product. SolveSpace exported DXF (2D & 3D wireframe) & STL/OBJ (mesh) could be used as a base for FreeCAD and other apps (Blender, LibreCAD).[2] While SolveSpace is not a competitor to FreeCAD, it still could be used for design wide range of complex things for 3D printing or shop drawings, including assemblies.[3,4,5,6] The main problem of SolveSpace, is that it still has broken STEP export, as a result exported solid surfaces are non-manifold and after import into FreeCAD it is almost unusable (it may require a lot of work with "Shape builder" and "Surface" Workbench to revert it back to solid body).[7] There are also many NURBS & mesh issues in SolveSpace worse to fix.[8] [0] https://old.reddit.com/r/solvespace https://old.reddit.com/r/solvespace [1] https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/109812747058078617 https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/109812747058078617 [2] https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/109813465975914195 https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/109813465975914195 [3] https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/109740222184364152 https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/109740222184364152 [4] https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/107098074104816439 https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/107098074104816439 [5] https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/109804453127760634 https://fosstodon.org/@app4soft/109804453127760634 [6] https://twitter.com/app4soft/status/1479875838451585026 https://twitter.com/app4soft/status/1479875838451585026 [7] https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/issues/206 https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/issues/206 [8] https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/issues/738 https://github.com/solvespace/solvespace/issues/738

regularfry 4y ago
I actually used SolveSpace as an onramp to FreeCAD while I was learning, entirely accidentally and unintentionally. There's enough overlap that what I learned on SolveSpace helped me to figure out what FreeCAD must be doing, so I knew that there was something to look for and the sort of things to search for. The fact that SolveSpace is a more limited tool makes it a very useful learning environment.
- app4soft 4y ago
  > The fact that SolveSpace is a more limited tool makes it a very useful learning environment. Yes, and SolveSpace still could be used as a sketchbook for quickly sketching 3D shapes for FreeCAD. If only FreeCAD's Skethcer" Workbench would has "SolveSpace mode", it would be much easier to make things. FTR, Here are my latest quick tips on using both apps together:[0] [0] https://www.patreon.com/posts/faq-how-to-use-78302533 https://www.patreon.com/posts/faq-how-to-use-78302533 (public post; no paywall)

regularfry 4y ago

I actually used SolveSpace as an onramp to FreeCAD while I was learning, entirely accidentally and unintentionally. There's enough overlap that what I learned on SolveSpace helped me to figure out what FreeCAD must be doing, so I knew that there was something to look for and the sort of things to search for. The fact that SolveSpace is a more limited tool makes it a very useful learning environment.

app4soft 4y ago
> The fact that SolveSpace is a more limited tool makes it a very useful learning environment. Yes, and SolveSpace still could be used as a sketchbook for quickly sketching 3D shapes for FreeCAD. If only FreeCAD's Skethcer" Workbench would has "SolveSpace mode", it would be much easier to make things. FTR, Here are my latest quick tips on using both apps together:[0] [0] https://www.patreon.com/posts/faq-how-to-use-78302533 https://www.patreon.com/posts/faq-how-to-use-78302533 (public post; no paywall)