5 ms·

It could very well be a company in disguise writing this (or the author being paid to work on it full time but we're not aware of the company behind it, because

by fallat 4y ago

It could very well be a company in disguise writing this (or the author being paid to work on it full time but we're not aware of the company behind it, because they will be doing offerings later based on it). But yeah, 100% this. Anyone familiar with the space knows these programs are massively complex and require years of work and knowledge - at least the polygonal approach :) Implicit surfaces / f-rep on the other hand... <3 Edit: Durr: 株式会社ＲＩＣＯＳ / RICOS Co. Ltd.

gjsman-1000 4y ago
I think there would absolutely be a market for a CAD program that was made specifically, and only for, hobbyists. Same for CAM. Right now... almost all CAD programs are designed for professionals, and the hobbyist versions are just cut-down professional CAD programs. The biggest exception I see is SketchUp, which has a very simple and direct way of drawing directly on objects, and it's very easy to pick up, but it has no understanding of solids, parametric measurements, assemblies, or any of that. And so SketchUp is super popular with woodworkers, home remodeling agencies, small businesses, all these people we wouldn't normally think of as "big professional CAD users" even if that means they lose out on some of the improvements that professional CAD packages have (especially because SketchUp really hasn't changed much in over a decade). A 3D solid parametric modeler with the ease of use of getting started with SketchUp. SketchUp with solids. I can dream.
- wheelie_boy 4y ago
  The two best modelers I've seen for that kind of casual solid modeling are Plasticity https://www.plasticity.xyz https://www.plasticity.xyz and Moment of Inspiration http://moi3d.com http://moi3d.com Both are really focused on UX, and license a kernel
  - gjsman-1000 4y ago
    I have seen MOI before, but it wasn't quite my thing though maybe I'll revisit it. Plasticity though is gorgeous, especially for a solo developer. Wow.
    - wlesieutre 4y ago
      Previous plasticity discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30695360 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30695360
  - app4soft 4y ago
    > Plasticity really focused on UX, and license a kernel Its good that author of Plasticity (@nkalen on HN) had finally switched[0] to use Parasolid (and abandoned previous plans to use Russian C3D kernel) after Russia started full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022[1]... in eight years since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014.[2] N.B. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30696305 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30696305 [1] https://twitter.com/nk/status/441096177933905920 https://twitter.com/nk/status/441096177933905920 [2] https://twitter.com/nk/status/1507672831559151620 https://twitter.com/nk/status/1507672831559151620
- samwillis 4y ago
  > CAD program that was made specifically, and only for, hobbyists. I see "hobbyists" as "prosumers", they want the same tools the professional use. Take a look at photography or wood working for example, people are spend thousands on professional level tools. I don't believe there is a market for hobbyist only cad software, that would be like making a camera that is only useful for hobbyist photographers. If it's good enough for a hobbyist it's good for a professional. CAD for casual users, and true amateurs? Yes there is a market for that.
  - gjsman-1000 4y ago
    I would agree... but SketchUp is an example of how I think there is an audience for simpler tools. SketchUp, most professional CAD modelers would think it is basically unusable. No constraints? No parametric modeling of any kind? No actual conception of solids (just faces and lines)? You just draw directly on the models without a 2D Sketch first, or dragging in a primitive? And yet... SketchUp is still really popular, within its own niche. It's not something you'd find anywhere on a "best CAD programs" list, but if you are an interior designer, or another field with simple 3D needs, odds are you'll find SketchUp everywhere. So... it doesn't have to be a powerful CAD program to find an audience. It just has to be a tool that provides CAD to people who are in a very different field than CAD modelers. Another example that I'm banging my head against: BobCAD-CAM. The 3D capabilities compared to most modelers are... pretty garbage. But if you are just trying to machine simple parts on a router, I will admit that if you don't stretch its capabilities, it is pretty fast and simple, and the integrated CAM is functional. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone over separate tools (a CAD designer would hate it, a professional CAM user would hate it, but someone who is neither might find it a good tool that at least gets the job done).
    - samwillis 4y ago
      The problem is CAD is too broad a term here, and we are mostly sticking to "cad for designing physical stuff". Sketchup is certainly used by professionals, it has a number of niches where it's super successful. Particularly architecture and interior design, it's well used for quickly visualising and translating plans. You would never you it for product design, as you said. I think (maybe wrongly) most people in the thread will be thinking "3D Parametric Solid Modelling CAD for Product Design", such as SolidWorks or freeCad. Even if you build a "simple" app in that product category it will still have to tackle all the same hard problems in its kernel as a pro app. It maybe even needs to be more robust.
- HeWhoLurksLate 4y ago
  If you're trying to design stuff for the real world, I think the closest thing you'll get to that is probably Fusion360- same engine as most other Autodesk stuff (I think) but easier to get started with, and your skills and habits can mostly move with you to bigger packages if you need to. For other stuff like designing miniatures and stuff, I dunno, I don't do very much of that

by fallat 4y ago

gjsman-1000 4y ago

I think there would absolutely be a market for a CAD program that was made specifically, and only for, hobbyists. Same for CAM. Right now... almost all CAD programs are designed for professionals, and the hobbyist versions are just cut-down professional CAD programs. The biggest exception I see is SketchUp, which has a very simple and direct way of drawing directly on objects, and it's very easy to pick up, but it has no understanding of solids, parametric measurements, assemblies, or any of that. And so SketchUp is super popular with woodworkers, home remodeling agencies, small businesses, all these people we wouldn't normally think of as "big professional CAD users" even if that means they lose out on some of the improvements that professional CAD packages have (especially because SketchUp really hasn't changed much in over a decade). A 3D solid parametric modeler with the ease of use of getting started with SketchUp. SketchUp with solids. I can dream.

wheelie_boy 4y ago
The two best modelers I've seen for that kind of casual solid modeling are Plasticity https://www.plasticity.xyz https://www.plasticity.xyz and Moment of Inspiration http://moi3d.com http://moi3d.com Both are really focused on UX, and license a kernel
- gjsman-1000 4y ago
  I have seen MOI before, but it wasn't quite my thing though maybe I'll revisit it. Plasticity though is gorgeous, especially for a solo developer. Wow.
  - wlesieutre 4y ago
    Previous plasticity discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30695360 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30695360
- app4soft 4y ago
  > Plasticity really focused on UX, and license a kernel Its good that author of Plasticity (@nkalen on HN) had finally switched[0] to use Parasolid (and abandoned previous plans to use Russian C3D kernel) after Russia started full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022[1]... in eight years since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014.[2] N.B. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30696305 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30696305 [1] https://twitter.com/nk/status/441096177933905920 https://twitter.com/nk/status/441096177933905920 [2] https://twitter.com/nk/status/1507672831559151620 https://twitter.com/nk/status/1507672831559151620
samwillis 4y ago
> CAD program that was made specifically, and only for, hobbyists. I see "hobbyists" as "prosumers", they want the same tools the professional use. Take a look at photography or wood working for example, people are spend thousands on professional level tools. I don't believe there is a market for hobbyist only cad software, that would be like making a camera that is only useful for hobbyist photographers. If it's good enough for a hobbyist it's good for a professional. CAD for casual users, and true amateurs? Yes there is a market for that.
- gjsman-1000 4y ago
  I would agree... but SketchUp is an example of how I think there is an audience for simpler tools. SketchUp, most professional CAD modelers would think it is basically unusable. No constraints? No parametric modeling of any kind? No actual conception of solids (just faces and lines)? You just draw directly on the models without a 2D Sketch first, or dragging in a primitive? And yet... SketchUp is still really popular, within its own niche. It's not something you'd find anywhere on a "best CAD programs" list, but if you are an interior designer, or another field with simple 3D needs, odds are you'll find SketchUp everywhere. So... it doesn't have to be a powerful CAD program to find an audience. It just has to be a tool that provides CAD to people who are in a very different field than CAD modelers. Another example that I'm banging my head against: BobCAD-CAM. The 3D capabilities compared to most modelers are... pretty garbage. But if you are just trying to machine simple parts on a router, I will admit that if you don't stretch its capabilities, it is pretty fast and simple, and the integrated CAM is functional. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone over separate tools (a CAD designer would hate it, a professional CAM user would hate it, but someone who is neither might find it a good tool that at least gets the job done).
  - samwillis 4y ago
    The problem is CAD is too broad a term here, and we are mostly sticking to "cad for designing physical stuff". Sketchup is certainly used by professionals, it has a number of niches where it's super successful. Particularly architecture and interior design, it's well used for quickly visualising and translating plans. You would never you it for product design, as you said. I think (maybe wrongly) most people in the thread will be thinking "3D Parametric Solid Modelling CAD for Product Design", such as SolidWorks or freeCad. Even if you build a "simple" app in that product category it will still have to tackle all the same hard problems in its kernel as a pro app. It maybe even needs to be more robust.
HeWhoLurksLate 4y ago
If you're trying to design stuff for the real world, I think the closest thing you'll get to that is probably Fusion360- same engine as most other Autodesk stuff (I think) but easier to get started with, and your skills and habits can mostly move with you to bigger packages if you need to. For other stuff like designing miniatures and stuff, I dunno, I don't do very much of that