5 ms·

That is... a weird post to be making from a throwaway account. Do you work for Big OpenSCAD or something? :) But that said, this is all correct. OpenSCAD is

by ajross 2y ago

That is... a weird post to be making from a throwaway account. Do you work for Big OpenSCAD or something? :) But that said, this is all correct. OpenSCAD is actually an extremely limited environment and much more expressive tools exist in the same "code-based 3D modelling" space.

IBCNU 2y ago
That's my experience trying to use OpenSCAD from the cli for some home remodeling projects, there I was, neo-vim open, trying to do 3d with pure text files. But at the end of the day the platform felt very limited. Also "Big OpenSCAD" is hilarious.
abetusk 2y ago
The operative word being "open". Much more expressive tools exist but the condition on libre/free/open reduces the size of that list substantially. OpenSCAD also has a lower barrier to entry in that the programming language and environment is familiar without needing a lot of training or context.
- throwgfgfd25 2y ago
  The three I suggested above are absolutely as open as OpenSCAD. (With the addition of developer openness: directly meshing with Python or JS libraries)
  - abetusk 2y ago
    Nice, my bad!
throwgfgfd25 2y ago
This is a totally reasonable question! I am using a throwaway to limit my HN usage, to be honest. I wish I had a better way to manage my addictive social media behaviour than torching accounts after a few discussions. But I do not. I saw this thread only because it's clearly a followup to the FreeCAD discussion the other day that I have contributed to. -- People do get oddly grumpy when you criticise OpenSCAD; there is an element of the "I can do maths and refuse to believe CAD needs to be any more than this" militancy about it. I absolutely don't hate it -- OpenSCAD's mere existence is what unlocked my ability to even reason in 3D, actually. But that quasi-militant tendency is holding back a fascinating, liberating software field.
- nrp 2y ago
  This viewpoint resonates for me. OpenSCAD is a useful tool for hacking together 3D parts quickly, but an excellent tool for exercising the shape rotating parts of your brain.
  - throwgfgfd25 2y ago
    It's also good if your aim is to visualise maths.
    - WillAdams 2y ago
      There is actually a book on geometry which takes advantage of this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58059196-make https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58059196-make which has since become a series including: Trigonometry: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123127774-make https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123127774-make Calculus: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61739368-make https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61739368-make Currently working through a library using the new Python-enabled OpenPythonSCAD, and at the end of it, hope to work on a project which requires conic sections (which I'm still researching, so if anyone has any good resources on that I'd be glad of them).
      - throwgfgfd25 2y ago
        Yes - I haven't bought these yet but I do intend to, because I need to brush up on all three (well, I don't think I ever really learned calculus, to be honest). Joan Horvath is a superhero -- I've seen a few interviews now. I will very happily use OpenSCAD for that because it seems like a well-chosen tool for the job.
- chefandy 2y ago
  > People do get oddly grumpy when you criticise OpenSCAD Most of us don't realize how much our comfort with familiar concepts affects our ability to objectively evaluate them. Moving from dev to being a tech artist, I see the same exact sort of irrational biases, hang-ups and endemic misconceptions with completely different tool chains and types of complexity. When I first started using Houdini, I tried to turn every task into a Python coding problem because that's what I was comfortable with— Python is amazing in Houdini but it's definitely not the best way to accomplish most tasks.

by ajross 2y ago

IBCNU 2y ago

That's my experience trying to use OpenSCAD from the cli for some home remodeling projects, there I was, neo-vim open, trying to do 3d with pure text files. But at the end of the day the platform felt very limited. Also "Big OpenSCAD" is hilarious.

abetusk 2y ago

The operative word being "open". Much more expressive tools exist but the condition on libre/free/open reduces the size of that list substantially. OpenSCAD also has a lower barrier to entry in that the programming language and environment is familiar without needing a lot of training or context.

throwgfgfd25 2y ago
The three I suggested above are absolutely as open as OpenSCAD. (With the addition of developer openness: directly meshing with Python or JS libraries)
- abetusk 2y ago
  Nice, my bad!

throwgfgfd25 2y ago

This is a totally reasonable question! I am using a throwaway to limit my HN usage, to be honest. I wish I had a better way to manage my addictive social media behaviour than torching accounts after a few discussions. But I do not. I saw this thread only because it's clearly a followup to the FreeCAD discussion the other day that I have contributed to. -- People do get oddly grumpy when you criticise OpenSCAD; there is an element of the "I can do maths and refuse to believe CAD needs to be any more than this" militancy about it. I absolutely don't hate it -- OpenSCAD's mere existence is what unlocked my ability to even reason in 3D, actually. But that quasi-militant tendency is holding back a fascinating, liberating software field.

nrp 2y ago
This viewpoint resonates for me. OpenSCAD is a useful tool for hacking together 3D parts quickly, but an excellent tool for exercising the shape rotating parts of your brain.
- throwgfgfd25 2y ago
  It's also good if your aim is to visualise maths.
  - WillAdams 2y ago
    There is actually a book on geometry which takes advantage of this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58059196-make https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58059196-make which has since become a series including: Trigonometry: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123127774-make https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123127774-make Calculus: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61739368-make https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61739368-make Currently working through a library using the new Python-enabled OpenPythonSCAD, and at the end of it, hope to work on a project which requires conic sections (which I'm still researching, so if anyone has any good resources on that I'd be glad of them).
    - throwgfgfd25 2y ago
      Yes - I haven't bought these yet but I do intend to, because I need to brush up on all three (well, I don't think I ever really learned calculus, to be honest). Joan Horvath is a superhero -- I've seen a few interviews now. I will very happily use OpenSCAD for that because it seems like a well-chosen tool for the job.
chefandy 2y ago
> People do get oddly grumpy when you criticise OpenSCAD Most of us don't realize how much our comfort with familiar concepts affects our ability to objectively evaluate them. Moving from dev to being a tech artist, I see the same exact sort of irrational biases, hang-ups and endemic misconceptions with completely different tool chains and types of complexity. When I first started using Houdini, I tried to turn every task into a Python coding problem because that's what I was comfortable with— Python is amazing in Houdini but it's definitely not the best way to accomplish most tasks.