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Interesting, because I am trying to learn OpenSCAD for some simple modeling.
by d_silin 9mo ago
Interesting, because I am trying to learn OpenSCAD for some simple modeling.
- the__alchemist 9mo agoNote: This is probably a dead-end; it is not on the same level as SolidWorks, Fusion etc.
- ecto 9mo agoHow could I make it better?
- the__alchemist 9mo agoSorry about the confusion - I'm referring to OpenSCAD; not your project.
- avmich 9mo agoYou're probably right, OpenSCAD seems to be limited both in speed and in exactness of the surfaces. However purely programmatic interface allows doing surprising things which might be hard to achieve with a mouse.
- WillAdams 9mo agoIf you're using one of the old stable builds, then the newer nightly builds are markedly faster --- hopefully there will be a new stable release presently.
- whilenot-dev 9mo agoI wouldn't call a FOSS project that you compare to some 2,620 USD/year software a dead-end. It's good enough for simple modeling, especially when it comes to scripting, and has been for 10 years already.
- dgroshev 9mo agoSolidworks is $48/year for hobbyists though, and Fusion is free.
- numpad0 9mo agoOr Blender, pen and paper, bag of LEGO, etc. Text in context of geometric object is more or less an abstract classification tool, barely a descriptive one. Everyone knows what a `dice` is. But that's a taxonomical label, not a definition of one. Anyone reading this can probably draw a representative `dice` using only standard stationery supplies in under a minute. Now describe one in English with such rigor and precision that it readily translates to a .gcode file to be printed. That requires a good amount of useful neurodivergence to pull off at all.
- WillAdams 9mo agoThe great thing about OpenSCAD is that one can model anything which one can describe using mathematics and cubes, cylinders, spheres, and transformations/relocations of same. The awful thing about OpenSCAD is that what one can model is bounded by one's fluency with mathematics and one's ability to place and transform cubes, cylinders, and spheres.
- 8note 9mo agodefinitely learn solidworks or something in that vein first that, and as a prior skill, learn to draw by hand on paper orthogonal and isometric views of 3d objects. cad is another theory building excercise, but instead of being about processes, its about objects. you want to start from a strong manual/first principles base
- d_silin 9mo agoI liked CATIA, but can't afford it at the moment.
- nomel 9mo agoIf you're more interested int the result than the process, Onshape or Fusion are great, free (with use restrictions) parametric CAD. And both support scripting, to some extent. Both have really great documentation/examples.
- avhon1 9mo agofor simple learning, I invite you to consider SolveSpace
- WillAdams 9mo agoHas there been any work on it to make it usable w/ touch or a stylus or a trackpad? I'm on the verge of breaking down and buying a license for Moment of Inspiration 3D since it was designed for use on tablet computers (which is my preferred sort of hardware).
- avhon1 9mo agoTo rotate the view in SolveSpace, you need any one of these: * a keyboard's shift key and a right mouse button, or * a middle mouse button, or * a 3D mouse. I've done some work in SolveSpace with a Wacom tablet, by binding the stylus's buttons to the middle and right mouse buttons. SolveSpace is a pretty simple program, so you don't need to dig deep through the UI to get to all the functions. Lost of the often-used functions have keyboard shortcuts, but I don't think there is anything that is only accessible through the keyboard. Depending on what you aim to do, you might be interested in keeping up with Blender's currently-in-development tablet mode: https://code.blender.org/2025/07/beyond-mouse-keyboard/ https://code.blender.org/2025/07/beyond-mouse-keyboard/
- WillAdams 9mo agoYeah, that's the problem --- Samsung colludes w/ Wacom to deny right-click functionality to their devices using the S-Pen --- really, really, really miss that some days. I'll keep experimenting w/ this in mind for the next time I'm using my Wacom One attached to my MacBook.