Interesting this came up as I was about to try out some of the open
source solutions. For 3d printing I always use OpenSCAD as all the
things I print are described simply but combining cubes, cylinders, etc
or can be made by extruding a 2D profile. I can whip out most things in
no time.
I'm making a platform for a telescope so it will track the sky (called
an equatorial platform
http://www.reinervogel.net/Plattform/Plattform_e.html) and have worked
out all the dimensions and would like to mock it up to verify before
cutting wood. I tried FreeCAD as I like the idea of using python to
construct the model but the learning curve appears to be fairly
substantial and honestly I think I could make a 1/3 scale model from
foam board significantly faster. Also the UI felt glitchy and snapping
didn't seem to work consistently. I was running a 18.0.3 snap version
for ubuntu which perhaps is part of the problem.
I've used sketchup and it took almost no time to get a model in it but I
really don't like using cloud based tools.
I basically want the open source equivalent of turbo cad from years ago
that I could quickly throw together stuff.
All the components of the platform are rectangular boxes or arcs so
nothing fancy needed. I just want to put them together to verify
dimensions and things will roughly fit/align.
Curious what open source solutions people are using for these tasks.
Michael Fulbright
On 4/14/20 10:52 AM, Kevin McClaning via TriEmbed wrote:
John --
Yeah, that's true. But open source software is usually good enough
(e.g. LibreOffice, Ubuntu, etc).
The problem I've run into is putting the time and effort into learning
a package (SketchUp, Komodo, MS Money, MS Office and lately, Windows)
and having it either die or go to a software license model (where they
want a yearly fee). Or, they want me to put all my info on the web,
under onerous license agreements.
My use cases aren't often deep or subtle enough to need the
latest/greatest.
Kevin
On 4/14/20 8:48 AM, John Vaughters via TriEmbed wrote:
Jeff,
You are going to be disappointed with FreeCAD. Open Source CAD has
not and probably will never catch up to paid versions. But for those
on a budget and has time, open source is still pretty good and useful.
John Vaughters
On Monday, April 13, 2020, 05:42:37 PM EDT, Jeff Highsmith via
TriEmbed <[email protected]> wrote:
I haven’t tried FreeCAD, but I have Rhino and SolidWorks at work
(designing exhibits for a kids museum, some electromechanical) and I
prefer OnShape, for its ease of use (over SolidWorks and Rhino) and
its parametric modeling (over Rhino). It’s also great to be able to
use OnShape on a variety of devices. My understanding is that OnShape
was created by the folks who created SolidWorks.
But now I’m off to download and try FreeCAD.
Jeff :)
One more vote for FreeCAD, which I have used for several years, but
I will say that I started using OnShape a few months ago and I
haven't used FreeCAD since. I love being able to design a part
right on my mobile phone. I still have to use my PC to slice the
part before printing, but everything else I do on my phone.
I too use FreeCAD (you can create your objects by coding if you
are comfortable with python) and openscad. If you are going to use a
commercial solution, you can choose not to beat around the bush and
just go solidworks, which has a cheap/free .edu license. Everyone
else is measured against solidworkds.
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