CAD

262 readers

4 users here now

A general discussion of Computer Aided Design and Drafting software and the industries and hobbies surrounding them. Follow lemmy.world rules and don't be a jerk.

founded 7 months ago

MODERATORS

wjrii

FOSDEM and KiCAD + FreeCAD day 2025 (blog.freecad.org)

submitted 2 weeks ago by wjrii to c/cad

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

29 January 2025 in Brussels. Probably the next good candidate for a 1.0 release event as well. Latest blog has them down to four release blockers, though that number can certainly drift back up as well.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] wjrii 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

it does the basics, it does it well

I liked it when I tried it. I did want something with a parametric history, or I might have gone with that. I already had a no-history suite that worked okay that I got on sale off a German shovelware site for EUR20/USD25. As an aside, "3D Pro" is the only version that's worthwhile at all, and then only at about the price I got it.

I just want a proper open source alternative in the CAD space.

Yeah, the only one I've seen any sort of development on is Dune 3D, and it's a one-man shop that goes in fits and starts, to judge by its Matrix room. It's also got some quirky workflow and UI issues of its own, and will likely grind to a halt once the dev is content that it can produce the kinds of electronics enclosures he wants to design.

There's also Solvespace, if you trust FreeCAD to fillet and chamfer your STEP files, lol.

OpenSCAD et al are outside my expertise. Conceptually, I understand code-to-CAD. I just don't engage with design in that way.

Basically, you're right. FreeCAD is it. If it turns you off, options are limited.

[–] kitnaht 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Holy fucking frijoles. This guy who made Dune 3D has made a better 3D modeler in a year than FreeCAD has done in 20.

While yes -- absolutely it's less powerful. And it looks a little quirky right now - but I was able to play with it and in 10 minutes, understand the workflow and how to make an object with it! That's incredible. And it's only 31mb! HAH!

Thanks for pointing that project out; I'll be keeping a VERY close eye on its progress.