cadquery VS FreeCAD

OpenSCAD is my go-to. It's self-contained and AI coding tools know the syntax well enough to help you move fast. Unfortunately I keep hitting a complexity ceiling.

If it doesn't like how I'm describing something, it crashes. I have to load an older version of my .scad and try a new approach. This usually happens 70% of the way into a complex project, which is quite discouraging.

The Python ecosystem has CadQuery[0] and a few other tools built around the Open Cascade kernel[1] which is quite good in my limited experience. CadQuery is positioned as an OpenSCAD alternative [2], and I really want it to be. Unfortunately the user experience isn't there yet.

Making an object with CadQuery is writing a Python program. Which means you need a Python environment and dev setup. CQ-editor [3] is nice, but needs a Python environment first. I think CadQuery would be much more viable OpenSCAD alternative if it was packaged into a standalone CQ-editor application and published via homebrew, etc.

I'm also interest in Zoo [4](fka KittyCAD). They're trying to create a modelling tool that combines model-by-code and model-by-mouse. With some AI layered on top. They have an interesting architecture where they stream geometry to your local device from the cloud. Should be great for performance, but ties you to the cloud.

[0] https://github.com/CadQuery/cadquery

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Cascade_Technology

[2] https://cadquery.readthedocs.io/en/latest/intro.html#why-cad...

[3] https://github.com/CadQuery/CQ-editor

[4] https://zoo.dev/

There aren't many great production-ready open-source frameworks for code-editor components in Swift. I assessed quite a few but found that the feature completeness was far from what I needed. I tried to fork [CodeEditSourceEditor](https://github.com/CadQuery/cadquery) and add the extra features I wanted, but I think it would have taken me 6-12 months to get it to an acceptable state, meanwhile not spending any time focusing on the rest of the product experience.

I decided to play around with Typescript and Electron over a weekend and ended up getting a really solid prototype so I made the heart wrenching decision to move over.

I'm messing around with writing my own text editor component in Swift now, but it's quite a big endeavour to get the standard expected for a production ready product.

I'm assuming a pure-swift CAD UI would be equally difficult. Would be really cool to see that tho.

I was thinking about cadQuery or DrawSVG. But maybe you have a better idea ? I'm beginner in python (started on november ...)

Last few months, I've made over 20 3D printed panels using the CadQuery Python library. Its syntax is pretty complex, so every time I wanted to make a panel, I'd just copy-paste bits and pieces from my previous panels. In the process, I learned what work and what doesn't, and I thought it was time to polish up this system to share it with others.

>Python for CAD

You might be interested in CadQuery:

https://github.com/CadQuery/cadquery

Spicy! I'm also a solidworks user but I've been playing around with cadquery recently, that installed and performs pretty nicely on Linux for me. Haven't really pushed it though.

I am currently developing a pipeline for creating STL files, slice them and create a print job based on it. My setup at the moment is an Ultimaker S5, which offers a simple REST-API, for example starting a job with a G-Code or UFP file. I am using the cadQuery library for creating parametrized 3d shapes and export them as a STL file. I want to use the CuraEngine CLI interface (Backend for Cura) for slicing or their library libArcus (python bindings) but there is literally no documentation or any kind of examples, except the source code. There is also the prucaSlicer, which also offers a CLI interface for creating G-Code, but no support for the Ultimaker S5.

I still recommend RealThunder's fork (https://github.com/realthunder/FreeCAD/) at the moment, even though his fork is a bit lagging at the moment.

Most of his contributions to the topology fixes got merged back into freecad now, but his enhancements to UI/behavior aren't (yet), and they make a night and day compared to ondsel too.

I didn't find any significant limitation to RealThunder's assembly3.

In any case, while far from most commercial offerings, FreeCAD is progressing and the future looks bright. I've stopped using f360/onshape in the last years for my hobby designs. Once you know the specific limitations of freecad+occt (something you learn in each cad program) and how to work them around effectively, it's already pretty powerful.

I used to use SolidWorks. Now I use FreeCAD as a complete replacement.

Two tips:

(1) use RealThunder's Link Branch (https://github.com/realthunder/FreeCAD/releases). This fixes one of FreeCAD's fundamental problems.

(2) use the "Part Design" workbench. That's the one that is built around the SolidWorks workflow: sketches with constraints -> parts, etc.

FreeCAD still hasn't settled on "one correct way" to do assemblies of parts. There are various plugins that each offer their own take on how to do it. You'll have to pick the one that you like most.

You don't need to use Python. You can use spreadsheets, equation-driven dimenisons, and so on. You can make dimensioned drawings using the TechDraw workbench.

Nice! I'd add FreeCAD, and also the RealThunder fork https://github.com/realthunder/FreeCAD which adds enhancement(seems to be getting slowly merged to mainline).

Lithium Titanate batteries. Nothing else is lightweight, safe, currently available, and lasts 20000 cycles.

ESPHome. It's a framework for declaratively building firmware for microcontrollers, based on rules like "This pin is an input with debouncing, when it changes, toggle this".

Contributing to them has probably been the most fun I've had programming in years.

We just need power management, and a C++ implementation of the Native API client. It's so close to being able to replace most of what I'd normally code by hand in Arduino.

https://esphome.io/

RealThunder's fork of FreeCAD: https://github.com/realthunder/FreeCAD

They fix so many issues. Linear patterns can duplicate other linear patterns!

Vorta: It's the best backup technology I've seen. Just an easy guided GUI for Borg, which gives you deduplication. I just wish they let you deduplicate across multiple repositories somehow.

JFTR, FCStd-files produced by RealThunder's LinkStage[0] (fork of FreeCAD) is not fully backward compatible with an official FreeCAD app, and wise versa.

So, if you are planning to use LinkStage app for some large project, be ready to use only one app for the whole project and be ready to lost in whole or in part compatibility with the users of an official FreeCAD.

[0] https://github.com/realthunder/FreeCAD

edge is where all the exciting new features got released. It contains the latest commit from the FreeCAD Link Branch (https://github.com/realthunder/FreeCAD). Unlike the convention, here, the user is encouraged to try the edge release, to help improve all new features so that they can one day land in upstream FreeCAD.

I downloaded this latest version 2023.01.31 from Github but i have no idea how to install it and if it is the right version that will work with Midnigh GUI.

My setup I'm using RealThunders 2023.05.21 release

Alternative solution is to use Realthunder's build. It doesn't have that limitation in addition to a whole bunch of other QoL additions.

As for your question, better to open a ticket on realthunder's Link repo: https://github.com/realthunder/FreeCAD/issues