Blender 3.1

• manim

  152 18,854 9.1 Python

  A community-maintained Python framework for creating mathematical animations. (by ManimCommunity)

  

not very related, but you might want to check out manim: https://github.com/ManimCommunity/manim

• FreeCAD_assembly3

  74 864 4.4 Python

  Experimental attempt for the next generation assembly workbench for FreeCAD

FreeCAD's stable release is somewhat painful to use, but when using a development build (I've personally had no trouble) and having gone through the preferences, customization options, and addon list (altogether not too much work), it becomes truly competitive with the other major option, the free-as-in-beer tier of less-than-industry-standard Fusion 360.

As mentioned before, RealThunder's branch [0] (confusingly also called the RT branch, assembly3 branch, Link Branch, and Link Stage 3) is the most improved. It remedies FreeCAD's most serious drawback, the Topological Naming Problem (TNP), and includes many miscellaneous improvements (which do add up), some merged from other authors. Many of the quality-of-life features will be in the imminent upcoming major release (0.20); sadly, the TNP fix has only been weakly promised for 0.21. FreeCAD's other major issue is the lack of official assembly support. There are four competing addons; RealThunder's branch includes his, Assembly3.

I often feel that 'bad' UI (especially in free software) is perfectly productive once the user is familiar, but I will admit that difference in aesthetics in FreeCAD from switching themes, tweaking settings, and rearranging toolbars and panels is not small. I'm not sure of the authorship of each, but UI improvements in RealThunder's branch include animated camera snapping and panel autohide/transparency. The drop-down list for workbench switching is not ideal. Use the tab bar addon, custom keyboard shortcut, or one of the two compatible pie menu implementations. The Pie Menu addon can change based on the types of selected objects; the pie menu in RealThunder's branch has workbench-based context.

FreeCAD's keyboard shortcuts are standard, though I'll express a peeve I have with all 3D software and indeed almost all (mostly design) software where one hand goes on the keyboard and another on the mouse: shortcuts arranged mnemonically and thus spread across the keyboard ease learning but are terrible for skilled use. I mean, if I have to hunt with one hand for a key under my desk, I might as well use the toolbar/menustrip/ribbon! Blender does seem to be an exception, though. Seems like the rest could take a hint from gaming (notably MOBAs).

[0] might require a previous normal install for dependencies or MSVC DLL fiddling https://github.com/realthunder/FreeCAD_assembly3/releases

• WorkOS

  workos.com sponsored

  The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS. The APIs are flexible and easy-to-use, supporting authentication, user identity, and complex enterprise features like SSO and SCIM provisioning.

  

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