Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Updating the High Priority List

[arthur_torrey]

Hi Julia;

I am looking for more a 3-D version of LibreCAD, where you essentially draw on 
the canvas, possibly specifying relevant points or doing other sorts of things 
like that, but always using the mouse/menus/keyboard to directly manipulate 
objects on the screen...

I am probably dating myself, but I learned basic drafting in Jr. High, back in 
the 70's when PAPER was high tech...  LibreCAD and other 'draw lines on the 
screen' translate reasonably well from that mode of operation.

I have seen 'parametric' programs where one is supposed to write code and see 
things appear on the screen and that just doesn't work for me, it totally 
breaks down all my thought processes as it forces me to worry about 'how do I 
code it' instead of what it is that I'm working on...

Basically I am NOT a programmer, I work on hardware, physical objects and the 
like - I use drawings to help me make physical objects and code is NOT a 
drawing! I want to make drawings, (to the extent that they help me make 
physical objects) not write programs...

ART
------------------
Arthur Torrey - <arthur_torrey@comcast.net>
-------------------


----- Original Message -----
From: Julia Longtin <julial@turinglace.com>
To: arthur torrey <arthur_torrey@comcast.net>
Cc: libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org
Sent: Tue, 01 Mar 2016 05:19:49 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Updating the High Priority List

On Sat, Feb 06, 2016 at 12:16:22AM +0000, arthur_torrey@comcast.net wrote:
> The thing I've been grumbling about almost since I started using Free 
> Software all to many years ago is the lack of a competent 3-D CAD package.... 
>  LibreCAD is OK for 2D, and it is being actively maintained and worked on, 
> but it is ONLY a 2-D package, and a lot of people look at you like you are 
> nuts for even considering using a 2-D package these days....
> 
> I have looked at several open / free 3-D packages and have yet to find one I 
> could actually do useful (as in can take the drawing to a machine and MAKE 
> the part....)
> 
> If we have ANYTHING that compares to SolidWorks for capability, or the 
> Autodesk Creative Suite, I have never heard about it...
> 
> There are a few 'Free Beer' trap programs like OnShape that offer 'free' 
> 'Software as a Service' 3-D capabilities but that is no less of a trap than 
> proprietary software....
> 
> As an 'inmate' at the Artisan's Asylum, one of the worlds largest hacker 
> spaces, I get a lot of grief because I refuse to use the Solidworks / 
> HSMworks / AutoDesk / MatLab / Simulink installs in our computer lab that are 
> 'Free' for me to use as a member....
> 
> What FLOSS 3D package can compete?  Solidworks / HSMWorks can do FEA analysis 
> on the drawing, can animate the moving parts to check for proper operation 
> and fit, and can then generate the G-code needed to make the part on most CNC 
> machines...
> 
> As an ethical Free Software person, I have to generate HAND WRITTEN G-code 
> (can take longer than drafting the part, and mistakes are potentially 
> catastrophic that we don't even ALLOW hand written code on some of our 
> machines....
> 
> Inkscape might be able to animate a drawing, as long as you don't care about 
> dimensions...
> 
> I'm told there are FEA tools, but not that take a drawing from anything 
> else....
> 
> ART
> 


Art,

I'm the maintainer of ImplicitCAD, which is a programatic (think: write code, 
and use a makefile to build your objects) CAD system, licensed under the GNU 
AGPLv3 (or greater). what is it you are looking for?

Julia Longtin