I don’t have much love for the product as it is now however. I would prefer the free SketchUp from 10 years ago to the current free tier (web app).
Does anyone know if any good open source SketchUp-like tools?
You write your project in you code editor of choice, auto-run on save, and set the OpenSCAD viewer to ato-load on file changes. So you have the immediate feedback of a 'visual' tool, all text driven, git managed and you are probably already familiar with most of the tools.
Yea this approach is not for everyone I'm sure.
The Clojure - OpenSCAD script is amazing but also extremely slow (and I'm no good with Clojure even after staring at it for hours).
The Python OpenSCAD link seems way faster and that suggested workflow is great!
Happy to read this. It'll save me many hours. Seeing code getting converted into 3D renderings that you can actually 3D print (or woodwork) into real life is super cool.
Also I can't easily compose or build composite objects, where is a one-line loop in Python. And how do I deal with libraries of components ? Dunno, seems like a step back to me.
Have not tried it though - perhaps you are right.
What's nice is that since it's a true Python API, you have total control over everything, including iterating over named edges of the object, which openscad can't do at all.
I spend many hours a day poking at lines with a mouse, and it's really more productive than typing a few things, rendering to make sure the result is what you want, etc etc.
And I put my plans in git too!
Can you add it to your page? I found it via https://jayscustomcreations.com/sketchup/, which has a dropbox url that includes the magic string "FM-3-0-16845-EN.dmg". That's all I needed to make the Mac URL from your Windows URL.
Bring in a couple 4x8 sheets, cut taking blade width in to consideration, join, test whether the edges are flush, etc.
Maybe even import plans, then give you a cut list that maximizes the wood you want to use. (Will I need 6x or 7x 8’shelving pieces? Ok, 7, but oh right, it’s reminding me to get and extra one to allow for mistakes.)
Have never used any of these, but they've all come up on various woodworking forums I've read over the years.
Sketch-up's non-Linux presence is a pain, but can be worked around - the web version's useless for me, but again you can download the last .exe version they released still, from the official page (albeit they've hidden it).
FreeCAD and LibreCAD are worth diving into just because they're going to be around for a while, and at least one of them seems to be well supported.
Blender's another option, and though it doesn't align feature-wise quite as well, and has a steeper learning curve - learning it is going to be useful forever, and for a wider range of use cases.
Maybe it’s better for more complex woodworking projects that aren’t just composed of simple rectangles. It’s certainly great for mechanical design and other use cases with smaller, more complicated geometry.
Care to elaborate?
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=blender+vs+sket...
Of all of Google's completely selfish moves in terms of turning their backs on viable products, selling off Sketchup seems to be pretty high on the list of worst offenders.
I found a channel from the UK of a cabinet maker [0] that uses Graphic for mac - simple, easy and I can do the same style drawings.
Maybe Sketchup is more helpful when you have complicated joinery or need to sell plans online.
0 - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_FksrzP3q-IuoWTiG501LQ
After about 3 projects on Sketchup, I'm now proficient enough to crank out simple furniture in a few minutes. That 15 minutes spent modeling things in sketchup pays dividends when it comes time for cutting and assembly.
Woodworking has been a hobby of mine off and on my entire adult life. Two things stand out as having a big impact on woodworking in the past 15 years or so, related to this post:
1) The large-scale adoption of Sketchup as a drafting/designing tool. If you go to any woodworking forum you'll find lots of people talking about it, and it has raised the skill level of a lot of people who are new to woodworking considerably, just by making it a "computer friendly" hobby and making more complex designs possible for people without a high amount of basic knowledge.
2) The social aspect of the internet generally, results in a lot of knowledge about paints, finishes, equipment, and methods being shared. Before the internet, fine woodworking was still something that could only feasibly be learned by apprenticeship. These days, you see people buying historic homes that need a lot of work, for example, and "just figuring it out."
PS: for anyone else who might try playing with wood, the answer to how close your measurements should be to make mortises fit JUST right is 5 thousandths ;).