News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Things I would like to 3D print by OJFord on Sunday November 07, 2021 @08:41AM (#29139365)
I would love to use OpenSCAD, just seems to have a really steep learning curve that I can't get up. Even though I write code professionally and have no professional CAD experience, Fusion360 just clicked in a way that OpenSCAD didn't for using my 3D printer (Prusa Mini).

I agree about FreeCAD, lacks a lot of polish, but there's a big update coming from it seems basically one maintainer that looks pretty promising. I found it looking for a way to save in a git-sane format (which this branch/fork has). Main problem with Fusion360 (for me) is the lack of Linux support.

Re:Things I would like to 3D print by ravenstine on Sunday November 07, 2021 @09:05AM (#29139521)
I haven't used Fusion360, but I have to say the screenshots of the UI make it look appealing and pretty straight forward (more so than say Solidworks).

My assumption is that it and other standard CAD packages would have a greater learning curve for a programmer who mostly wants to print simple but custom objects. Granted, I have a background in non-CAD 3D, but OpenSCAD was incredibly fast for me to pick up not just because it relies purely on code but that it eliminates a lot of concepts that you are forced to learn otherwise.

In OpenSCAD, there are no units (though STLs seem to come out in millimeters), no object hierarchies, no sketches, no key combos, etc. All you have is code, in a domain-specific language, that describes what is being built. This can be difficult or unappealing, especially for someone who isn't a full-time programmer, but it can also be freeing to just deal with code and not have other things potentially get in the way or cause confusion.

Of course OpenSCAD probably doesn't scale the more complicated a project gets. But for Arduino/RPi boxes, replicating parts, screws and bolts (given a 3rd party module), it's a powerful and handy tool. However, it might be horrible for someone with limited coding skills.

Re:Things I would like to 3D print by spiderice on Sunday November 07, 2021 @10:38AM (#29140301)
Fusion 360 is pretty easy and fun to learn. I became productive in it within just a couple hours, and used it to print some things for some house projects. Just my $0.02.
Re:Things I would like to 3D print by ravenstine on Sunday November 07, 2021 @11:19AM (#29140712)
Nice. I'll have to give it a try!
Re:Things I would like to 3D print by svrourke on Monday November 08, 2021 @05:52PM (#29155374)
I've also a programming background however I got very intimidated by openSCAD though I think that might've just been because I had been using tinkercad for a year an a half beforehand and was just coddled.