Difference between revisions of "Free and open-source computer-aided design/What exists already?"

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[[Image:Blimp.png|120px|right|Screenshot of 'Art of Illusion' 3D modelling program]] There are many proprietary CAD programs on the market that range widely in cost, but we are focusing on [[free and open-source software]] here.
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[[Image:FreeCAD boolean.png|120px|right|Screenshot of 'Art of Illusion' 3D modelling program]] There are many proprietary CAD programs on the market that range widely in cost, but we are focusing on [[free and open-source software]] here.
  
 
There are some two-dimensional (2D) open-source CAD programs such as [http://www.qcad.org/qcad.html '''QCAD'''] but these really only replicate the methods that were used to create hand-drawn paper engineering drawings and lack the advantages and power that modern 3D CAD offers. Some of the programs listed below are actually 3D geometric modelling applications rather than specific 3D CAD, however they could serve as the core of a future CAD program.
 
There are some two-dimensional (2D) open-source CAD programs such as [http://www.qcad.org/qcad.html '''QCAD'''] but these really only replicate the methods that were used to create hand-drawn paper engineering drawings and lack the advantages and power that modern 3D CAD offers. Some of the programs listed below are actually 3D geometric modelling applications rather than specific 3D CAD, however they could serve as the core of a future CAD program.

Revision as of 23:05, 28 February 2010

Screenshot of 'Art of Illusion' 3D modelling program
There are many proprietary CAD programs on the market that range widely in cost, but we are focusing on free and open-source software here.

There are some two-dimensional (2D) open-source CAD programs such as QCAD but these really only replicate the methods that were used to create hand-drawn paper engineering drawings and lack the advantages and power that modern 3D CAD offers. Some of the programs listed below are actually 3D geometric modelling applications rather than specific 3D CAD, however they could serve as the core of a future CAD program.

BRL-CAD is a 3D CAD package that came out American Military ballistics research and can be traced back to the 1970s. It is based on the older constructive solid geometry 11px-Wikipedia_logo.jpg paradigm that isn't as flexible as the parametric 'B-rep'-based 11px-Wikipedia_logo.jpg software used by modern proprietary CAD programs, although it is highly suited to physical analysis, which is what it was designed for. The user interface is currently rather lacking.

Blender 11px-Wikipedia_logo.jpg is a powerful 3D modelling, animation and rendering program designed primarily to create sophisticated computer graphics rather than being tailored for design and engineering. It is an advanced and capable piece of software, and might well form a good basis for a dedicated open-source CAD application – such are the possibilities when the software is open-source. There have been some attempts to create scripts extending Blender in this direction, but they are either no longer active or do not yet go far enough. The user interface is not known for being particularly intuitive, however those that know their way around it (including the many vital keyboard shortcuts) say it is very effective.

Art of Illusion 11px-Wikipedia_logo.jpg is another interesting open-source 3D modelling and rendering application, although perhaps not quite as advanced as Blender. However the user interface is much more intuitive. Similarly it is designed for creating computer graphics rather than as a CAD program, but the required features could be added. The RepRap open-source 3D printer project are currently using this for their 3D modelling with some additional scripting.

However there is a real need to create (or evolve) a really sophisticated, easy to use, open-source CAD (or more ambitiously product lifecycle management 11px-Wikipedia_logo.jpg) application that is highly intuitive to use, powerful, extendible and importantly hooks in to what should be a rapidly growing ecosystem of designs and physical systems available to all in the 'universal commons'.

FreeCAD is designed to be a feature based parametric CAD modeller and CAE 11px-Wikipedia_logo.jpg platform, employing the OpenCASCADE geometric modelling kernel libraries. Extensions framework and integrated Python interpreter for powerful scripting capabilities. No sketcher module yet.

HeeksCAD is a parametric modeller initially aimed at designed parts for CNC machining. Also based on OpenCascade. This has the ability to create 3D parts from 2D sketches with the GUI.