[laydn]

Do you know whether anyone using these types of tools (like OpenSCAD, CadQuery) in any serious design? By serious I mean, real, industrial use cases (think automotive, defense, aircraft, etc.). Or are these tools mainly targeting hobbyists?

[exmadscientist]

OpenSCAD is very much a hobbyist tool, I'm afraid. It has some internal representation issues (just try generating a STEP to see a few), but there are worse problems. Like the lack of easy fillets and chamfers, or the impossibility of cosmetic surfacing (often very hard even with good tools).

The reality is that the professional market is majority SolidWorks and everyone else fights over the rest. Though Dassault seems to be turning the screws a little too tight these days, so you never know what's in store in the future.

[bumbada]

We use those tools for industrial prototyping because we can program those in things like python.

We use it for creating as crappy designs as fast as possible, not getting designers to premature optimization.

For serious design no, we use expensive commercial software for that, once it is clear what the solution is.

For exploring lots of different spaces cheap 3d printer, cheap CNC milling machines and laser cutters are amazing.

We restrict access to serious software for early prototyping because people will try things like super complex organic shapes that require supports or special milling machines instead of machines that cost 100 less money.

That makes time to market so long and a design a competitor could squash the price when he uses cheap alternatives for manufacturing.

[benhurmarcel]

> We restrict access to serious software for early prototyping because people will try things like super complex organic shapes that require supports or special milling machines instead of machines that cost 100 less money.

Restricting access to CAD features is a perplexing way to compensate for lack of mechanical engineering skills.

[Brian_K_White]

I get it. I see no room to be perplexed since he explained it.

Aside from that, in general, requiring a student to do without a magic tool so they are forced to percieve and understand some fundamental that the magic tool hides, is hardly a new or perplexing concept. Otherwise, you get exactly what he just said, they got.

[benhurmarcel]

He's not talking about education, but about professionals producing prototypes.

And designing a part to be manufactured easily with the intended process is a basic mechanical engineering skill.

[Brian_K_White]

He certainly is talking about education, at least, exactly as much as I was by using the word "student".

"student" just means "one who studies". It doesn't say anything about what they study or what kind of building or organizational structure they happen to inhabit at the time.

The principle I attempted to articulate is general and applies in any context, including this one.