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by jf___ 972 days ago
It seems a bizarre statement to state that OpenCASCADE isn't fully capable. Its the only OS licensed kernel that'll read a STEP file. Also "modern foundation" is a misleading statement, any CAD kernel bearing any kind of relevance seems implying a codebase that's been around for a quarter century. Like it or not OpenCASCADE is the hand that was dealt. I've worked with the technology [1] extensively and it provided the underpinnings for a startup I've founded [2]. pythonocc is the bees knees, it allows you to develop a proper CAD app. I'd consider CGAL a modern kernel, but it doesn't cover CAD since there is no BRep support [4] Don't take my word for it, but see also the many publications that have built on the tech [3]

[1] https://github.com/tpaviot/pythonocc-core [2] odico.dk/ [3] https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=pyth... [4] https://www.cgal.org/
4 comments
pca006132 972 days ago
Wondering why no BRep support means it is not a CAD. It seems that OpenVSP doesn't use BRep but uses parametric surface [1]. I wonder if mesh-based modeling + some constraints solving will get you a CAD, or are there other requirements that I don't know? I only work on mesh processing library on my free-time and I don't know much about BRep.

[1] https://github.com/elalish/manifold/discussions/549#discussi...

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digdugdirk 971 days ago
To be clear - I do think OpenCascade is impressive. Incredibly so, once one becomes aware of the magnitude of the problem it is trying to solve. I will also admit I haven't used it in the past couple of years, but when I did it's limitations in filleting and chamfering alone were enough to make it a non-starter for industry use.

My broader point was that there is a need to start from a new paradigm that leverages the possibilities of modern, highly parallel computing hardware. The hardware requirements for performant and reliable CAD software are incredibly high, and their reliance on high clock speed single core processors is quickly being left behind by modern processing hardware.

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wizzledonker 972 days ago
It does seem a bit of a throwaway statement regarding OCCT - I also work with it every day and, for the most part, it has all the same eccentricities and limitations of any large heritage-listed C++ library. There's a lot it can do!
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RobotToaster 971 days ago
>Its the only OS licensed kernel that'll read a STEP file.

BRL-CAD does that too.

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