[tombert]

And they're super easy to redefine!

Since they're "just variables", not some funky CAD abstraction of variables (like you get with Fusion 360 I think?), you can do any level of arithmetic you want with them, and you can very easily define variables in terms of other variables and add conditionals.

Personally I absolutely hate measuring stuff, measuring stuff is my least favorite part of the entire 3d printing process. What I love about SCAD is I can just define my variables with dummy placeholder values, get a design that more or less looks right, and then measure everything right before I print, and everything will automatically readjust because it was all defined as variables.

This of course isn't specific just to OpenSCAD, but any code-based CAD program. I have no desire to try and go back to vanilla GUI programs.

[kuschku]

Tbh, that workflow is also how you approach proper visual CAD programs. When I draw something in Solid Edge, I create sketches, extrude, etc until I've achieved roughly what I want, then I take measurements and set them as constraints in the model and it'll adapt accordingly.

And if I'm unsure about a measurement, I can just export a few models with slightly different values, 3D print all of them and try which works best.