Dr. Hax on Nostr: I use FreeCAD. I've found OpenSCAD to be okay for simple models, but it is hard to ...

I use FreeCAD. I've found OpenSCAD to be okay for simple models, but it is hard to make changes once the model gets to be more than just a couple shapes.

A person from the local 2600 meetings said he used an LLM to make an OpenSCAD model of a piece he needed to fit his leg brace (he broke both his legs, at the same time).

I was impressed that it yeilded a functional solution, but he also said there were some things about it that were not ideal, and that he couldn't get the LLM to modify it in the specific way he wanted. He also wasn't able to make such a change manually. In his case, he wanted something more like a wingnut instead of a small screw that was difficult to torque down by hand.

That pretty much matches up with what I'd expect. In his case, I think it could have been done (modeled and/or modified) in OpenSCAD relitively easily by someone who has the skills.

I don't think my TOTP box would be in the same category. Too many nooks and crannies, pieces that need to fit together with just the right tolerances, cutouts, chamfers, threaded holes, and so on.

Don't get me wrong, with enough time and effort, I'm confident an OpenSCAD expert could accomplish it. But even as just an intermediate FreeCAD user, I think I could do it faster, still be parametric, and be easier to modify (by anyone willing to spend 15 minutes watching a tutorial video and another 15 minutes tinkering around).

I guess the punchline here is that if an AI generated model works for you, and it's a one-off solution that doesn't need to be perfect, you should totally use it.

If you expect to make multiple instamces of a particular model, and want to be able to change them over time, learn a CAD tool. FreeCAD can do everything. OpenSCAD is only practical for simple things, IMO.

Both have a steep learning curves in different ways. Writing a file for OpenSCAD is always mind bending, but you can eventually kinda get used to it. FreeCAD can be simple if you stick to just the Part Design workbench and basic sketches, pads, and holes. Doing fancy stuff like animations, and load testing are much more involved.