Sketchup
SketchUp is a 3D modelling program for a broad range of applications such as architectural, civil, mechanical, film as well as video game design — and available in free as well as 'professional' versions.
OSE Case
While Sketchup is not open source - meaning - one cannot simply take the source code and make improvements or add features as needed - it is free and widely accessible around the world. The wide accessibility allows wide-scale collaboration to happen. The problem that OSE had in the past with respect to open collaboration on CAD - was that if a user created a design in a certain CAD package, most other collaborators were not able to open it because they did not have access to the same software. This problem ran deep - because even if people did have the same software, and it was created on an older or newer version of the program - the CAD file would still not open properly.
The most common issues regarding collaboration that OSE faces are:
- Lack of Software - A collaborator does not have software to open or view a file
- Cross-Platform Compatibility Issues - CAD Software does not exist on all platforms
- Backwards Compatibility Issues - CAD file does not work with older versions of same software
One route to addressing this is using Sketchup. While not open source, it is easy to use and it is widely accessible. The solution path for OSE is to create an open source equivalent to Sketchup.
Further Discussion
FreeCAD is another option, but FreeCAD currently does not allow for the creation of assemblies or fabrication drawings. FreeCAD has a more difficult to use interface. Sketchup boasts the ability to create simple shapes, extrude them, and modify corners, adges, and faces. OSE is currently considering collaboration with Sunglass.io to develop an open source equivalent to sketchup. Why not start with FreeCAD? According to Kaustuv Biswas of Sunglass, the software architecture of standard packages such as FreeCAD, Autodesk, Solidworks, and others - comes from a paradigm based in the 1970's - where a powerful and complicated CAD kernel was reqiured. Today, Kaustuv states that we can design a much lighter CAD kernel - and make all the heavy analysis and computation on CAD models happen via add-on modules. Thus, the design of the modern CAD platform can be much more modular and lightweight, and that would be the motivation for creating an open source equivalent of Sketchup from scratch - while building on the same open source modules, as needed, that the more complicated packages use.