Will FreeCAD Dominate?

Proprietary CAD can only do second-class automation.

FreeCAD can do first-class automation via scripting and open formats.

The more open assets in FreeCAD, the more value exists in the FreeCAD ecosystem - if they can be reused, modified, etc. Public-domain mechanical capital cannot accumulate like this in proprietary systems. For example - a plumbing designer and even a novice that can readily produce viable as-built design in minutes with AI assist - instead of days for a typical draftsperson in proprietary CAD - this capacity never escaping vendor lock-in.

Will FreeCAD take over the world of CAD?

Chat thinks absolutely yes, pending certain deliverables.

https://chatgpt.com/share/697691e2-ccd4-8010-a573-9f4ca786cbe9

Scripting of schemas make FreeCAD a compiler backend, not just a drafting tool.

Once CAD becomes “code that outputs geometry,” FreeCAD is naturally positioned as the reference implementation. (this doesn't mean people can't easily draft things manually - they can - but many will prefer automation in a no-code enviroment.

FreeCAD Disadvantage in Mainstream System

• Tool qualification is distinct from product certification.
• A high stakes company must quality their toolchain against standards.
• Process is - work with a company to adopt FreeCAD for a narrow task, and company certifies their tool (tool qualification) with standards bodies.
• Other companies can now replicate
• End point is normalization of freecad due to higher Systems Performance via institutional replication cascade [1]