[cad-linux] Re: CAD program for Linux needed

Hi Yorik,

ok, first to all those who are happy Linux users... I am sitting in an 
internet-cafe right now. I had written a reply when this ...-crosoft stuff all 
crashed, so now I start again.

I think that first, we should not confuse the applications. The original 
question for this thread is about a mechanical design, not architectural. So I 
think the 3d-CAD approach may work rather well, even if finally there might be 
some drawings that must be generated somehow from the model.

Second, I think you are perfectly right about that in architecture, we are 
still depending on 2d-plans, which we print in huge amounts on cheap 
black-and-white paper. There is still no laptop developed that is robust and 
intuitive enough to be used by someone while working on a construction site and 
cheap enough to be dumped at the evening after some tons of stone and sand fell 
on it. So paper is not so bad.

Still, I do not think that the Autocad-way (doing serious work in 2d and having 
some fun in 3d, mostly with external programs) is the way to go in all cases. 
There are people who are very happy with it, especially those who used to draft 
manually before and did not want to change their way of work. I am currently 
working in such an office, we use CAD as a drawing board. But it means that you 
do not use what the computer can do best - keeping data in memory and doing 
calculations. And there are lots of applications out that prove that doing the 
design work on a model and generating 2d-representations (sections, plans, 
elevations) as well as other lists from it is possible.

As you mention the importance of having nice-looking 2d plans finally, which 
should not be misunderstood as only about looking nice, but also being easily 
understood, I think that most of this 2d-work can be done better by some of the 
existing 2d-apps (inkscape, scribus, ...). It is not necessary to reinvent the 
wheel here, some minor modifications would be enough. I think that, if we have 
a good CA(A)D application, which is able to output nice 2d-content, not only 
consisting of lines, but also of some data fields, it would be easy to attach 
to these in the 2d app. So, updating the work you did in 2d with a fresh 
generated section from the model might be comfortable, if the 2d-content has 
unique id's, and only the changed elements get updated. Referencing fields such 
as materials, dimensions etc from the layout is also not impossible than. Look 
at what some of the Adobe apps can already do with fields and svg.

We need a clean 3d-CAD with standards-compliant interfaces, and than we can 
extend it to whatever we need, be it architecture, mechanic or anything else...

A, I do not know about any open-source-project for cad backed by architects at 
the moment. I know about some commercial (Speedikon) and free, not os (octree) 
for Linux. I think it is one of the big problems in architect's education these 
days. EVERY engineer learns how to use a computer by programming it to solve 
problems. Only architects believe that programming only means to develop a 
software and sell it, which is not their business. So they use the computer as 
some developer thinks they can use it. That is also the reason I cannot start 
this kind of project right now... I am not able to code it.

CU Lars.

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