On 10/9/26 17:23, Chris Albertson wrote:
On Oct 9, 2026, at 12:59 PM, maurice e heskett <[email protected]> wrote:
...I'm used to seeing the editable src code in the left pane, but did not succeed
in finding such a display option. The engine block shown is far from finished, as
is the back hoe arm. The display was dead stable, although noticeably slow on this
N95 powered machine. But w/o the ability to SEE (& assuming I could edit it)
the src code that generated those images,
Ho, this might be the source of your misunderstanding. Thinking there is some
kind of “source code” that makes the images. Sorry. There is none. It is
not that you cannot edit or find it. The image is the “real thing” or
“truth,” and if ever there is some text file it was created from referencing
that picture.
Think of it this way: You are Michelangelo carving a statue of David from a
rock. There is no text file, only rock. Then 500 years later someone uses a
laser to digitize the statue. This is how 3D CAD works: you make an object,
then maybe you need an STL file so you can print it; the software uses lasers
or whatever to measure the object and make an STL file.
The object ithe object inside the computer is real, just like the money you
have in the bank is “just numbers in a computer” but, no it’s real.
I think many people miss this: 3D CAD makes the actual object, not some
description of it that has to be converted to the object.
Finally, what is confusing perhaps is that objects do not have “time order”;
there is no “do this first and then that and finally do this.” That statue of
David is just David, all at the same time.
I can see where CAD would seem very confusing if you did not see that you were
making something in the same way you would make something with a scroll saw or
drill press.
In FreeCAD that “source code” is a dependency tree. It tracks what depends on
what. I make a diaper 12mm and then another “0.1mm less,” so this last
dimension depends on the fit. A good model can have thousands of
dependencies. It is not source code; it is not something you could run.
Next problem is the FreecAD just happens to have the worst user interface of
any 3D CAD system. It works, but the user experience is poorer than with other
systems.
There is some truth to your theory Chris, but at 92, I have always made
a mental picture of what I wanted and then created it in gcode for
metallic or wood stuff, or text describing what I waned to print in
openscad when I had become familiar enough with it. And I have been
successful enough at the joining of the 2 processes to think about
selling it. For about $1000 a copy. There is not anything like on the
market now. Some similar on ebay, but using a thread and nut dozens of
time more fragile.
Now the problem is me, diabetic & failing kidneys, lasting long enough
to develop a shipping box, get a few made and post an adv in Fine
Woodworking and put up a web page to sell it from. If I sell more than
the ten I already have built, the standing time to make more will be
determined by my ability to stand and run the machinery, or possibly
teaching one of my 4 sons to carry it on. Frankly I'm doing it with far
more detail than anything I've seen in the freecad examples.
Currently with 3 working printers, their speed determines how many I can
make in a week. I have good wood for 6 more, straight grained hard
maple, after that I'll need to find another good knot free plank. They
are rare & priced accordingly.
Thanks Chris. Gene
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