OpenDWG Replacement

From FSF Groups

On the FSF's High Priority Projects list there is a call for the creation of a replacement for the OpenDWG project and libraries. This includes a free standard for Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. This section of the wiki is to help organize our efforts to either find, customize, or create such a system.

Please add yourself below, if you are interested in helping with any aspect of this high-priority project.

Helping to collect existing free software CAD software would be a great first step, as well as any work that has been done on this front. This project has an opportunity to not only replace the proprietary formats but also to help progress the field of Computer Aided Design in general.

Contents

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People

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CAD Software Projects

Please help us collecting existing Computer Automated Design and related software projects.

  • QCAD an easy to use 2d-CAD, available in a closed source professional and a GPLed community edition. Reads and writes DXF by default.
  • the opencascade project provides a software stack that has many foundations for CAD/FEM/CFD Software. It was started or at least is pushed by airbus - i think to avoid vendor lock-in with long running aeroplane design projects that go on for decades. Derived from this is "salome"
  • avoCADo was recently startet in java. It is in very early stages, aimes for cross plattform use, but i fear java the wrong choice for a demanding piece of software
  • Blender - once had the idea to fork a cad version. However CAD is mainly about 3D geometrie driven design and then deriving 2D drawing from it. Blender is about artists expressing there imagination. But - the 3D displaying technology and rendering is there, blenders interface is very theme driven, maybe a starting point.
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Free file formats

Please help us find existing free formats that could form as a good basis for this project.

There is a partially usable specification of the DWG format by OpenDWG ([1]). However, it is full of errors and omissions, and OpenDWG is not providing any support on this format. The OpenDWG spec is still usable to some extent, but it still needs a considerable amount of work (reverse engineering). Furthermore, every time AutoDesk comes out with a new version, this new version will have to be reverse engineered again. So the crucial ingredient is having sufficient reverse engineering power. When the format is known, implementing it is not such a big deal. Big parts of the object model are known from the DXF specification, which is publicized by AutoDesk (however also containing errors and missing large parts of the complete format [2]).


  • vtk from kitware.com is a 3D CAD format used in scientific areas
  • www.ocf.or.jp/e/index.shtml - OCF / Open CAD Format Council


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Sharing CAD files

Please help us find existing libraries or communities providing free CAD files

  • Open-Craft.org is a internet project driven by a german cabinet maker's workshop [3]. The aim of Open-Craft.org is to encourage craftsmen and any others operating craftsmanship to share their knowledge, drawings, ooffice templates , ...
  • There's a large library that contains typically drawings of small parts or symbols that are often used in drawings (such as screws, nuts or symbols for electrical schemas) provided by ribbonsoft.com, the autor of QCad. This library is public domain (verified by the owner of ribbonsoft, Andrew Mustun).
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3D Design Communities

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CA[X] Distributions

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Outlook

3D Printers, Rapid manufacturing & tooling, and various other technologies to "grow" parts are available and will spread in the foreseeable future. Free design communities are there, much like free software communities, but lack software to design and share parts, models, etc. There could be a "youtube" for cad drawings/designs, ranging from mechanical to architecture projects.

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