TLDR
I am working on a project to add a few ideas to existing OpenSCAD models.
Basically, it tries to find the correct set of parameters for an object
based on physical constraints, like “make my component weigh less than 100
g“.
It is far from being done, but there is a demo online ( free, no
registration needed) at sol75.com http://www.sol75.com . Any
suggestion/comment will help! It is still in closed beta, but the password
is “openscad”.
*Motivation/project philosophy *
The main motivation is that finding the optimal set of parameters for a scad
model is hard. The design space is often very large and it may be riddled
with internal constraints (like “parameter d_out must be bigger than d_in
otherwise there will be no material around a hole”). So my proposed solution
is to move from setting parameters to setting requirements. Instead of
specifying the component shape, specify its function.
In my opinion, working with requirements is less demanding for the
“end-user” (someone who wants to use the part, but is not the author). It is
much easier to tell the software “Customize this box so that it holds a 5 kg
object on top” rather than figuring out how thick the walls need to be to
withstand 5kg (and then figure out how to enforce it using the geometrical
parameters available).
I also think that this improves re-usability. When I want to change a
parameter in a complex scad part, I better make sure that doing so won’t
break the geometry; it is up to me to use values that make sense. On the
other hand, if I set a requirement, it is SOL75 (the software)
responsibility to validate it and to choose parameters that satisfy it (or
reject it entirely if it doesn’t make sense, but explaining why).
I wrote a similar post on reddit/openscad and got a lot of great ideas about
features to add. I write here to ask if anyone has tried this before or if
you see any issue with my argument. This approach feels easier to me, but it
might be just me…
To be clear, this is not a new scad language. The models are standard
openscad files. My software simply sets the values of the parameters.
--
Sent from: http://forum.openscad.org/
*TLDR*
I am working on a project to add a few ideas to existing OpenSCAD models.
Basically, it tries to find the correct set of parameters for an object
based on physical constraints, like “make my component weigh less than 100
g“.
It is far from being done, but there is a demo online ( free, no
registration needed) at sol75.com <http://www.sol75.com> . Any
suggestion/comment will help! It is still in closed beta, but the password
is “*openscad*”.
*Motivation/project philosophy *
The main motivation is that finding the optimal set of parameters for a scad
model is hard. The design space is often very large and it may be riddled
with internal constraints (like “parameter d_out must be bigger than d_in
otherwise there will be no material around a hole”). So my proposed solution
is to move from *setting parameters* to *setting requirements*. Instead of
specifying the component shape, specify its function.
In my opinion, working with requirements is less demanding for the
“end-user” (someone who wants to use the part, but is not the author). It is
much easier to tell the software “Customize this box so that it holds a 5 kg
object on top” rather than figuring out how thick the walls need to be to
withstand 5kg (and then figure out how to enforce it using the geometrical
parameters available).
I also think that this improves re-usability. When I want to change a
parameter in a complex scad part, I better make sure that doing so won’t
break the geometry; it is up to me to use values that make sense. On the
other hand, if I set a requirement, it is SOL75 (the software)
responsibility to validate it and to choose parameters that satisfy it (or
reject it entirely if it doesn’t make sense, but explaining why).
I wrote a similar post on reddit/openscad and got a lot of great ideas about
features to add. I write here to ask if anyone has tried this before or if
you see any issue with my argument. This approach feels easier to me, but it
might be just me…
To be clear, this is not a new scad language. The models are standard
openscad files. My software simply sets the values of the parameters.
--
Sent from: http://forum.openscad.org/
