[Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

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drmacro
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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

Post by drmacro »

NewJoker wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:11 pm ...
This in turn will probably result in more people joining the development of FreeCAD (more users = chance for more helpers here).
But, it has grown to this point and has not produced these hordes of helpers you describe.
And that's the primary goal, right ?
That's my point...there is no primary goal. To my knowledge there is no goals statement, no roadmap, etc.
Unless there are currently enough volunteers in this community and there's no need for more people to enhance FreeCAD but I don't think that's the case.
Yet it has grown and does collect functionality as it goes.
P.S. I know several people who could help this community a lot (due to their programming skills, experience in CAD software and the desire to share their knowledge with others) but I can't convince them to use FreeCAD and those missing functionalities are one of the reasons.
Hmm...I am all those things, am fully competent in several commercial packages and for almost a decade I've chosen to use FreeCAD...and I tutor users, share knowledge and somehow I don't find these "missing functionalities" too bothersome. Admittedly, I do not dust off my C++ skills and get into the nitty-gritty, but, I have tested many thing, tested builds on more than one platform and improved the documentation. (My point here is, those things holding back you people are apparently specific to their needs. And FreeCAD may never address their requirements.)
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GeneFC
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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

Post by GeneFC »

Pauvres_honteux wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 4:26 pm Dunno about that... What are your proof for that statement?
No more proof than your statement. :shock:

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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

Post by GeneFC »

NewJoker wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 5:34 pm
Finally, we already have those functionalities working very well so it shouldn't take a lot of effort to implement them so that they don't require internet connection and dependency on github each time a user wants to download them for new FreeCAD installation.
OK, forgetting all the previous nonsense, this is the bottom line. If you want parametric curves in the core of FreeCAD, do it.

Such things happen when an interested and competent person does it. There is no fully-staffed development department at FreeCAD Incorporated. Feature requests of this sort often go back to the author of the procedure. That may not work in this case, so someone else would need to care enough to do the work.

Gene
chrisb
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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

Post by chrisb »

From my experience here I have to second drmacro. We have have seen this argument ever so often when someone tries to get this or that feature implemented.
NewJoker wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:11 pm P.S. I know several people who could help this community a lot (due to their programming skills, experience in CAD software and the desire to share their knowledge with others) but I can't convince them to use FreeCAD and those missing functionalities are one of the reasons.
This sounds to me like a marketing or politicians argument, referring to some unknown crowd. But are these capable developers really refraining from joining the community because things are implemented in a macro rather than in the core? How smart can they be?

Having this said, if I should rate what should go into the core, this would sure be among the top ones. But before this I would definitely like to see Curves workbench in the core.
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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

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You guys clearly have a different view on how FreeCAD should be developed in general so I won’t try to convince you anymore. I think that it can be more or less boiled down to this - new users (like me) want more implemented features and more similarities to other CAD software they know to make the learning curve less steep. On the other hand, experienced users (like you) want FreeCAD to remain without large changes to its functionalities because they are used to they way it works now and they already developed their modeling habits that involve many workarounds for missing tools.

chrisb wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 4:43 am Having this said, if I should rate what should go into the core, this would sure be among the top ones. But before this I would definitely like to see Curves workbench in the core.
I fully agree with this. Curves workbench is so useful that it deserves its place among the built-in modules in official version of FreeCAD. Is there any chance for this to happen ? After all, this workbench has probably been around for a long time.
drmacro
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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

Post by drmacro »

NewJoker wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 9:27 pm You guys clearly have a different view on how FreeCAD should be developed in general so I won’t try to convince you anymore. I think that it can be more or less boiled down to this - new users (like me) want more implemented features and more similarities to other CAD software they know to make the learning curve less steep. On the other hand, experienced users (like you) want FreeCAD to remain without large changes to its functionalities because they are used to they way it works now and they already developed their modeling habits that involve many workarounds for missing tools.

chrisb wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 4:43 am Having this said, if I should rate what should go into the core, this would sure be among the top ones. But before this I would definitely like to see Curves workbench in the core.
I fully agree with this. Curves workbench is so useful that it deserves its place among the built-in modules in official version of FreeCAD. Is there any chance for this to happen ? After all, this workbench has probably been around for a long time.
Hmm...no, I dont think experienced users are against change, they are against change for changes sake, or just to make it look like some other program. Even more, they have been around FreeCAD long enough to know there simply are not enough hands to make many of the changes that new users propose. Many new users come here to the forum with great ideas they feel are obvious and when the long time users aren't all rah-rah wow, we never though of that, they just roll their eyes because they have, many times over...and the noobs assume it is hostility, but, it is reality.

As for Curves...it has actually not been around that long and it's author notes repeatedly it is an experiment and is not anywhere near complete or robust. (@Chris_g please correct me if I'm wrong here...)
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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

Post by chrisb »

An aspect to keep in mind (Gene mentioned something similar): Separate workbenches can be updated independently.
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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

Post by Pauvres_honteux »

NewJoker wrote: Sun Aug 22, 2021 3:30 pm ... 3D Parametric Curve ... make a built-in functionality from it ?
I do encourage you to make a feature request of this. I fear it will otherwise fall between chairs.
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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

Post by onekk »

I think, that this "type of post" are the "signal" that more people want to use FreeCAD but don't feel "at home" sue to the lack of documentation.

I don't think that "doing things in another way" is the main problem, as everything is changing and if you want to switch from a "commercial program" to another it is obvious that "you have to change something".

But a "commercial program" has a "proper manual" and FreeCAD has "something different" it has the wiki and the forum, and this is a "good alternative", if you want to spend time with them.

Maybe some other wiki pages or a more visible "FreeCAD for beginners" links somewhere (maybe on the main page or in the first wiki page?) will help to "spread the user base".

There is a "quite visible" page documenting "FreeCAD from Fusion 360" matter (As I've used FreeCAD from start in my CAD adventure, I haven't read it yet).

But this matter has been already discussed many times on this forum.

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Re: [Feature Request] Built-in parametric curve creation

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Pauvres_honteux wrote: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:31 am I do encourage you to make a feature request of this. I fear it will otherwise fall between chairs.
Right, this way it will be much easier to come across this request: https://tracker.freecadweb.org/view.php?id=4735

And I created one for Curves workbench as well: https://tracker.freecadweb.org/view.php?id=4736
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