There's a long history of programmers trying to reduce 3D design to programming. I still remember POV-Ray, which was a big thing in the 1990s. But in the end, it's just a very inconvenient way to iterate on shapes by editing code. Kinda like drawing a comic strip by writing SVG by hand. Effortless interactivity rules.
Many CAD programs incorporate parametric modeling, scripting languages, or Scratch-like "block programming" tools for when you actually need flexibility for a specific assembly. But that's where it belongs: an add-on for an interactive modeler. You don't need to write code draw a helix, but if you need a variable number of scaled copies, there's a parametric tool for that.
I guess these tools may be useful to LLMs because it's cheaper for them to generate a program than to perform computer-use tasks in a UI. But I wouldn't recommend humans to start with OpenSCAD.
To each their own. Writing models in vim with the full power of git managing history, variations, experiments just feels so much better than spending my time in someone else's (often bloated) proprietary GUI.
I use https://replicad.xyz by the way, in Typescript. No affiliation, just a happily productive user of a fantastic MIT-licensed project. I don't use LLMs at all, for better or worse.
Ps. Replicad does make you write code to draw a helix, but it's just sketchHelix(pitch, height, radius)
Many CAD programs incorporate parametric modeling, scripting languages, or Scratch-like "block programming" tools for when you actually need flexibility for a specific assembly. But that's where it belongs: an add-on for an interactive modeler. You don't need to write code draw a helix, but if you need a variable number of scaled copies, there's a parametric tool for that.
I guess these tools may be useful to LLMs because it's cheaper for them to generate a program than to perform computer-use tasks in a UI. But I wouldn't recommend humans to start with OpenSCAD.
I use https://replicad.xyz by the way, in Typescript. No affiliation, just a happily productive user of a fantastic MIT-licensed project. I don't use LLMs at all, for better or worse.
Ps. Replicad does make you write code to draw a helix, but it's just sketchHelix(pitch, height, radius)