After operating for almost two years, Ondsel has made the difficult decision to cease operations and close down. We are incredibly thankful for the support we’ve received from the FreeCAD community and the larger engineering CAD communities.
STEP files are the lingua franca for the CAD world. Virtually every solid modeling tool is capable of exporting STEP. Most can also import these files, but the experience can vary wildly in practice. Import may be possible but clunky. It may require the user to choose from many confusing options. Depending on how the file was exported, import may just fail.
For the upcoming new version of Ondsel ES, we are bringing major changes to the Lens addon. Let’s outline our strategy here and do a quick preview of what’s coming.
A while ago we collaborated with Libre Space Foundation on a fun little project that required simulating multi-body dynamics (MBD) in zero gravity. This helped us improve the MBD-capable solver that we’ve been developing behind the scenes for a while. Here is the story.
Laser cutters are a staple in maker spaces and are often the first exposure users have to CNC equipment. They are fast and accurate. They produce usable parts from inexpensive materials. They can cut and engrave and are intuitive to use.
However, laser cutters typically have a different workflow compared to other CNC machines. Instead of G-code, the input for laser cutters is usually 2D geometry files such as SVG, DXF, or image files. The control software then automatically generates the G-code internally. This means that users need to prepare their SVG files before feeding them to laser cutters, and the procedure is different for every cutter.
To make things easier, we developed a post-processor for the CAM workbench that generates SVG files automatically. It helps streamline the workflow and cuts down the time it usually takes to go from design to product.
Many people in the Ondsel/FreeCAD community started out as hobbyists and eventually turned their passion into a business. A common story we hear is the frustration they faced getting real-world parts made from their digital designs. It’s understandable. For many people, their first experience of fabrication is the 3D printer. You design the part, push a button, and get your part. It’s easy, right? Except that hole that you designed to fit a bolt is just a little too small or the tab that should fit into the slot is a little too tight and breaks the part when you force it.
Earlier this year, we shipped Ondsel ES 2024.2 with a small nifty feature: backing up your entire Ondsel ES preferences to Lens and then restoring them. Here is a quick guide on how to do that.
We launched Ondsel Lens in 2023 as a FreeCAD-first product data management system. But there is one thing we cannot deny: STEP is a hugely important standard in the industry. If you go from one 3D CAD program to another, more often than not it’s what you use for model exchange. Even if you go from KiCad to SolidWorks, STEP is how you store your PCB designs for use in assemblies.
With Ondsel Lens you can publish your 3D CAD designs privately or publicly and you can do it directly from the Ondsel Engineering Suite. Let’s learn how to do that.
We’ve just released a bugfix update for the latest stable version of Ondsel Engineering Suite. The changes mostly affect users of the Assembly workbench, VarSets, and the Ondsel Lens addon.