N3XD

3D printers are useful for a variety of tasks, from working on DIY projects to printing all sorts of household items and small-series manufacturing. Naturally, you need CAD software to design the STL files for these machines, as well as some filament.

Having used Autodesk Fusion 360/Inventor for many years, I recently had to search for alternatives as my student access is about to expire. While there are alternatives, they either force the user to make all their projects publicly visible or still cost a significant amount per year, which usually cancels out the benefits of having a 3D printer at home. Open-source software usually lags far behind proprietary software in terms of user experience and reliability.

So I decided to build my own CAD software — how hard could it be? I actually started the project three years ago, when AI tools for coding weren't available yet. At that time, I tried using Panda3D as an engine and managed to develop it to the point where I could sketch simple shapes and create a neat GUI. However, the project stalled due to a lack of time to develop it further.

But times have changed! Despite all the caveats these tools bring, Claude and other tools have made writing code much easier. So I gave the project another chance. This time, I tried a hybrid approach, using a dedicated backend to handle the computing and a browser-based frontend to allow more flexible, modern UI/UX development.

Using all the software practices I have learned over the years while working on QML-Essentials, the result is now available at n3xd.io. Feel free to check it out and play around with it. I welcome any feedback (there is a dedicated feedback form available after logging in). Only an email address is required to sign up, and the service is completely free. Once the codebase is more stable, I plan to release the code and have a cloud-hosted instance available for paid access.

Please note that despite having many features, the software is at a fairly early stage of development. Therefore, expect the odd rough edge and let me know of any issues or missing features you encounter.