We get it, CAD software can be daunting to learn. Somehow [Boaztheostrich] found it so daunting he procrastinated his way into a AR voxel-based CAD app he calls “ABCCAD”, written in Godot for the Meta Quest 3.
The app is simplicity itself: pressing A or X on the controller spawns a cube, which you can place wherever you like in virtual space by moving the controller in real space. The trigger then saves the cube position. Grabbing a cube uses the controller’s grab buttons. You can even change colors (with B or Y), but like in OpenSCAD it appears that’s not actually going to have any effect on the exported STL. Check it out in action in the demo video embedded below.
As far as CAD applications go, this is as simplistic as it gets, but there’s a certain charm to its simplicity. It’s almost like virtual LEGO. Besides, TinkerCAD wasn’t much more complicated when it started out, and look at it now.
Sure, one could say if [Boaz] wanted to do CAD he’d have been better off putting the time into learning good old OpenSCAD or FreeCAD (which can now get you SolidWorks certs, apparently), but this is a fun little app that let him stretch his chops in Godot, another great open-source tool. ABCCAD is, itself, open-source under an MIT license.
We seem to have a paucity of posts under the Godot tag, so if you’ve got a hack that uses the open-source game engine, please send us a tip.
Thanks to [Boaztheostrich] for the tip.
The killer app for VR / AR / XR goggles to me has always been CAD and design work.
It takes some practice to model something on a computer and have it translate well to the real world, especially with multi-component assemblies that will be put by someone other than you.
Being able to “hold” and assemble things in virtual space could help eliminate the “Where’s my 4D Wrench” problem that even the most experienced mechanical designers occasionally fall into.
Hello Chris,
Boaz here, I made the VR app.
I think you’re definitely on to something, CAD / design work in VR is something I have been wanting for a long time and I think assemblies are definitely an area where they could be especially useful!
Hoping to keep expanding this project!
Thanks,
Boaz
Hey Chris,
My last comment is not showing up on my side, sorry if I am replying twice.
I’m Boaz, the guy who made the app, just wanted to say I definitely agree that CAD could be a killer feature for VR! I think the biggest issue right now is input, but for visualization it is hard to beat! Stuff like typing in dimensions in VR is still not very intuitive but I think the advancements that have been made in Voice to Text could fix a lot of that.