Dune3d comes off like a reskin of SolveSpace. SolveSpace is pretty awesome, so that's not a knock, per se. I'll leave it to somebody with more experience to fill in what value Dune3D adds beyond SolveSpace.
Also check out modelrift.com which is based on openscad foundation. See the dynamic customizer which allows to edit any model parameter, re-render and get .stl: https://modelrift.com/models/customizable-liquid-funnel - it works _completely_ in your browser by using WASM
Would love to see a quick video demo showcasing the features, look and feel of the software. The same team made horizon eda, and I wasn't able to find videos on youtube about it that were newer than 2022, so I never gave it a shot either.
I have used this for throwing together some models for 3D printing. I've found it very intuitive, though I'm not sure how ergonomic it would be for complex assemblies.
I really like the space-key based command access and default shortcuts for all the commands.
So this is a smudge of like 4 projects? Huh. Definitely interested, but I wonder about the longevity of the system. That's one thing about the code cad systems I like: it's pretty easy to port code from one to another.
Okay, but unless you choose to download the Windows executable, compiling from source is very difficult. Many people won't accept the Snap option on an otherwise open-source platform.
This project improves on SolveSpace, but it does this by requiring dozens of mutually conflicting libraries. I create CAD videos, but for my students I decided against this project after seeing how difficult it was to compile.
A FlatPak installer might help with this installation issue.
Again, the Windows executable gets around these issues, for people still willing to put up with Windows.
In case anyone is wondering, Dune3D as a flatpak is about 33mb. FreeCAD is 354mb. I enjoy having simple solutions that get simple things done. Will definitely give Dune3D a try.
Dune3d: A parametric 3D CAD application
(github.com)214 points by luu 22 March 2026 | 102 comments
Comments
Code-based
- CadQuery - https://github.com/CadQuery/cadquery/
- build123d - https://github.com/gumyr/build123d
- OpenSCAD - https://openscad.cloud/openscad/
GUI (browser-based)
- Cadmium (abandoned, cool idea) - https://mattferraro.dev/posts/cadmium
1.2 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41975958
1.1 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40228068
1.0 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37979758
(unfortunately, no discussion for 1.3, so I guess this stands in for 1.4)
I really like the space-key based command access and default shortcuts for all the commands.
This project improves on SolveSpace, but it does this by requiring dozens of mutually conflicting libraries. I create CAD videos, but for my students I decided against this project after seeing how difficult it was to compile.
A FlatPak installer might help with this installation issue.
Again, the Windows executable gets around these issues, for people still willing to put up with Windows.
In case anyone is wondering, Dune3D as a flatpak is about 33mb. FreeCAD is 354mb. I enjoy having simple solutions that get simple things done. Will definitely give Dune3D a try.
Ofc. Let's reinvent the wheel, b/c improving the existing SW would be "too much effort", and btw NIH.
Doofus.