this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2025
84 points (98.8% liked)

Linux

13441 readers
164 users here now

Welcome to c/linux!

Welcome to our thriving Linux community! Whether you're a seasoned Linux enthusiast or just starting your journey, we're excited to have you here. Explore, learn, and collaborate with like-minded individuals who share a passion for open-source software and the endless possibilities it offers. Together, let's dive into the world of Linux and embrace the power of freedom, customization, and innovation. Enjoy your stay and feel free to join the vibrant discussions that await you!

Rules:

  1. Stay on topic: Posts and discussions should be related to Linux, open source software, and related technologies.

  2. Be respectful: Treat fellow community members with respect and courtesy.

  3. Quality over quantity: Share informative and thought-provoking content.

  4. No spam or self-promotion: Avoid excessive self-promotion or spamming.

  5. No NSFW adult content

  6. Follow general lemmy guidelines.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Obviously, you could animate something like this by hand but is there any software on Linux meant to simulate this kind of mechanism?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Would maybe a FreeCAD assembly ^[3]^ be what you're looking for? Here is an example tutorial on making an assembly ^[1]^. You can also animate an assembly ^[2][3.1]^.

References

  1. Type: Video. Title: "FreeCAD 1.0 Assembly in 30 minutes Beginners Crash Course / Tutorial 2025". Author: "MangoJelly Solutions for FreeCAD". Publisher: ["YouTube". "MangoJelly Solutions for FreeCAD"]. Published: 2025-01-29T13:37:36Z. Accessed: 2025-09-18T07:54Z. URI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2yDGlv5wI0.
  2. Type: Post (Comment). Author: "Workshop_Notes". Publisher: [Type: Post. Title: "FreeCAD 1.0 Assembly workbench joint variables". Author: "zultron". Publisher: "FreeCAD". Published: 2024-11-30T19:32:15+00:00. URI: https://forum.freecad.org/viewtopic.php?t=92562.]. Published: 2024-12-01T09:32:38+00:00. Accessed: 2025-09-18T08:03Z. URI: https://forum.freecad.org/viewtopic.php?p=794940#p794940.
    • Type: Text. Location: ¶2.

      […]They all use Python to animate the assembly.[…]

  3. Type: Article. Title: "Assembly Workbench". Publisher: "FreeCAD". Accessed: 2025-09-18T08:05Z. Published: 2025-08-17T18:19. URI: https://wiki.freecad.org/Assembly_Workbench.
    1. Type: Article. Location: §"Example crank and slider">§"Drive the crank". URI: https://wiki.freecad.org/Assembly_Workbench#Drive_the_crank.
[–] yetAnotherUser@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Damn, what kind of referencing software are you using for writing this kind of comment? Looks pretty cool

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

[…] Looks pretty cool

Thank you 😊

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

[…] what kind of referencing software are you using for writing this kind of comment? […]

None 😄 It's all done manually by me, atm. I'm sort of trying to iteratively develop my own referencing style/standard. More to your comment, though, I am considering writing a script to help me generate the references for things, as it can be a bit tedious for me at the moment to try and scrape the data when citing sources.

[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

FreeCAD is such a masochist's tool ;)

I tried learning it a few times, but it's such a royal pain compared to other CAD software.

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

When was the last time that you've tried using it?

[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

A year or so ago

[–] Localhorst86@feddit.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

I was using Fusion360 for quite some time and when I moved to linux, I had to find an alternative.

FreeCAD takes a while to get used to, particularly moving from other CAD software, but with a few tutorials FreeCAD 1.0 onwards is really quite powerful.

Before version 1.0, it was absolutely undecipherable. You can try giving it a shot nowadays, but you'll have to get used to its workflow, regardless of what CAD software you currently use.

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

[…][FreeCAD is] such a royal pain compared to other CAD software.

What, specifically, did you find bothersome about FreeCAD?

[–] mranderson17 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

You can do it just in the sketcher and get 90% of the way there with just sketcher constraints. You can also create a body with a subshape binder for each sketch line and use assembly and create an animation. You don't even need 3d solids. I created a gif, we'll see if it attaches properly to this reply...

Video: