Hardware Podcasts

Ep. 12 - Improving FreeCAD ft. Brad Collette from Ondsel

Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast · 18 Jan 2024 · 1h 19m

What this episode covers

Brad Collette, cofounder and CTO of Ondsel, explains how his company uses an open-core model to fund and improve the open-source CAD software FreeCAD. He details the technical challenges of solving the topological naming problem and building a robust assembly workbench, which are critical for commercial viability. Collette discusses the strategic decision to focus on enterprise features like version control and cloud collaboration to subsidize core improvements for hobbyists, while navigating the complex relationship with the FreeCAD Project Association (FPA).

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Ondsel
Also
FreeCAD, Fusion 360, SolidWorks, Open Cascade, HeeksCAD, GitLab, Blender, KiCad, OpenSCAD

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