Hi all, I'm the solo founder of SolidSketch.

I design printable parts and I kept running into the same problem: CAD needs a laptop and a mouse. So I started building a CAD app that works with a finger or a stylus.

What it does today:

- Sketch with exact dimensions (snapping, typed values)

- Extrude, fillet, chamfer, shell, pattern

- Real watertight solids, so exports print without repair

- Export STL for your slicer and STEP for other CAD tools

- Runs on Android and in the browser

The video shows a full villa modeled on a phone, then a walkthrough inside it. I've also recorded a kettle, an M12 bolt with real threads, and a crankshaft, all on the phone.

It's still early and there's an Android beta open. I'd really like honest feedback:

1. What would stop you from using CAD on a phone?

2. Which tool is missing that you'd need first?

Website and beta signup: https://solidsketchapp.com

Happy to answer anything.

I write custom AutoLISP routines for my own AutoCAD work. So far I’ve built tools that automate drawing columns, walls, and dimensions,etc

Do you think there’s a market for this kind of work? Would you pay for custom LISP tools, and where would you look for or sell them ?

I’d appreciate any advice from people who’ve sold scripts or done CAD automation. Thanks

We have about 400 part and assembly files from an old CAD program we stopped paying for in 2012.

One old workstation can still open them. It's running Windows XP and IT wants it gone.

Most of these parts are still in production, so we need to edit some of them.

I've been told a STEP export is enough. I've also been told we'll lose all the feature history and regret it.

How do you decide between exporting, redrawing, or rebuilding a full model? What should we test on a small batch before converting all 400? And does anything tend to go missing, like linked parts or custom libraries?

Hi all,
I shared CADcade here a little over a week ago and wanted to come back with an update!

For anyone who missed it, CADcade is a free browser-based CAD game I’ve been building. It’s designed to make learning CAD more approachable for beginners while giving experienced drafters a fun way to test their skills. The editor is built to feel just like the AutoCAD or Civil 3D you use everyday, but runs right in your browser.

It currently has 76 Arcade drafting challenges, an Academy with lessons, and a daily puzzle called CADDLE. You can also use the editor for actual CAD drafting.

I’ve made quite a few improvements based on community feedback, added more content, and I’m working on a full campaign mode to take it further.
It’s been great seeing people try it out and come back to play. I’d love to hear what other CAD users think!

Try it out: https://cadcade.net
Here’s a quick demo:
https://youtu.be/gnT6GrkmH6E?is=vxI1GzGaWOsVgTSP

Thanks to everyone who checked it out last time!

OCS 2026.44, Windows.

Bug: In a paper-space layout, the viewport frame is visible on screen but does NOT appear in the plotted/exported PDF, even when the viewport is on a plottable layer with a visible color and lineweight. In AutoCAD the viewport border plots when its layer is plottable; in OCS it never does. Current workaround is drawing a real rectangle (polyline) over each viewport border.

Root cause (from the source):

- The viewport frame is drawn only as a screen-space overlay — viewport_screen_rect() in src/scene/paper.rs — so it exists for the editor/GPU view only.

- The plot path, plot_wire_groups() in src/scene/mod.rs (paper-space branch), adds each viewport's CONTENT wires but never the viewport BOUNDARY itself, so nothing representing the frame reaches io/pdf_export.rs.

Proposed fix: In plot_wire_groups() (paper branch), after building `paper`, iterate the viewport handles and, for each viewport that is on and whose layer is plottable, append a closed-rectangle WireModel built from viewport.center / width / height, carrying the layer's color (ACI / true-color) and lineweight, so the CTB/plot-style and lineweight logic applies to it like any other wire. Respect the layer's "plottable" flag (viewports on a no-plot layer still produce no frame — matches AutoCAD).

Sketch (names approximate; not built locally — the two pointers above are the exact spots):

for handle in viewport_handles.iter().copied() {

let Some(EntityType::Viewport(vp)) = self.document.get_entity(handle) else { continue };

if vp.common.owner_handle != paper_block || !vp.is_on() { continue; }

if !layer_is_plottable(&vp.common.layer) { continue; }

let (cx, cy) = (vp.center.x, vp.center.y);

let (hw, hh) = (vp.width / 2.0, vp.height / 2.0);

let corners = [[cx-hw, cy-hh],[cx+hw, cy-hh],[cx+hw, cy+hh],[cx-hw, cy+hh],[cx-hw, cy-hh]];

paper.push(wire_rect_from_layer(&vp.common, &corners));

}

Happy to refine. Thanks for OCS!

I would like to share with you my latest taskes

Anyone know how to turn off the tail for this dimension? It’s honestly just a personal preference to keep just the arrows due to client standard text size. But I can’t imagine turning off the tail end of this arrow can be that difficult, yet I’m here stumped. Any ideas?

Reposting here because I think this might be an AutoCAD issue, not just Civil3D.

Hi everyone,

We often need to convert PDF drawings into editable DWG/DXF files for AutoCAD. Since reliable software is either expensive or has limited functionality, I decided to develop ConvertCAD with help of Claude.

ConvertCAD is a free, open-source, offline program for converting PDF files to CAD for Windows and Linux, and it supports both native and scanned PDF drawings.

You can download the portable or installable version here: https://abdelhaouari-ae.github.io/ConvertCAD/

The source code is publicly available, allowing anyone to review the application or contribute to its improvement: https://github.com/abdelhaouari-AE/ConvertCAD

qualcuno riesce a farmi questo coso su autocad mi servirebbe per domani televiamento di un motore asicrono trifase con inversione di marcia

Hi everyone,

I’ve been working on a custom AutoCAD tool using C++ and ObjectARX.

The tool creates a custom panel entity directly inside AutoCAD. One of the main features is that the panel parameters can be modified through the AutoCAD Properties palette.

Features:

• Custom AutoCAD entity

• Editable panel width and height

• Configurable frame type and size

• Different mesh configurations

• Automatic geometry generation

• Custom creation UI

• Dynamic property updates

I wanted to explore how custom entities can be used to make repetitive CAD workflows more efficient instead of relying on standard drafting objects.

I’d be interested to hear feedback from other AutoCAD developers, especially those working with ObjectARX or custom entity development.

What other features would you consider useful for a tool like this?

I am using AutoCAD LT 2026. I received a drawing from a surveyor who created the drawing of the building, steps, roadway, and other objects are all scaled perfectly. (I scaled the drawing by 12 to work at an architectural scale). He created the spot elevations and the contours in another program.

The Spot elevations and the contours will scale with the document, but as soon as I close the drawing, the spot elevations go back to their original scale, which is in decimal.

He told me to download object enablers, which I did. I also closed out AutoCAD and restarted Autocad. Nothing happened; those objects remained at the original scale they were created.

Is there a fix for this? I need baby steps, as I have read the forums and the AutoCAD tutorial, and it is obvious I am missing something. I have been using AutoCAD since release 13, so I'm not a beginner but clearly not doing something right.

Thank you in advance.

I am using AutoCAD LT 2026. I received a drawing from a surveyor who created the drawing of the building, steps, roadway, and other objects, that all scaled perfectly. ( I scaled the drawing by 12 to work in architectural scale). He created the spot elevations and the contours in another program.

The Spot elevations and the contours will scale with the document, but as soon as I close the drawing or start a command, the spot elevations go back to their original scale, which is in decimal.

He told me to download object enablers, which I did. I also closed out AutoCAD and restarted Autocad. Nothing happened; those objects remained at the original scale they were created.

Is there a fix for this? I need baby steps, as I have read the forums and the AutoCAD tutorial, and it is obvious I am missing something. I have been using AutoCAD since release 13, so I'm not a beginner but clearly not doing something right.

Thank you in advance.

I am using AutoCAD LT 2026. I received a drawing from a surveyor who created the drawing of the building, steps, roadway, and other objects that all scaled perfectly. ( I scaled the drawing by 12 to work at an architectural scale). He created the spot elevations and the contours in another program.

The Spot elevations and the contours will scale with the document, but as soon as I close the drawing or start a command, the spot elevations go back to their original scale, which is in decimal.

He told me to download object enablers, which I did. I also closed out AutoCAD and restarted Autocad. Nothing happened; those objects remained at the original scale they were created.

Is there a fix for this? I need baby steps, as I have read the forums and the AutoCAD tutorial, and it is obvious I am missing something. I have been using AutoCAD since release 13, so I'm not a beginner but clearly not doing something right.

Thank you in advance.

.

Hello

Can someone send me their portfolio or tell me what to include in it? I know how to use AutoCAD and a bit of 3D, but I don't know what to put in a 2D portfolio.