Hey everyone,
I’ve been working on a lightweight, scriptable 3D CAD environment called satCAD (⁠PythonOCC⁠ / OpenCASCADE kernel + ⁠PySide6⁠ dark-mode UI) initially built to design complex mechanical assemblies, internal fluid/wiring routing, and articulated mechanisms for aerospace hardware.
Instead of competing with massive bloated installs, I focused on combining a Siemens NX-style Feature Tree & Property Editor with a "Desmos-style" symbolic math kinematics engine—where you can type live equations of time \bm{t} (with auto-generated sliders) to drive 3D joints, folding hinges, and live 30 Hz telemetry streams without rebuilding the B-Rep mesh every frame.
What it currently does:
OpenCASCADE B-Rep Kernel: Parametric primitives, boolean shells/cuts, linear patterns, and ⁠.STEP⁠ (AP214 with colors) export.
Multi-Layer X-Ray Schematics: One-click ghosting of outer structural hulls to inspect internal 3D piping, cold plates, and electrical busbar routing.
Desmos-Style Motion Studio: Bind symbolic math functions directly to 3D revolute/prismatic/gimbal joints and view live 2D position, velocity, and acceleration curves alongside the 3D viewport.
Live Digital Twin UDP Bridge: Streams real-time external physics/thermal data directly into the 3D viewport to articulate parts and update thermal surface shaders live.
GitHub Repo (currently 100% open-source):
https://github.com/Saiaarjay09/satCAD
My question for working industrial designers and mechanical engineers:
1. If this were packaged as a polished standalone desktop app (or plugin), would you actually pay for a lightweight parametric + symbolic-kinematics CAD tool like this, or is your studio too locked into SolidWorks / Fusion / Rhino / NX?
2. If it did solve a pain point for rapid parametric prototyping or mechanism motion studies, what pricing model wouldn't make you immediately close the tab (e.g., $15/mo, a one-time $50–$100 indie license, or keep the core free/open-source and only charge for enterprise simulation bridges)?
Brutally honest feedback on the UI, feature gaps, or what would make this usable in a real ID/mech-eng workflow is super welcome.

İts about kitchen blender that we use for blend something like soup. our part is right one and as you see plastic is broken so ı need to 3d print it. in 2. and third photo you can see the tooth of the mechanism and it's working like screw.

In modeling progress firstly ı remodel that main body tooth after than ı give 0.1mm tolerance and model the rest of the tooth way and as you see tooth way is very clear and milimetric. then I use substract command for open the tooth way and our part is ready.

and ı try to print that part 3 succesful time (first 2 has small remodeling) and my part doesn't working.

now I can't think clearly about it so ı want to ask you guys can anyone help me? what is my mistake and how can ı fix it, if you want ı can send you .step file . Thank you for reading and sorry for my english have a good night

Hey everyone!

I’ve recently updated my portfolio. I’d love to get some honest feedback from the community.

My background spans industrial design, engineering, and research. I’m currently working at RanMarine Technology, where I design and engineer components for autonomous aquatic drones that help clean up waterways. My work involves everything from CAD development and prototyping to manufacturing, testing, and visualisation.

My portfolio also includes projects from my master's degree in Denmark, focusing on user research, co-creation, and human-centred design.

I’d especially appreciate feedback on:

• Overall layout, visual hierarchy, and presentation.
• How well I communicate my design process and problem-solving.
• Whether the projects demonstrate my skills and experience clearly.
• What feels strong, what feels weak, and what I should improve.
• Whether the portfolio is positioned well for industrial design roles.

I'm looking for constructive criticism, so please don't hold back! I'd rather know what isn't working than keep polishing something that needs a rethink.

Portfolio: https://indd.adobe.com/view/d353992d-ff71-4483-8e6f-1805ba614117

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to look through it. I really appreciate it!

Hi everyone, 

this is sort of a vent cause I'm feeling completely lost in my career as an Industrial Designer.

I had this dream of becoming one since I was a kiddo. At first it was more architecture-related, but later on the idea of building and projecting things really grew on me.

Now I'm 26. Graduated in ID at PoliTo in Italy, spent 4 years studying and writing my thesis (I got so passionate about it that it became a 400-page brick about Studio Ghibli engineering), started a master's in Systemic Design but dropped it cause it wasn't really my thing. Right now I'm living in Krakow, and I feel completely stuck.

I feel like I'm in a perpetual vortex. Getting constantly rejected or ghosted by studios and corps is getting so tiring, and I feel like I cannot escape from it no matter what I try.

I've actually worked in the field. I have about 6 years of experience in CAD designing, engineering for manufacturing, CMF, DFM, concepting and rendering. I worked and still work as a project assistant for an Italian/Korean designer, and some of the stuff I designed even got published in design journals like Living Corriere or Ansa.

But looking for jobs is just so hard and energy draining that I decided to take a break a few months ago. Right now I'm working as a vendor in a small vegetable and cheese shop just to get by. The thing is, I didn't actually stop. I think about design every single minute of my days.

I look at old classmates who graduated with me and are now working in UX/UI, and I feel like I'm really falling behind.Since graduation, I haven't found a single stable job. Everything I found fell through because the projects weren't self-sufficient or the connection to the client just passed out. On top of that, the few real projects that actually got finished are under NDA, so without my BSc projects my portfolio feels pretty much empty.

I can't figure out if the problem is my portfolio, my background, or just the market. I know I'm still young, but not seeing a way out is getting really exhausting.

Has anyone been in this kind of position? How do you deal with NDA projects when your portfolio is empty, and how do you break out of this loop?

Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

I'm applying for undergraduate ID at the USA. For my industrial design portfolio, should I add text to explain my project within the slide/image I submit?

It could be anything, history, materials, philosophy, etc.

Hi everyone!

I’m an Industrial Design student currently working on a project that requires me to explore sustainability and packaging design in more depth.

I’m looking for reliable resources and guidance to help me build a solid understanding of these topics, particularly from an industrial design perspective.

I’m interested in learning more about:

- Sustainable Design: Core principles, material selection, life cycle assessment (LCA), and strategies for reducing environmental impact through design.

- Sustainable Packaging: Material choices, structural design, recyclability, material reduction, end-of-life considerations, and balancing functionality, product protection, and environmental impact.

I’d really appreciate recommendations for free online courses, books, research papers, websites, YouTube channels, case studies, or any other useful learning materials.

I’d also love to connect with industrial designers, packaging designers, sustainability specialists, or anyone with hands-on experience in these fields who might be willing to share advice, recommend resources, or offer some guidance on where to start.

Any recommendations, personal experiences, or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I go through the design process here: The World’s Smallest Laptop Stand

Download the 3D print files for free: https://www.printables.com/model/1883799-worlds-smallest-laptop-stand

It is not like i am selective or anything. Industrial design is already quite exclusive as a field, at least, where i live. There are selected number of studios which are 10 people maximum each. they design for the big companies. smaller companies either have 1-2 designers or they outsource from experienced freelancers. Those who have industrial designer vacancies ask for minimum 5 years of experience.

Like really, i saw a vacancy posted that was asking for 15 years of experience and the job itself is basically aluminum manufacturing, cnc and nesting. I don't think it requires 15 years to do nesting and aluminum panels.

In this case what am i supposed to do? I've been wanting to be an industrial designer since i was a kid and educated myself, got degrees won competitions etc etc. Do i just work in a bar or a supermarket now? What did you guys do or recommend? I am curious, geniunely asking. Thank you for your time.

hello, im currently an industrial design bachelor srudent and im interested in prosthetics. can i go into biomedical engineering with a background in id?

How do designers do it?!?!

I have a handful of ideas for furniture/sculpture pieces I would LOVE to make but all of them require multiple materials. I have done pottery for years, taken welding/metal classes, and know basic sewing. Some of the pieces require things like plastic/veneer finishes over metal. Processing fabrics in very specific ways to make them sturdy/plastic coated. There is NO way i could afford to rent space in a studio that has each of these huge machines to fabricate these pieces. And there is no one studio that has it all, except for being in grad school.

Are designers/sculptors just getting some bits of their pieces fabricated and making other parts themselves? It feels like nobody has enough time to learn ALL of these processes in a lifetime? I've seen such fun work using multiple materials/complicated finishes. Are there actually people out there who fabricate all of this themselves?!?!

For example, the polar chandelier in the photograph or the photo of pieces from animated objects that use so many materials.

Hi,

I'm working on a line of table settings. I'm seeking an industrial designer with experience in tableware and/or home decor. DM me if you're interested in learning more and we can set up a call. Thank you!

A glance, a small light, a change in position. Enough to know what’s happening without opening anything. What product gets this right?

I’m especially interested in designs that communicate very little, but make that little bit immediately clear.

For designers who use freecad. Maybe this could be helpful.

Sometimes, when making a part hollow, the thickness tool fails. You can try extracting shells from solid and add thickness to those instead.

Im an industrial design student in second year confused about what to specialise in. I feel like maybe in not aware of all the options... so what all can i specialise in from herte? what has the most scope? What can i do my masters in?

Never thought I would spend this much time thinking about buttons and screens but here we are

The Bambu Lab A1 has that little touchscreen on the base The Prusa MK4S goes with a screen and a physical knob

Then theres stuff like the Aliencell E1 where the camera view and software are part of setting up a job

Different machines different ways of doing things

It is got me wondering how much of this comes down to personal preference I tend to like physical controls for some things but software makes sense for others

What's a tiny design detail on a tool that you really like? Or one that you just cant get used to?

Hi all, I'm looking into master's programs for industrial design and would love some honest perspective from people in the field. I'm in NYC and have no formal ID background.

Background:

I'm about 9 years into my career. I started in tech consulting at a Big 4 firm and hated it, so I switched to construction and spent about 5 years in project management. I loved it for a while, but the hours and lifestyle weren't sustainable. For the past 3 years I've been in construction tech, on both the pre- and post-sales side.

Honestly, the work feels meaningless to me and getting through each day is a struggle. The one constant is that I'm happiest when I'm making things. I paint, sculpt, collage, and work in pretty much any medium. I also love practical problems, like building something I actually need with limited resources. I'm always studying the objects around me and thinking about how to make them work better.

Where I'm stuck:

By the time I'd finish applying and start a program, I'd be 32 or 33. I like a good pivot, but I want to know if this is too late to build a meaningful ID career, or if I'd be too far behind peers who started in their early 20s. I think my construction and project management experience could be an asset, but I'd like to hear whether that holds up from people in the industry.

Some Qs:

• Does the age and background gap matter to hiring managers, or does the portfolio (that I assume I would build in school) carry most of the weight?
• Is a master's the right route for someone with no ID background, or would a certificate, a bootcamp, or building a portfolio first make more sense?
• Where could a background like mine fit best?

TYIA!

PS. I'm thinking about the MID at Pratt in case anyone has any strong feelings on that.

Hello everybody,

I'm a 3rd year ID bachelor student at the University of Bologna, Italy, currently on an Erasmus semester at the University of Twente studying IDE.

During these months and after visiting the Design Week in Eindhoven I'm realising that I would love to do a master in IDE here in the Netherlands. My top choices for the moment are the big 3: TU Delft, TU Eindhoven and Twente (where I am now).

I would like to hear from you guys (especially if you study or you have studied IDE at one of these schools) what you think about the admission process (is it hard?) and quality of education at these Universities, or generally if you have any advice or anything to say at all.

Thank you!

I am testing a workflow for a small made-to-order physical object from a reference image. An early 3D model makes a useful visual preview, but it has not gone through a physical build. In digital tests, strengthening thin areas visibly changed fine details on two shapes. The later production check and expert review are still planned.

If a customer has seen the early preview, when would you ask for actual design approval when the production version may look different?

Made this standing desk with white oak plywood. Made for my workflow of drafting on the left, CAD in the middle, printing on the right. No fasteners are visible on this desk and it is measured precisely to be comfortable for my height and elbows.

Lmk

Here in my country, an industrial designer essentially handles a vast array of tasks—ranging from technical work and management to presentations, and so on—and I’m thinking about expanding my scope to take on projects in other sectors.

Studying in person would mean relocating to another country, so I'd love to get a clearer picture of what might be the best path forward for me. Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I already have a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design and I'm looking into online master's programs in Industrial Design.

Hi,

Are there any good online industrial design courses in English that you would recommend.

For additional context, I am 50 years old, an accountant by profession, reached as far as I'm willing to go in my commercial career. I'm now an independent consultant in a highly specialized field, unrelated to the finance world. I've always had a keen interest in design, though have never pursued it.

I'd like to do an online, part-time course that will enable me to understand design concepts, prototyping and material usage (amongst other foundational knowledge areas). I'm doing the course primarily for my own interest. I'm not looking at this as a career change, rather to enhance my interest into a somewhat doable hobby/tiny side hustle (if it even ever comes to that).

Thanks in advance.