New OSArch Wiki for open-source architecture workflows

[paullee]

I am not aware of anybody who has achieved a full workflow from sketching to production using pure free software for any project that is of a significant size (i.e. an entire house, or larger). Even for a small house, fabricators use extremely proprietary CAM software for steel or wood. As for facility management, sensors, IoT, free software is underrepresented. That said, Yorik seems to be doing quite well, and I am also using free software for various aspects in the chain, and so are many others.

If you're looking for PDF annotation, tools like Okular or mupdf can do this ... for editing, Inkscape is the only one I'm aware of.

The most important tools from my experience in practice in a PDF viewer are:

- Creating labels - arrows pointing at things and text labeling things
- Drawing polylines and rectangles
- Taking scale measurements both lengths and areas, with the ability to calibrate
- To overlay / compare two PDF pages

Free software PDF viewers can do the first two, I haven't seen the third, and the fourth can be done using scripts or GIMP, but it isn't "one-click" friendly.

Yes, it seem @Yorik is working with FC / Blender / Inkscape (?) etc., not sure what he use for the actual 'touching-up' for the presentation / construction drawings he had shown.

And do you output to pdf or other format like SVG for 2d drawings ?

[bitacovir]

Thanks, I remember trying to open a pdf with architectural layouts in Inkscape and Libre Draw. To my memory, not very good result....

It depends of the PDF file. For instance: in the job, my style for technical drawings is a minimalist one. I only use lines (no hatches, no colors areas, etc). I have seen some of the technical drawings made in USA and they are full with patterns, colors, hatches, shadows, etc. They look like illustrations. For any PDF editor those images are a big problem. The editor tries to turn them into vectorial elements. it tries to make editable each dot in a hatch, each square in a grid pattern. If you create clean drawings, it would be easy to work with them in a PDF editor.
Now. The question is for what do you want to use PDF edition: I do not use it for technical drawing documentation. For that I use CAD software like Autocad or LibreCAD. I export DXF detailes from FreeCAD to one of these CAD softwares. I only will use PDF editor for minor edition of drawings (text edition mainly).

[paullee]

It depends of the PDF file. For instance: in the job, my style for technical drawings is a minimalist one. I only use lines (no hatches, no colors areas, etc). I have seen some of the technical drawings made in USA and they are full with patterns, colors, hatches, shadows, etc. They look like illustrations. For any PDF editor those images are a big problem. The editor tries to turn them into vectorial elements. it tries to make editable each dot in a hatch, each square in a grid pattern. If you create clean drawings, it would be easy to work with them in a PDF editor.
Now. The question is for what do you want to use PDF edition: I do not use it for technical drawing documentation. For that I use CAD software like Autocad or LibreCAD. I export DXF detailes from FreeCAD to one of these CAD softwares. I only will use PDF editor for minor edition of drawings (text edition mainly).

Yes, thank for the remarks.

Indeed opening a pdf with topographical survey already is slow in a desktop, not to mention on a mobile phone / tablet.

But sharing pdf to most client is still the more easiest / comfortable way for every parties.

Any maybe touching up in LibreCAD the TechDraw drawing exported to dxf may be a way to go. I used AutoCAD a numbers of year ago, though forgetting many feature / workflows now, but learning new CAD system libreCAD, QCad from scratch is still a plain

[bernd]

BTW, what does it means by 'blue beam license' ?

https://www.bluebeam.com/solutions/revu

[paullee]

Seem quite lots of available software there though not covering every aspects. So far have more time exploring FC, play around Blender some time ago...

[yorik]

Yes, it seem @Yorik is working with FC / Blender / Inkscape (?) etc., not sure what he use for the actual 'touching-up' for the presentation / construction drawings he had shown.

ATM my workflow is more FreeCAD->QCAD, but I'd like at some point to ditch DXF/DWG-based workflow entirely and only use SVG... It has much more interesting features over the previous ones

The problem is also that a very large part of the building industry still uses DWG-based workflow...

[paullee]

After using Autocad > 10 years, I have difficulties getting away from the concept and workflow

In addition, have no time to explore more apps atm though attempted to use LibreCAD earlier.

Anyway, hope can see what workflow other peoples recommends to save some time in experimenting.

[marcin_ose]

.. and of course, one of my favourite pages so far, which show that free software has a very strong foundation https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title ... _directory

Enjoy

Opus dei. Also, there is open sourcce axial flux wind turbine modeling software for the energy side of buildings - OpenAFPM, and FEMM - which is the software that OpenAFPM uses - https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki ... g#OpenAFPM

[Moult]

FEMM seems to be under AFPL, which is a non-free license (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin_F ... ic_License).

I could not find a license for OpenAFPM, nor code, or a download link? Am I missing something?