The recent shutdown of Ondsel, a commercial venture built around FreeCAD, has sparked intense discussion about the challenges facing open-source Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software in a market dominated by proprietary solutions. While Ondsel's closure marks the end of a promising attempt to commercialize open-source CAD, it highlights broader issues about the adoption of open-source tools in engineering disciplines.
Key Ondsel Contributions to FreeCAD:
- New integrated assembly workbench
- 3D constraints solver
- Improvements to Sketcher and TechDraw
- Introduction of VarSets (custom properties system)
- Enhancements to CAM workbenches
- 145 pull requests merged for FreeCAD 1.0
The Engineering World's Resistance to Open Source
A recurring theme in the community discussion is the notable resistance among non-software engineers towards open-source solutions. Unlike the software development world, where open-source tools are often industry standards, engineering disciplines tend to favor proprietary solutions, even when more affordable alternatives exist. This preference isn't merely about cost - it reflects deeper concerns about reliability, support, and risk management in professional engineering contexts.
If you're dealing with projects worth 7 figures (or more), it absolutely makes sense to go for a commercial project with SLAs on support. Last thing you want is to hit some showstopper bug, holding up people who earn 4-digit daily compensation, and been told to figure stuff out yourself.
The UX Challenge in Open Source Engineering Tools
A significant barrier to open-source CAD adoption lies in user experience (UX). Community discussions reveal that while open-source tools like FreeCAD have made substantial technical progress, they often struggle with interface design and workflow optimization. The challenge isn't just about feature parity with commercial solutions - it's about creating an interface that aligns with how engineers actually work, rather than reflecting the software's internal architecture.
The Education-Industry Pipeline
Commercial CAD vendors have successfully created a self-perpetuating ecosystem through their strong presence in engineering education. By providing students with access to their tools during their formative years, these companies effectively ensure long-term market dominance. This creates a challenging environment for open-source alternatives, which must overcome not just technical hurdles but also deeply ingrained user habits and institutional preferences.
The Path Forward
Despite Ondsel's closure, their contributions to FreeCAD - including improvements to the assembly workbench, Sketcher, and TechDraw - demonstrate that progress in open-source CAD is possible. The community's response suggests that while the commercial venture may not have succeeded, the underlying goal of improving open-source CAD tools remains vital.
The experience of other open-source projects, particularly Blender in the 3D graphics domain, offers hope. It shows that with sustained effort and the right combination of community support and professional development, open-source tools can eventually compete with commercial alternatives, even in highly specialized technical fields.
Source Citations: We are shutting down Ondsel