hey @Kusalananda, do you read Ny Teknik?

@JennyD No, why? Anything interesting in there?

@Kusalananda Depends on your definition of interesting. There's a picture of me and a couple of coworkers. nyteknik.se/sponsrad/…

Just found it! :-)

Amusing: the journalist that did the interviews met us all together. Peo and I introduced ourselves as both doing pretty much the same kind of work. But when the copy came for the first review, she'd given Peo the title "senior consultant in security and PKI", and I'd gotten "PKI tech"...

That's not amusing. That's bad.

On the other hand, he just gets a mention in the image mouse-over text ;-)

@Kusalananda for a better and funnier story on the same sad theme, have a look at this (and the message just before it):

That was so brilliant @JennyD :)

@terdon yeah, that one was fun :-)

best part was my bosses totally supported us both when we told them...

I should bloody well hope so!

But yes, sadly that can't be assumed.

I had some really great coworkers back then. Also some who were... not.

@JennyD Unless you're on the interview panel, it's difficult to choose who to work with. And even if you are on the panel, it's not easy to say "no" to someone on purely personal grounds (which I have wanted to do, and regretted I didn't, on a couple of occasions). It may even be, well, I don't know if it would be, illegal to not give the job to the technically best (albeit caustic) applicant.

Dammit, I hate that idea. Look, if I don't like you and think that your presence will be detrimental to the atmosphere of the workplace, I have every right not to hire you. I don't care if you're the most competent person for the job, I don't want to be working with you.

Hi everyone

It's been a long time

@FaheemMitha a simple box? Maybe a vectorial drawing program like Inkscape. If you need 3D/precise measures and everything, I don't know any open source program.

They are all proprietary, costly and require training

maybe wings3d?

@lgeorget I was wondering about Blender. Though that might be overkill.

oh blender too

Wow, Blender does CAD now too???

it's more about animation

and more complicated than Wings3D I think

open source CAD gets Google results. Not that I've tried any of them. I'd guess someone manufacturing a box wants technical drawings (to get dimensions off of) or design files (to directly feed into a CNC, etc. machine). Not pretty pictures...

probably, yes

except if they are used to deal with non-professional clients :)

Hey @derobert. How's it going? The box isn't that complicated. I'm thinking of going low-etch and just doing a sketch.

though, if it's really a box, you'd think they'd be fine doing it off length, width, and height. And whether corners are rounded (with what radius) or creased.

@derobert Well, there are openings/doors to consider. And handles.

@FaheemMitha Then they'll probably want technical drawings, to get the position, size, etc. of all those features correct.

@derobert Indeed that's interesting. Back when I studied engineering, they only has us use proprietary programs

I've only had introductory material, though, because I eventually specialized in computer science

@derobert I don't have a clue how to manufacture tech drawings.

Are you saying Blender is the wrong tool for tech drawings?

This looks pretty much like a good list to start with opensourceecology.org/wiki/List_of_CAD_Programs

@lgeorget Yes, I think I found this earlier.

For Blender it says:

> No CAD functionality so it is not suited to CAD use, though it can be used for very basic prototyping.

I haven't used Blender (at least, not any version released this decade)—but think more like a blueprint, not a pretty picture. AFAIK Blender is designed to give you a pretty picture of the final building, not the blueprints to build it

yes, Blender is more for the artistic design

It may be sufficient, depending on who is going to make your box

I see Debian does have FreeCAD.

@derobert :Yes, I see.

Are you asking someone/some company used to deal with this type of individual requests?

Question: Would a SE chat plugin for Chrome/Chromium just be a regular browser plugin?

But yeah, a lot of that is going to depend on who's doing the machining. Someone doing it by hand is going to be able to take much more informal drawings... Even on paper.

@FaheemMitha yes

@derobert I'd prefer it done by machine.

@lgeorget I'm not really sure who will wind up doing it. I would prefer something like a machine shop. I would like something in aluminium.

I see

I'm told that an aluminium box cannot support much weight, but I don't see why not.

I'd say it depends on a lot of things

(#helpfulansweroftheyear)

It's for luggage storage. Something like 50-100 kg. Since it will be lying flat on the floor, support for weight isn't critical, but I don't want the bottom to tear out if someone picked it up.

@lgeorget I've been getting a flat no from quite a lot of people, but I'd say they don't know what they are talking about.

@FaheemMitha Sheet metal can be done by hand or by automation. Doing it by automation (e.g., CNC routing) will need someone to convert the design to a format the router understands.

In India, if people don't do something, it becomes impossible.

@derobert Would the machine step include extrusion of the sheet metal?

@FaheemMitha Then it's just a matter of how thick the case is, I guess

@FaheemMitha That can be done in a manual press. Manual meaning just that a computer isn't running the whole thing

@lgeorget That's one factor. Also, alloys are stronger. Though supposedly more prone to corrosion.

@derobert Hmm.

I wonder if it is worth asking on the Home Improvement SE.

I'm sort of curious what this luggage rack you're trying to build is...

@derobert I don't understand what you're asking.

@derobert (so am I, but I was too shy to ask directly :p )

You mean why I'm building it?

Yes. Curious what it's doing that wouldn't be handled by something off-the-shelf. Like, say, a shelf :-P

I found alternativeto.net/software/autocad/?platform=linux and linfo.org/software_artists.html too.

@derobert I have a small Airbnb rental. I may occasionally need to store guest belongings when they are not here. I need a secure place to do so.

(And btw: AFAIK, the main advantage of computer-controlled machining in quantity 1 is precision, which doesn't seem like it applies to you)

Actually, storing stuff is a fairly regular request, but one which I have not been able to satisfy till now.

@FaheemMitha Errr... how about a cabinet?

@derobert :I'd like something movable. And I don't really have a suitable place to put a cabinet. Were you meaning a wall-mounted thing?

@derobert Precision is always good.

@FaheemMitha Either. Could be on wheels, too.

@derobert What is the difference between a storage box and a cabinet?

@FaheemMitha Precision is good when you need it. It costs money though.

@derobert Agreed.

@FaheemMitha A cabinet is a piece of furniture. Normally a constructed wood box with a door on the front (not the top).

@derobert :That's roughly what I was going for. But in aluminium, not wood.

The door in front would probably be the way to go, I think.

Well, two doors.

With hinges at the edges.

@FaheemMitha Those are available too, ask Google.

Why, aluminium, you ask? I like aluminium. It's light and looks good. And doesn't rust or go bad. And doesn't get attacked by insects and stuff.

@derobert Not in India, though. Not off the shelf.

@FaheemMitha I suspect you're not looking in the right place. You surely have filing cabinets, for example. (And those normally come with a lock)

@derobert Those are likely to be made of steel. And will probably be the wrong size and shape.

MS is popular here. I forget what that stands for.

@FaheemMitha dir.indiamart.com/impcat/aluminum-cabinets.html ... seems aluminum cabinets are available there too.

@derobert Yes, I look at indiamart often. But you'd need to custom build it. Those things are mostly not made for luggage.

That's a good direction in which to look. Thanks for the tip.

@FaheemMitha The folks who make those may also offer custom cabinets. And they will at least know how to build one, and won't make you design it.

@derobert Good points.

You could also look at safes, though that'd be a large safe (and very heavy!). Probably quite an overkill, unless the luggage is filled with precious metals.

These people look good, for example. Unfortunately Nashik isn't Mumbai.

@derobert Yes, a safe would be overkill.

Bear in mind that the people listed on Indiamart aren't all local. It's an all-India list.

@FaheemMitha They must have freight carriers in India, I hope...

Here, to purchase that stuff locally, you'd check office or (mostly) industrial supply places.

But everywhere here is air conditioned, so most offices would use wood of some sort.

Though since you're in one of the most populated cities in the world... I'm sure someone local has something similar for sale.

@derobert I like to look at samples before buying, if possible.

I came across this helpful video on design software.

Google created a program that doesn't run on Linux? For shame!

(That could be a Trump Tweet, if he knew anything about software. Or cared about freedom.)

@FaheemMitha "Failing Google released FAKE SOFTWARE! Very Un-American and SAD"

Have you find a program that suits you, finally?

:z

Very interesting question

and intriguing

@lgeorget LOL

@lgeorget Not really, I was looking at opencad a bit.

Hmm, the free CAD space is surprisingly active. I count freecad, librecad, openscad, all in Debian, all on Github, and all active.

impressive

I guess it has to do with the price of proprietary programs

Companies cannot avoid buying expenses licenses but passionate amateurs cannot easily afford them

@lgeorget CAD programs, you mean?

Probably has a lot to do with how cheap 3D printers have become, too.

@FaheemMitha yes

@derobert Indeed!

Apparently commercial CAD programs are quite expensive.

Is CAD a standard then?

There are interoperable formats

as well as ways to transform files to programs for computer-controlled machines

and many ways to export designs as images/schematics for reporting, etc.

I managed to freeze opencad in under 5 minutes. Not promising.