OpenCAx is a group of open source projects that applied to participate in Google Summer of Code 2021 (GSoC). Led by BRL-CAD, this group includes FreeCAD, IfcOpenShell and OpenSCAD. The application was successful, and this program will enable students to work in AEC open source projects. ...

The Epic MegaGrants programme is a financial grant to support projects doing amazing things with the Unreal Engine or enhancing open-source capabilities for the 3D graphics community. We are incredibly honoured to present that the BlenderBIM Add-on has been awarded an Epic MegaGrant. ...

Xeokit is an open source 3D graphics SDK for AEC and BIM development. It is provided by xeolabs which is a company specialized in providing graphics software for web-based BIM, Engineering and Medicine. They have recently released the new xeokit 1.8 version with a lot of rendering improvements. ...

*This post was a contribution from the OSArch member Ayodele Arigbabu, aka @DADA_universe. Godot Engine, the open source game engine is slowly growing to become one of the favorite game engines out there, coming closely on the heels of Unreal Engine and Unity, and its popularity is not just with independent game developers, if a recent job posting by Tesla requiring skills in Godot is anything to go by. ...

One of the most expected releases is finally here. FreeCAD 0.19 has been released with a lot of improvements and new features in all workbenches. The list is long, so let’s go. First, some general highlights. There area a few UI improvements such as the inclusion of more dark themes, new icon themes and few retouches in the navigation cube. Furthermore, an option was added to display a checkbox for every item in the document tree, so it’s easier to use with a touchscreen. ...

After many years of development, on January 2021, COMPAS 1.0: Affine __ Anchor finally saw the light of day. COMPAS is an open source python framework for Architecture, Engineering, Fabrication, and Construction. Its goal is to simplify multidisciplinary collaboration in AEC research, encourage sharing and reuse of research results, and facilitate the transfer of state-of-the-art academic developments into practice. ...

In the last February 6th and 7th, took place the FOSDEM 2021, an event organized to promote the use of free and open source software. Usually based in Brussels, the event happened online this year due to the pandemic. FOSDEM features a wide range of subjects and one of the Devrooms was about Computer Aided Modeling and Design, which held some interesting talks that gave us the state of the art of FOSS development for the AEC industry. ...

Tridify is an IFC data streaming service to facilitate BIM models visualizations. With Tridify you can easily share and view IFC models in any web browser. Although it is a proprietary service, Tridify supports open source projects, according to Jukka Muhonen, Head of Production at Tridify: ...

Another exciting news for the users of Open Source 2D CAD softwares! LibreCAD has a new release candidate for the version 2.2.0. LibreCAD is an open source 2D CAD application with a mature development that works in Linux, Windows and macOS. It has all the basic features you would expect from a 2D drafting tool, and it is suitable for development of architectural drawings such as plans, sections and elevations. If you are new to LibreCAD you can start by reading their documentation, which offers a good amount of information to understand the software and start working with it. You can also visit their forum to ask questions and search for answers. ...

For those who haven’t heard of Ladybug Tools before, it is an open source collection of free computer applications that support environmental design and education connecting 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) interfaces to a host of validated simulation engines. Although Ladybug Tools do ship platform agnostic libraries, it is currently primarily only usable with proprietary tools, but there is a project underway to make it available for Blender. ...