I'm pleased to announce the alpha release of SketchBridge, a desktop application that makes it easy to transfer 2D sketches between different CAD platforms.
The Problem
If you've ever worked with multiple CAD systems, you know the frustration of trying to move sketch geometry between them. Each platform uses its own internal format, and while standards like STEP and IGES exist for 3D geometry, 2D sketches with their constraints are often left behind or degraded during transfer.
The Solution
SketchBridge provides a simple graphical interface for transferring sketches between CAD applications. It currently supports:
- FreeCAD
- Autodesk Fusion 360
- Autodesk Inventor
- SolidWorks
Under the hood, SketchBridge uses Morphe, a platform-agnostic framework for representing sketch geometry and constraints. This intermediate representation allows sketches to be transferred without losing constraint information.
Key Features
- Real-time monitoring of connected CAD applications
- Visual preview of sketches before transfer
- Geometric transformations (translation and rotation) during export
- Flexible plane selection for imported sketches
- JSON-based file storage for sharing sketches
Getting Started
SketchBridge is available on GitHub. This is an alpha release, so expect some rough edges, but I welcome feedback and contributions.