Pros Try AI-Cloned Engineering Tools

AI's Rapid Software Cloning [0:00]

• AI coding tools are enabling the cloning of expensive proprietary software.
• The focus is on applications with monthly subscription costs.
• Previous tests included a Photoshop clone; this time, Fusion and SolidWorks clones are examined.

  "You may have noticed a ton of proprietary and expensive software getting cloned lately thanks to the power of AI coding tools."

SolidCraft: A Fusion 360 Vibe Clone [1:09]

• SolidCraft is presented as a clone that looks and works more like Fusion than SolidWorks.
• The lead developers are listed as Burbrook and Anthropic's Claude, with contributions from 120 other developers on GitHub.
• The UI appears similar to Fusion, with copied tabs, but some utilities and icons are missing or not yet available.

  "This is SolidCraft, and despite the name, it actually looks and works a lot more like Fusion."

Testing SolidCraft's Functionality [3:08]

• Testers noted that while the idea is there, some features are missing, particularly in the mesh and surface sections.
• Basic operations like creating a sketch felt similar to other software.
• A key difference emerged when manipulating lines in a sketch: SolidCraft's behavior caused the shape to change unexpectedly, unlike Fusion.

  "What the hell? Oh, it's hallucinating. It's hallucinating."

User Reactions to SolidCraft [5:21]

• One user found the viewport smoother than Fusion, attributing it to the software being less feature-rich.
• An attempt to create a widget resulted in a failure, with the error message "operation failed, not supported yet."
• Despite the limitations, some users, especially those who use Linux and lack native Fusion support, found it a "fantastic" starting point.

  "The reason I have a Fusion license as home is for the manufacturing capabilities. So. No."

Parametric: A SolidWorks Vibe Clone [7:11]

• Parametric is described as looking and working like SolidWorks and is about a month old and closed source.
• It's developed using Rust and JavaScript, with Claude Opus 5.5 used for the project.
• The UI differs more from SolidWorks than SolidCraft did from Fusion, with less identical elements and less refined plane visuals.

  "This one, the spots aren't all the same. Right. It hasn't attempted to be an exact clone the way that the other one did."

Parametric's Usability Issues [8:40]

• Key shortcuts like the 'S' key and right-click functionality, common in SolidWorks, did not work.
• The software exhibited inconsistent snapping behavior and issues with clearing tools.
• A significant limitation was the inability to select specific areas for modification, requiring sketch edits instead of intuitive manipulation.

  "Space bar doesn't work. S doesn't work. Right click wheel doesn't work. So that's awkward."