Today I'm excited to share a new product with the HN community - Jiga's free 3D CAD viewer!
If you are using 3D CAD files of any sort (.STL / .X_T / .STEP etc.), you're probably downloading them every time and have to use some kind of CAD software to view them.
At least, that's what happened to us at Jiga. We get to work very often with 3D CAD files, sending them via emails. When we wanted to just see the file, we had to download it and then upload to a CAD software, and it was very tedious.
That's why we built Jiga 3D CAD viewer, a free chrome extension that allows you to view your 3D CAD files directly on Gmail, inside your browser. No CAD software needed. We created this CAD 3D viewer because we knew it's something that would be really helpful for us as users.
With the Jiga Viewer, simply click on the "View in 3D" button and you can easily view, rotate and zoom your 3D model right in your browser. You don't need to open any external software.
I’m looking forward to talking to anyone who builds hardware, and to hearing your feedback about this extension and where you would take it in the future. If you get to send 3D CAD models often, I hope you hope you give it a try and let us know what you think!
Hi there! STEP files are an absolute beast of a format, and interpreting them requires a geometry kernel of no small sophistication. How did you incorporate STEP support into a Chrome extension? Did you recompile OpenCASCADE for JS or something?
Thank you Conor! We are definitely excited as well :) did you sign up for updates? Also, I'd love to grant you access to our invite-only slack community for hardware builders. Ping me adar@jiga3d.com .
There are pros and cons to being a network rather than 1 supplier. It include the ability to always look for the best options regardless of location or specific machines, filter to your exact needs, source for competitive quotes etcetera. We work hard to only work with top suppliers and vet them.
I think that you definitely are. First, keep in mind that you can manage these existing suppliers and send quote requests from within Jiga to external suppliers as well (obviously no fees involved). Second, when you need to quote fast and get parts easily, it could be very useful. Companies who have relationships with hundreds of suppliers are buying parts from Jiga suppliers because of service, speed and comparison capabilities, which could definitely beat their existing suppliers.
Yes! Both are on our roadmap. Right now it's possible to chat directly with the supplier to get professional human feedback as well, which will probably always be necessary. All suppliers there are highly professional. Do you find yourself looking to get automated manufacturability feedback often?
My experience is mostly with machined parts. In that context, I find it most helpful to know the part can be fully machined, or if not, where exactly the finished part will differ from the model. I'm sure this can be communicated in a direct conversation with a supplier, but I find it more convenient if this information can be part of the quote.
I'll be interested to see how your offering progresses!
Thanks so much. Yes, it makes perfect sense. Please do keep me posted if you need something specific, and in the meantime I will do my best to get the feedback in a fast-almost-automated way :) adar@jiga3d.com
We allow direct communication with suppliers about jobs, re-order from ones that you're satisfied with, compare them using reviews / certifications and we also charge much lower fees (mentioned it in the 3rd paragraph)
We recently launched Jiga to the HN community (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26066276) - we make it fast and easy to produce parts for hardware products.
Today I'm excited to share a new product with the HN community - Jiga's free 3D CAD viewer!
If you are using 3D CAD files of any sort (.STL / .X_T / .STEP etc.), you're probably downloading them every time and have to use some kind of CAD software to view them. At least, that's what happened to us at Jiga. We get to work very often with 3D CAD files, sending them via emails. When we wanted to just see the file, we had to download it and then upload to a CAD software, and it was very tedious.
That's why we built Jiga 3D CAD viewer, a free chrome extension that allows you to view your 3D CAD files directly on Gmail, inside your browser. No CAD software needed. We created this CAD 3D viewer because we knew it's something that would be really helpful for us as users.
With the Jiga Viewer, simply click on the "View in 3D" button and you can easily view, rotate and zoom your 3D model right in your browser. You don't need to open any external software.
I’m looking forward to talking to anyone who builds hardware, and to hearing your feedback about this extension and where you would take it in the future. If you get to send 3D CAD models often, I hope you hope you give it a try and let us know what you think!