WIP CAD demo blog posts #3738
WIP CAD demo blog posts #3738
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| date: 2026-01-20 | ||
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| The simple truth is that it's now possible to build 'difficult things' at speed. Two years ago, this project wouldn't have been seen as not much more than science fiction; one year ago, it would have taken months; but by late 2025, it only took a week. |
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When you say "this project" I (the reader) don't know what you mean yet.
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| When a telescope is being commissioned, there's a moment known as "first light", which is the first time a real image is captured. Even though the image might be blurry or imperfect, it proves that the whole system works end-to-end. | ||
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| On December 20, 2025, I had my own "first light" moment. It confirmed not only that this project was actually possible, but also that the way we build has fundamentally changed forever. |
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| ## Years in the making | ||
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| Four years ago I left [a Hacker News comment](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30235385) describing a "real-time collaborative parametric CAD app using CRDTs... combining OpenCascade compiled to WASM with Yjs... a kind of Figma but for 3D CAD." |
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I think this is a great hook. I'd start the post with this.
- Four years ago I ...
- before LLMs out of reach (maybe keep it personal "but I never thought it could be possible")
- thus I thought it was never going to be possible to disrupt "big CAD"
- well with LLMs it is now
- I built it in 2 weeks
- lesson is that it's now possible to build 'difficult things' -- things previously thought to be impossible
- so we all need to wind our heads up and the future is going to be very different than the past
Cue details ...
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| The short version is that I wanted the "hard parts" to be CAD-specific (geometry, constraints, rebuild stability), not infrastructure fights. The stack needed to handle multi-user state, real-time sync, durable AI sessions, and concurrent edits—while getting out of the way so I could focus on the actual application. | ||
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| The solution was using different sync primitives for different kinds of state. ElectricSQL for relational data, Durable Streams for collaborative documents and sessions. Let each substrate do what it's good at instead of forcing everything through one model. |
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Some hyperlinks to the projects and [!Warning] here's the source code with links to code and demo would be nice here up front.
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| The code is open source: [github.com/samwillis/solidtype](https://github.com/samwillis/solidtype) | ||
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| The full stack: |
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Maybe a anchor nav point and allows you to link to "the full stack" from the intro warning box?
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| This isn't about agents replacing engineers, it's about a phase change in what's possible. Problems that required teams are now solo-feasible, and projects that required months now take weeks. The constraint is no longer "can it be built?" but "can you design the right boundaries and feedback loops?" | ||
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| *Today, I wanted to share my build process and what I learned from the experience. Then, in the next post (coming soon), I'll focus on the infrastructure that made it possible.* |
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I think you want to be explicit that "this is part 1 of a part 2 series".
I'd also put in the useful links at the bottom of the intro (however you reorganize). So some hyperlinks and a warning box. You have all the substance underneath -- demo, code, etc.
Still to add the videos / screenshot first thing tomorrow (Tuesday)
Will split into two for publishing one ahead of the other
Part 1: https://deploy-preview-3738--electric-next.netlify.app/blog/2026/01/20/from-science-fiction-to-reality-you-can-build-difficult-things-now
Part 2: https://deploy-preview-3738--electric-next.netlify.app/blog/2026/01/21/building-real-time-collaborative-cad-with-electric-and-durable-streams